Dead Man's Chest (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, 18) Paperback – December 5, 2017

A vacation in a rented home that has mysteriously been stripped bare of food and some furniture. Where are the cook and butler? Did they abscond with the loot, or did they meet an unfortunate end? Phryne Fisher is on the case. There was so much humor I found myself laughing out loud quite often. Phryne and her team get to work solving the mystery, much to the dismay of criminals and shady characters. She meets some very interesting Surrealists. All in all, a wonderful, enjoyable book.

Phryne Fisher and her family...including Dot and, now Tinker....continue to amuse and amaze. This one was so much fun and full of surprises...each solution to. each, of many, puzzles were a surprise and so satisfying.The characters ...Ruth, Jane, Dot, DS Hugh, especially Phryne... And all the acquaintances and new friends in this book really fleshed our this book and made it so much fun to read.I cannot wait to read more.They stand alone ad novels pretty well...I have read them out of order...#1 and 2 first then #22,21,20,19 and 18 respectively... Has not marred the enjoyment of each book at all. It does help to have seen the TV series and know mist of the main characters in advance... I should say...but each series of adventures are surely self explanatory and easy to read in spite of the spate of Aussie words and phrases, French words and phrases, Latin words and phrases, naming of known and unknown places and events in history and much time spent looking up definitions and meanings and etc etc etc.I do love the challenge!You will, too!

Dead Man’s Chest is the eighteenth book in the Phryne Fisher series.Dead Man’s Chest is another enjoyable adventure with Phryne Fisher, her two adopted daughters Ruth and Jane and her ever faithful maid and companion, Dot. I love this series and especially the wonderful Phryne Fisher.Phryne thinks that her family, adopted daughters Ruth and Jane, her maid and companion Dot deserve a holiday so they pack up the Hispano-Suiza and head for Queenscliff. Phryne has arranged for the use of a fully stocked house with a housekeeper and her husband, through an acquaintance. But when they arrive at the house, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson aren’t there to greet and the fact they find that the Johnson’s furniture has been removed and the all the food is also gone as well.Phryne, after having a chat with the next-door neighbor, Mrs. Mason, learns that this is very unusual for the Johnson’s as they are very dependable and one could almost set their clocks by their movements. Another neighbor, Mrs. McNaster claims that she saw them leave in a big black car, but could no other information. When the Constable Dawson arrives to investigate the disappearance, Phryne can tell that he would have a hard time finding his way out of a paper sack. It’s time for Phryne to call on her daughters and Dot to search for clues as to what happened with the Johnson’s. But the biggest help comes from a young boy Mrs. Mason had sent over to help Phryne settle in. The young boy, Eddie, who Mrs. Mason said was a bone-idle layabout. But Phryne was able to communicate with him and soon came to call him Tinker. Tinker proves to be fearless and has a detective savvy that Phryne is able to bring out. Soon Tinker and the Johnston’s dog, Gaston, have sniffed out where the Johnson’s furniture has been stored. Hugh, Dot’s fiance, and a detective from Melbourne arrives to work on another case and this case ends up tying in with the Johnson disappearance.Greenwood does a wonderful job of storytelling in her books and in addition to this, you will get to see the development of Ruth and Jane. Ruth has always enjoyed helping cook at their home, but with no staff, Ruth steps up and takes care of the cooking for the household. Whereas we see Jane with her bookish ways is also developing an analytical which Phryne will call on in her sleuthing. I will be looking forward to reading about the further development of Tinker’s character in future books, too.Recipes are also included with the book and a fairly extensive list sites to visit that will provide the reader with information on Australia back in the time the story takes place.I’m looking forward to the future adventures of Phryne and her family.

This was an absolute treat for me. I was sure I had read all the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries and then came to find to my absolute delight that there was one that I had missed. It did not disappoint.

Phryne takes her family to sea for vacation. Along the way solves several mysteries. Fun seaside romp for all. Good tale.

The indefatigable Phyrne Fisher, a private detective who is not only beautiful but wealthy and titled as well, decides to take her companion and daughters to a nice quiet seaside community for a well-earned vacation while builders are renovating her Melbourne home. The place they'll be staying at comes complete with a butler and cook and... well, as with all of Miss Fisher's adventures things don't always turn out quite as expected.When she and her companions arrive, for example, the butler and cook are gone, leaving behind a small, very anxious (and very dirty) dog.Coupled with that, Phryne learns she has some very odd neighbors, including a small band of surrealists who are very much out of place in this little town. The mystery of the disappearing butler and cook is compounded by some very rude boys, a "phantom pigtail snipper" who has terrified the local female population, rum and tobacco smugglers, a possible murder, a locked room full of bones and, just to add a little spice, a film production company shooting a movie on the beach.Oh, and there might be buried pirate treasure somewhere near by.All's well, as the Bard said, that ends well and although it can be trying for her at times, Miss Fisher does manage to emerge from this vacation-turned-adventure reasonably unscathed with a further addition to her growing household - a young man who yearns to be a cop.It's all great fun and a great read.

This is a lovely little mystery. I delight in the fact that Phryne and Jane are reading two of my favorite Golden Age detective writers; R. Austin Freeman and Dorothy Sayers. I really enjoy the author's fully rounded characters and sly sense of humor. And there's a mystery, too! An excellent addition to all the other good mysteries from Ms Greenwood!

Ein Lesevergnügen, das ich nur empfehlen kann. Das beste Buch aus der Serie, nach meinem Geschmack. Und diesmal keine seltsamen Herrenhäuser oder Geheimgänge und solchen Unsinn!Miss Phryne Fisher macht Ferien am Meer samt Familie, d.i. Dot, ihre Vertraute, ihre beiden Adoptivtöchter Jane und Ruth.Ja, und dann. Angekommen, ist das ganze Haus leer, keine Bediensteten, kein Stück Tee oder Brot in der Küche. Ja, das ist das große Rätsel. Wer entführte das Butler-Ehepaar? Wer ließ die Hintertür offen?Wer treibt sein Unwesen, indem Mädchen aus der Stadt um ihre Zöpfe und kunstvollen Frisuren fürchten müssen? Wer verletzte die Laien-Schauspielerin schwer?Phryne löst alle Rätsel, mit tatkräftiger Unterstützung ihrer Mannschaft, oder besser, Mädchentruppe.Der Humor kommt auch nicht zu kurz, was für mich besonders erfreulich zu lesen war. Und ein neuer Helfer, ein junger Mann, eher noch ein Junge, bereichert Phrynes Haushalt.Phryne hat alle gut im Griff - ihre Töchter, die trotz aller Freiheiten gut erzogen werden, und sogar die nervige Nachbarin erhält mitleidlosen, aber sehr sinnvollen Rat, kurz und bündig und sehr lustig zu lesen.Diesmal gar kein Mord, fragt sich Phryne am Ende. Oder doch? Was geschah mit der nervtötenden Erbtante wirklich?Sehr gute Ferienlektüre. Man vergisst, ins Wasser zu gehen und holt sich einen Sonnenbrand, weil Miss Fisher einfach delightful ist!

In this episode of Phryne Fisher’s mysteries, set in 1920s Australia, she has decided to take her assistant Dot and her two adopted daughters, Jane and Ruth, for a quiet seaside holiday in Queenscliff. An acquaintance, Mr Thomas, has lent his substantial house to Miss Fisher, including his staff, Mr and Mrs Johnson, to take care of their domestic needs. However, there is no sign of the couple, their furniture is missing and the back door is wide open.Soon there are other mysteries to solve. Who is the phantom pigtail stealer and why is Mrs Macmaster, who lives next door, with her son-in-law Dr Green, so nasty and so nosy? As usual in these stories, there are many other characters participating in the plot. Their other neighbour has two idle sons, with a particularly nasty friend, called Fraser staying with them. A film company is producing a silent movie on the beach and soon Phryne’s hopeless kitchen maid, Lily is starring in the film.Kelly Greenwood spices her stories with rich description of the clothes worn by Phryne and Dot and the delicious food they eat. She also indulges herself with the pleasure of including aspects of 1920s life which she has researched. On this occasion she describes a party at the house of Madame Sélary, where the local surrealist club act as one might expect or perhaps as you might not expect.A delightful new addition to Phryne’s household is poor young lad, Tinker. Hero worshipping Miss Fisher, he becomes a gem, assisted by stray dog, Gaston, in carrying out her orders and acting undercover to solve the mysteries in the style of Sexton Blake.As always, this book is a pleasure to read and great escapism.

Always enjoy reading these books.

Good value and prompt delivery. Gets me every time.

Another enjoyable book of Kerry's