Think of Sherlock Holmes, with his razor-sharp mind, skill at disguise, band of Baker Street Irregulars and bold unconventionality. Now make him a beautiful Australian woman in the Jazz Age.
Phryne Fisher is rich, lovely, and unfettered by convention. Living in luxury with servants and adopted street urchins, she keeps herself amused by investigating crimes into which her upper class background and underworld connections give her special insight. When young blondes begin to go missing in Melbourne, she steps in, tracking the girls from brothels to convents, theaters and clubs to dockyards and sailing ships.
The story is satisfying, with a complex plot leavened with meticulous descriptions of sumptuous food and pretty clothes. The novel dips into interesting historical topics, including Magdalene laundries and socialist communes, and the characters are appealing and quirky.
Set in Melbourne, this novel is one of a series of well-researched books starring Phryne Fisher.