Cocaine Blues

So I don't think I can give this book a star rating as I am a huge fan of the show and this makes it hard to judge this book on its own merits. To be honest, I found it hard to really enjoy this book. All of the characters felt like pale shadows of their representations on the show, the writing was repetitive (she said artlessly), and the plot felt unnecessarily convoluted. Maybe if I had never seen the show I would have loved this book, maybe not.

I enjoyed Phryne, as a resourceful character, if I didn't enjoy the fashionable aspect of her character. My wife was surprised that I voiced this as my only complaint, but as I pointed out, it slowed the story down for me as I looked up what each article of clothing Phryne was donning, because I otherwise had no clue what I was imagining.

But that's rather minor in an otherwise enjoyable novel of intrigue and deception. I enjoyed that, at the end, the unveiling was not a complete surprise (Ms. Greenwood provides enough clues for the reader to carry suspicion), although enough was left to the end to provide for good closure.

A good start, I expect to read other novels in this series.