I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy of Dead Man's Chest as Phryne Fisher mysteries are amongst my favourite.
I really enjoyed this book even if it is a bit different from the others: no amorous interest, different settings.
The book is well researched and the different sets of characters, like the surrealists, are really interesting.
The cookery part was really interested and I am curious about the Impossible Cake.
One note: even this could be a stand alone book having read the previous books helps.
Funny, entertaining, a really good read.

I LOVE Phryne Fisher and this book was a good addition to the series.

The story line was fun & original with lots of twists & turns.

There is just something reassuring about the Phryne Fisher series. I love the books that I have read. The pacing is steady and comforting. The mystery is always a large part of the story, but it is the lifestyle descriptions are really fascinating. Phryne is intelligent, independent, caring, tough, glamorous, and awake to the benefits of living life to the fullest.

This time Phryne is on vacation, and walks right into a missing persons case. Dot, Hugh, Ruth, Jane, as well as some new faces, make for a great story. An episode of the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Series was loosely based on Dead Man's Chest. It was different enough that it still surprised.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a review copy of Dead Man's Chest, the 18th novel in the Honourable Mis Phrynne Fisher series set in 1920s Australia.

Phrynne has borrowed a house in the seaside town of Queenscliff and has packed up her household for a holiday. When they get there things are not as they should be as the Johnsons, the live-in help, their furniture and most of the food in the house are all missing. Phrynne makes it her mission to find out what has happened and possibly snaffle the phantom snipper along the way.

I always enjoy this series and Dead Man's Chest is no exception. The plot is rather slimmer than normal but the period detail and dry wit more than make up for it. After establishing the Johnsons' disappearance and the existence of the phantom snipper, who cuts off young girls' plaits, there isn't much in the way of plot development or action until later on but what there is is glorious in its absurdity.

The omniscient Phrynne stage manages almost the entire novel and it is her strong characterisation that carries it. Rich, worldly and hedonistic she has a thirst for justice and a kind heart but she is no pushover and some of her actions in this novel are inspired. I just love her.

The period detail is, as always, well researched and impeccably displayed. The movie filming and the surrealist group she meets are interesting in the context of the novel but Ruth's menus are fascinating. Food is to the forefront of the novel and it sometimes reads like culinary cosy, even down to the recipes at the end - I'm fascinated by the Impossible Cake. This may not be to everyone's taste but it is amazing how much they eat and still stay slim!

Dead Man's Chest is a fun read which I have no hesitation in recommending.