All Miss Phryne Fisher and her adopted family want is a nice, quiet holiday in Queenscliff. Just a few days at the beach, far away from the city...

But, Phryne being Phryne, she attracts danger wherever she goes. As they arrive at the house they rented for the holiday, they realize the housekeepers have been abducted, the pantry raided, and the valuables missing. Summoning a local constable, Phryne realizes that if she wants to know what happened, she will have to investigate herself. Soon, she finds herself in the midst of domestic problems, loss, kidnapping, an attempted murder, a smuggling enterprise, and searching for the "Phantom Pigtail Snipper", and, oh yes, a pirate treasure.

This was a fun one. The atmosphere Greenwood created was very different in this one, and you could relax along with Phryne while she and her family enjoyed themselves. The mysteries were all connected to the various interesting people Phryne meets (which, this time, include a bunch of Surrealists who were very interesting), and it was, as always, expertly drawn.

The more I read by this wonderful author, the more I realize how wonderfully she can create atmosphere: due to her meticulous research, you always like you are right there with Phryne, and the people she meets are so much a result of this atmosphere, it is amazing how natural it all feels.

This is definitely one of my favorite Phryne books so far, and could be read as a stand-alone. Not that I'm advising missing out on anything, but I think this would be a good introduction to Phryne for anyone who has never read one of the books :)

Miss Phryne Fisher, the 1920-ties female detective in her fast car and her flapper dress with a sleek bobcut hairdo and a sigarette. I liked the series (was in those days here in Holland only available on internet sites - what for us Dutchies was not illegal to watch). The book is even better because of all the humour and subtle jokes. I was astonished to see point blank in a detective novel that felt very old style mentioned miss Fischer was sick of her dry spell of a week and masturbated. What will the American prudes have a shock :) (It took me to read it twice to grasp what was suggested there).


While Phryne's townhouse in Melbourne is redecorated she moves her companion and her adopted daughters to a seashore resort (in the making, it is interesting to see how "trippers" in those days vacationed) where they are allowed to borrow the house of a anthropologist who is away on an expedition. To their surprise however the housekeeper and cook couple is not present and it looks like the house is looted for food while the valuables are still there and even the housekeeper's dog shows up. Phryne and her merry band wonder what this is all about but make do with one daughter cooking all kind of fancy dishes (instructions included in the book after the story) and the other focussed on science.


In the meantime they meet the neighbours: the ghastly old hag who spies on everybody, the always drunk mother of a teenage boy who with his two friends bullies the local kids and some weirdo surrealists. Then there is the filmcrew shooting a movie about a local pirate and his never recovered treasure hoard, a snapper who cuts off the braids of young girls and smugglers and maybe a murder.


The book is a pleasure to read. After having seen a series it is always a gamble if the original book will be as much fun but it was even better. The author is a very accomplished writer. Not just the plot but also the how.

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.

This is an interesting and good read. The writing was polished and flowed very nicely. The story and plot was fun and entertaining. I highly recommend this novel.

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.