Reviews

The Death in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood

amyofdoom's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

daemonaac's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

4.25

stitchinthyme's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ozace50's review against another edition

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5.0

I have read all the Phryne Fisher books and have loved every word in them. The world that Kerry Greenwood paints is clear, her writing style has both humour and pathos, her characters are almost always believable, and her plots are brilliant yet not too complex. I can't wait for the next one.

jacinta_fawcett's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Love this series, latest one does not disappoint

alextheunicorn's review against another edition

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5.0

I love Phryne so goddamn much. She's just my favourite.

emilypaull's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

sylvanas's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

acerbicmuffin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've been waiting ages for this since poor Kerry was indisposed. I got it for Christmas and it did not disappoint

knightscottage's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

This Miss Fisher is completely different to previous books in the series. It started well with some hilarious descriptions (I really love Kerry Greenwood's descriptions) 

 Early scenes of Phryne in bed with Lin Chung- I wish he featured more in the TV series. 

The story branched out into 2 separate investigations with Jane and Ruth and Tinker trying to solve the mystery of a girl's body found in a river (girl was a school friend) with Hugh featuring more prominently in this book. I enjoyed reading more about Hugh. Jack doesn't feature much at all in this book, he's on assignment elsewhere. 

Meanwhile Phryne and Dot were off to Daylesford for a relaxing break which of course turns out to be a murder investigation. Women are going missing. Have they been murdered? Men are being murdered in public places with too many people around to find the culprit. The local Copper is useless, very funny description of him :

'The irish brogue was unmistakable. So was the exasperating air of self righteous stupidity which accompanied his shiny sergeant's strips. He sweated profusely. He had shaved inexpertly, and jet black stubble mingled with cuts and abrasions, as if he had just gone three rounds with a cheese-grater and been defeated on a technical knock-out'. 
Lol Gold! 

The story slows down after this and shock horror, for the first time I struggled to get through a Miss Fisher book 😱😲 WHAT ON EARTH?! 
It was slow.  I was bored.  
There are a couple of fun passages such as an exploding dunny. And
Phryne on Page 218 after observing a wombat;

'I agree Dot. Tomorrow, I shall emulate that wombat's excellent example. When all else fails, stomp through everything until you get what you want'. 
 
Unfortunately not enough to save this book. Too many sub plots. Needed a good editor. 
Maybe I've outgrown Phryne's adventures? Either way I won't be continuing with this series.  I will  consider her previous excellent book in this series to be the final. 
One thing that really irritated me in this book was the repeated use of 'Hispano- Suiza'. Like fingernails down a blackboard. Drove me nuts. 

 2.5 stars and I'm being generous. Sorry Kerry.