The game is afoot—and a rather stylishly clad one, at that. The latest of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries series, Murder in Williamstown, has all the makings of a classy, yet cozy murder mystery: intrigue, romantic and familial drama, expert sleuthing techniques for its era, and a little extra something that we’ll just call a feminine touch. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy to review.
For those of you (like yours truly) who haven’t read the other Phryne Fisher books, the nice thing about this latest installation is that it was easy to get caught up—to a degree. There are in fact twenty-one other books before this one to digest, so I’m sure I’m missing out on a lot of fun Easter eggs and scintillating references that a dedicated fan would spot in an instant, but there’s still plenty for a newcomer to unwrap in this example of Kerry Greenwood‘s literary exploits.
Set in the author’s own homeland of Australia, Murder in Williamstown finds our heroine on the receiving end of a gentleman friend’s tender attentions as well as sinister evidence of a local homicide: cause of death and culprit as yet unknown. The murder of one of her friend’s colleagues comes soon after, and Phryne surmises that the circumstances are perhaps too coincidental to be wholly unrelated. On top of it all, someone seems determined to send her a message, but has resorted to leaving her vague notes with no return address in order to do so. Miss Fisher’s daughters, Ruth and Jane, are not idle in this novel, either; while their mother juggles multiple complicated questions on her end, they tackle the dubious bookkeeping going on at the Blind Institute and find themselves on the trail of an embezzler.
And that’s just an overview of the many moving parts contained in this plot. There’s a lot going on in not a lot of pages, and I can admit that at some points I thought the author could have slowed things down a bit and made room for some more character development. To me, there were a lot of lost opportunities in regards to the secondary players in this novel. That being said, refer to the second paragraph of this review, in which I mentioned that this is but the latest in an extended and ongoing series. It’s likely that Greenwood has spaced out these basic but invaluable storytelling devices, and those of us who are late to the party simply need to backtrack and catch up, or learn to live without. For example, I thought that Phryne occasionally displayed more arrogance than confidence in her abilities, which made her character static and less realistic; however, given the era in which this story takes place and her presumed track record up to this point, there is every possibility that this has been built up gradually throughout her life and career, and a little arrogance has been hard-earned and therefore is now well-deserved. Only going back to the beginning could truly tell.
One specific positive that I can point out for potential new fans without giving away any spoilers is the almost lyrical way Greenwood in which sets her scenes, complete with rich sensory details, historical references, and relatable similes. Even when I felt the plot getting convoluted and somewhat congested by the various personal and professional kerfuffles that this eclectic cast of characters entangles themselves in—often all too willingly—I enjoyed the ride because I could so easily picture it all unfold. This can be particularly tricky in the realm of historical fiction, so it’s worth noting that this author strategically places her characters in the right place at the right time and with all of the tools that even someone who doesn’t often read up on the ins and outs of this period could find solid footing with minimal difficulty.
If you prefer the posh prose of a good Sherlock-Holmes-esque read, or the whimsical yet emotive mysteries of authors such as Rhys Bowen and Clara McKenna, then Murder in Williamstown is just the cheeky, adventurous whodunit for you.
K. Watkins 