An absolutely delightful collection of short stories starring Greenwood's iconic lady detective, Phryne Fisher, a femme fatale in only the best of ways. All but four of the seventeen stories here have already been released in a previous collection, but any Phryne fan (or diehard completionist) will still want/enjoy this volume.

Greenwood has a glorious knack for packing a powerful punch with an economical number of words; each one is carefully chosen, every sentence serves a purpose. Some writers excel at full novels or short stories, but rarely manage both with aplomb -- Greenwood is most definitely one of those rare birds.

One of the greatest things about Phryne as a character (and Greenwood as a writer) is that there's always an allowance for shades of gray. Murder, when committed to awful people under dire situations/in self defense, CAN be acceptable, and not every crime is truly criminal. There's so much humanity and mercy in the Phryne stories; and then there's also righteous rage and juicy revenge, too.

This collection is especially fun because there's a nice balance between the grim murder mysteries, full of scandal and appalling sin, and lighter puzzles of wit and romance. Phryne is unmatched by all comers, as per usual, and it's so nice to have a detective that inspires such loyal confidence in the readers. You know that, no matter what, justice will ultimately be served by the end of each story, even if the strict letter of the law isn't.