I confess: I had my hopes SUPER high for this latest installment in the Phryne Fisher series. I've been a diehard fan of both the books and the shows for several years, and this wait between volumes (the last Fisher, Murder and Mendelssohn, was released in 2013) has been downright excruciating. I sincerely feared Greenwood was done with the indomitable Miss Fisher, and was overjoyed to hear she'd finally be returning.

Alas, I cannot give an effusive, solely glowing review of Death in Daylesford. The book starts strong, and there are definite high marks in terms of excitement, character moments, and deadly calamity throughout the story. But overall this is one of the weaker adventures for our intrepid lady detective and her plucky family.

Greenwood has always had an enviable knack for packing a satisfying amount of fun into a streamlined number of pages; she's an author whose every economical line serves a purpose. But Death in Daylesford feels wordier than her past novels, and in an extraneous way. There are also *several* plotlines at work here, with Phryne handling a multi-pronged series of mysteries in the titular town while her adoptive daughters and young ward pursue their own inquiry, and it all feels very busy and loud.

So while I overall enjoyed the book -- because even a middling Phryne Fisher story is better than most of what's on offer -- it's absolutely not one of my favorites. Still, completionists and longtime fans won't be entirely let down by this return, and I will continue to live in hope for more from this Aussie femme fatale.