Cocaine Blues
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Cocaine Blues
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Narrated by:
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Stephanie Daniel
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By:
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Kerry Greenwood
About this listen
Unforgettable characters and a fascinating 1920s setting.
It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
©2006 Kerry Greenwood (P)2006 Bolinda Publishing Pty LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
Quirky and enjoyable
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So when given the opportunity to get the first book on Audible for free, I thought why not give the original source material a try. Just a little case of double vision. This was worse than the Perry Mason schizophrenia – that was decades in the past, Miss Fisher only a couple of years. Obviously I will be comparing and contrasting the two mediums but one should always defer to literature.
The first difference is that we first meet Phryne in her country pile in England, where she solves a very amateurish heist and soon finds herself on her way to Australia to investigate on behalf of family acquaintances Soon she is onboard a steamer sailing towards Melbourne Australia. As she reflects on the circumstances of her journey we get a quick run down of how her family's circumstances dramatically changed. On her voyage she is accompanied by Doctor “Mac” who is moving to Australia to escape the stuffy, sexist British medical establishment.
Soon we are introduced to other characters both familiar and yet different Ces and Bert, are more or less the same in both media versions. Dot is significantly different in the book over her TV counterpart – I think for the better.
Phryne (she was supposed to be Christened Psyche but a “tired and emotional” father got his classical Greek characters mixed up t her Christening.) Which when it is explained why this is amusing to Miss Fisher also brings a smile to the reader. It also informs Phryne's deeper character traits.
Phryne's investigation leads along the way to acquiring a lady's maid (Dot), and a couple of taxi drivers, she and Mac along with Ces and Bert also track down a murderous rapist/abortionist. Inspector Robinson only makes a peripheral appearance in the first book.
Phryne is sexy, sassy, resourceful and canny. Her seemingly trivial investigation soon turns into something darker and deadly.
Have to say the book didn't disappoint, the TV series is still good (and in my mind Phryne in the book still looks like Essie Davis.) But the book is meatier, more logical and a delightful read.
Just a little aside, The Fisher books are set in the 20s/30s, the time of the Who-Dunnit's golden era. So one could postulate a shared universe. For example as the Fishers are minor aristocracy it is entirely possible that Phryne could know Lord Peter Wimsey. In fact they might have been “jolly good friends” until Miss Vane comes along. This was also the time of Poirot and Marple. Plus Roderic Alleyn. In America there was Perry Mason and Nero Wolfe.. If only I was clever enough to write that scenario.
Phryne flies off the page
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light, joyful mystery
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Any additional comments?
This is a beautifully narrated book and narration is one of the most important features in an audiobook. I've had perfectly good books which I've enjoyed reading completely ruined because the reader's voice/accent is jarring. Phyrne, the heroine, is very engaging and the story moves along at a good pace. All the other characters are well-rounded. Heartily recommended and I've just downloaded two more Phryne Fisher audiobooks.Very enjoyable
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Miss Fisher
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Weirdly long gaps mid sentence in reading
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fun mystery
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The roaring 20’s, a little pistol and Phryne
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Pleasant but potentially costly surprise
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What did you like most about Cocaine Blues?
The Miss Fisher character was well developed.What was one of the most memorable moments of Cocaine Blues?
Using sex to save the day.Have you listened to any of Stephanie Daniel’s other performances? How does this one compare?
The narrator was the downside with this recording. I found her voices a bit hard to stomach and suspect this is a case of just not liking her voice. But if you listen to the sample and don't mind it you'll enjoy the story.Any additional comments?
I came to these books the wrong way round - having watched the Miss Fisher TV series from Australia first. I couldn't help comparing the characters with those I'd seen on TV. The book comes off really well with lots of touches that would not have worked on tv but which you can do in a book without seeming silly. Well, not too silly.A little monotone but a good story
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