Ruddy Gore (Phryne Fisher Mysteries)

Love these Phryne Fisher mysteries a great way of shortening the time on long drives. Kerry Greenwood must put a lot of time into research to give authentic period descriptions and Stephanie Daniel has an amazingly wide range of voices to entertain the listener as she reads. Thanks

Knew nothing about Gilbert and Sullivan, and learned a tremendous amount about the scores and what was expected of the performers...combined with a delightful mystery....great way to spend an evening.

Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood is the seventh book in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Phyrne Fisher is attending a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore at His Majesty’s Theater. Along the way, Phryne and her aviator friend, Bunji Ross encounter some trouble and must rescue an elderly Chinese woman and her grandson, Lin Chung (good thing Phryne is handy with an axe). Phryne is enjoying the performance until Walter Copland, playing Sir Ruthven, collapses on the stage. The theater’s manager and an old friend of Phryne’s, Sir Bernard Tarrant requests Phryne’s assistance, but the performance must go on first. Robert Craven takes over the part of Sir Ruthven and, near the end of the play, it is obvious that something is wrong with the man. It turns out that both men were poisoned. The production has been plagued with problems and some believe there is a ghost in the theater. Sir Bernard hires Phryne to investigate. When Walter Copland does not last the night, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson is out to find his killer. Jack is glad to have Phryne involved with this case (he dislikes theaters). But the person responsible is not done tormenting the production. Can Phryne and Jack find the culprit before there is another fatality? And Phryne has not seen the last of the fetching Lin Chung.

Ruddy Gore is an entertaining novel. It is always delightful to revisit the vivacious Phryne Fisher. The story starts out a little slow while Phryne is enjoying Ruddigore, but the pace picks up after the performance. The book has an overabundance of characters. Readers are introduced to the cast of the play and the people who work behind the scenes at the theater. I do wish there had not been so many characters to weed through and that some of the core characters had been included in Ruddy Gore (Bert, Cec, Dot, Ruth, Jane, the Butlers). In addition, I missed Phryne’s over-the-top personality. She was more subdued in this novel. Lin Chung is a nice addition to the series, and I am sure we will see him again in the future. I give Ruddy Gore 3.5 out of 5 stars. I found the mysteries (there is a thirty-year-old one too) entertaining, but they can be solved (if you pay close attention). It was interesting to see the differences between the book and the show by the same name. Personally, I was more a fan of the show. It had more focus. If you are not a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, I do not recommend Ruddy Gore. Information about the play and characters are discussed in length. While reading Ruddy Gore, you need to remember that the book is set in 1928. People’s views towards Chinese were very different than they are today. If you are a fan of Miss Fisher and her antics, you will enjoy this seventh installment in the series. Those who have not read the earlier books in the series may not enjoy Ruddy Gore.

This is the seventh in the series of light mysteries featuring PHRYNE FISHER and set in Australia during the Jazz Age. There is a strong overall story arc to this series although this particular entry could be read alone and enjoyed. Fans of the television adaptations shown on PBS should be aware that the programs, while excellent, do differ significantly from the novels.

As this entry into the series opens Phryne and a friend are on their way to a Gilbert and Sullivan performance of Ruddygore, one of the least known of their works. Before they arrive at the theater they see a woman being attacked and leap to her rescue. Now for most people such an occurrence would be the most violent and stress event of the evening, possibly even the week, but Phryne is not most people. Before the evening is out a leading man is poisoned, and then his understudy is similarly attacked. The manager of the company, an old friend of Phyrne, asks her to investigate the matter before the bad publicity destroys the production. Before Phyrne is through she uncovers a long lost daughter (not hers!) from a long ago love affair (again not hers), a long hidden romance, rescues another child and acquires a new lover in plot worthy of Gilbert and Sullivan themselves.

These are light hearted stories and while the mysteries are clever the true attraction is the not so private life of Phryne. This particular story has very little of the Phyrne's unorthodox household but does introduce Lin Chung, the aristocratic Chinese who has, at least temporarily, stolen Phryne's heart.

Phryne finds Melbourne a little slow these days. Then things get going as she saves an old lady and young man and meets the hidden Chinese community. No really, they are in plain sight. But nobody sees them, and they are written out of history. Phryne finds herself trying to figure out a ghost murder with roots all the way back in 19th Century London, and the Young Chinese man she has saved has the answer for her.
And one more lover is notched on Phryne's stick.
I like Kerry's treatment of the sex scenes in her Phryne Fisher books. Phryne is completely straightforward and most of her lovers have a bit of an issue with her not swooning and crying over them. Now he latest seems to handle it perfectly well. He's well aware that even though he's rich, he is socially untouchable, and his family will no more accept her than her society accepts him.
This one is odd, and irritating by turns. In it Phryne comes right up against a number of prejudices, and true to the era, the author makes the penalties quite visible. I like my history real. Thanks, Kerry Green wood for making it real.

Netflix keeps suggesting that I watch the TV series of these books and so I was pleased to be offered the opportunity to read a free E-Arc in exchange for a review from Netgalley.

So, I knew that this was a period piece and I do love a good mystery and I wasn't disappointed. The writing style is light and infectious (if occasionally a little muddled with Gilbert and Sullivan quotes - something I'm not very familiar with), and the characterisation of Miss Fisher is excellent. It didn't matter that this was book 7 and the first one I was reading.

I very much enjoyed the attention to detail of both being in a theatre and the 1920's in Australia, as well as the back story in London, and I might just listen to Netflix and give the TV series a view as well.

Would recommend to all those who like a good period piece who done it.

4 stars

This installment of the Phyrne Fisher series finds her and her friend Bunji going to a showing of Ruddigore by Gilbert & Sullivan. Along the way, they break up the beating of an old Chinese woman. Enter Lin Chung an interesting and very welcome addition to the series. Hopefully, he’ll be back.

Although written to be stereotypical of the era (in relation to attitudes toward the Chinese), it is still a good read. As usual, Kerry Greenwood is on top of her game.

A well written and fun romp in 1920’s Melbourne, Australia is just the thing to take your mind off your worries for a bit.

Thanking Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

Phryne Fisher, the insouciant, wealthy, experienced and titled English woman, living in Melbourne, Australia in the mid-twenties, meets her new lover and solves a very theatrical murder.

Let me begin by stating that this is not Greenwood's best Phryne Fisher mystery. Which is only to say that it is a very good novel. And a very good mystery. Phryne Fisher, outfitted in her finest encounters some low-lifes in a dark Melbourne alley, assists in saving an elderly Chinese woman, and thereby meets the man who will become her lover. Even today in Australia, the idea of a white woman in bed with a Chinese man is scandalous. In the nineteen twenties, there might have been riots. It's well documented that in the early and mid-twentieth century, Australia's immigration policy was to try to maintain white dominance against what must have been enormous pressures from surrounding lands.

But, Phryne Fisher being who she is, and apparently author Kerry Greenwood being who she is, the Fisher lass is prepared to breech any and all social customs she deems injurious to other people. We are thereby granted some special and fascinating insights into the way in which the successful Asian professional and business people conduct themselves in Australian society.

I mention this at the head of this review, because that is one of Greenwood's special gifts to the discerning reader--and Greenwood deserves the widest possible audience. The central plot revolves around the local production of "Ruddigore," one of Gilbert and Sullivan's delightful light operas. The mystery involves trickery, ghostly presences, a large cast of principals and members of the chorus, a long-dead singer and former inamorata of the head of this acting company, and the delightful and continuous perambulations of our detective, Phryne Fisher.

You will be treated to on-stage murder, at least one attempted murder and keen insights into the backstage lives of actors and actresses. Through all the emotional turbulence that threatens to destroy the production, the Silver Lady makes her fastidious way to the truths of the matter.

Here is Phryne Fisher: "...a small woman dressed in silver; a brocade dress which fitted close to her slim body, a cap of the same material with wings at each side, and on her small feet silver kid boots with wings at the ankle .... She had a pale face and startling green eyes, and black hair barely longer than the cap. The hatchet swung loosely in her gloved hand."

Kerry Greenwood writes with insight, fine command of language, clever plotting and excellent historical perspective. An almost flawless, worthwhile mystery novel.

Ruddy Gore is the seventh novel in the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood. In an eventful night attending a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore at His Majesty's theatre, Phryne and Bunji Ross first rescue an old Chinese woman and her grandson from thugs, then witness the effects of two attempted poisonings. The theatre manager, Sir Bernard Tarrant, implores Phryne to investigate the strange goings-on that have the cast spooked: missing gloves, faked notes, torn up telegrams, whiskey dyed green and the appearance of the ghost of the long-dead Dorothea Curtis, who played the first Rose Maybud. As Phryne works behind the scenes to find answers, she is confronted by a large cast of possible suspects. The Chinese grandson, Lin Chung, keeps turning up, and Phryne finds herself being observed by Chinese wherever she goes. Whilst a working knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan plays is not essential, it might be helpful for the reader. In the course of her investigations, Phryne attends a spiritualists meeting, searches for lockets and missing babies, looks for birthmarks on several backs, gets a Welsh letter translated, drinks lots of tea and narrowly misses being flattened by a curtain counterweight. Bert Hinkler makes a brief appearance. As usual, Phryne manages to unravel the clues and solve each mystery. Another Greenwood masterpiece.

Phryne Fisher attends a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, Ruddigore. During the performance two members of the cast collapse on stage and the manager of the theatre, Sir Bernard Tarrant, asks Phryne to go backstage to meet him and investigate the various strange happenings which have afflicted the theatre recently.

Those strange happenings include various sightings of a ghost. The subsequent investigation, and Phryne's involvement on the way to the performance with a fight between two Chinese families also puts her life in danger.

I found this book engrossing reading with its many G&S references and its theatre background. The characters are well drawn and the plot is fast paced and exciting with many possible suspects. The Chinese sub plot is also well done and interesting with some fascinating characters and background.

The Phryne Fisher mysteries are well written and entertaining reading. They are set mainly in Melbourne, Australia in the nineteen twenties and if you enjoy the Daisy Dalrymple series set in the UK in a similar period then you may enjoy Phryne Fisher as well.

i found the first phyrne in a wonderful used bookstore in portland, oregon, and started searching for the rest. i had to order most of them used from australia.

now, at last, she's back, in a uniform edition yet.

ms. greenwood writes well, and, as the series progresses, her plots, her characterizations, the atmosphere all become increasing fine. she writes with humor, an impressive depth of understanding of people (and animals), a monumental grasp of the 20s and the First World War--the historical details are fascinating. her ethical standards are exemplary, as is her compassion.

you might think ethics and compassion are strange things to include in the review of a murder mystery, but ms. greenwood's books are more than murder mysteries--there are elements of social satire, comedy, and tragedy of course. readers of golden age mysteries will enjoy ms. greenwood's take on the conventions.

_ruddy gore_ adds a ghost story to a theatrical setting. ms. greenwood's familiarity with actors and singers is hilariously obvious--but she equally obviously likes stage people.

i did not guess the murderer, though the clues were there--i haven't guessed the villain in any of the books since the third (_murder on the ballarat train_).

so, if you like wonderful writing, interesting history, humor, and really good mysteries, read this series. it's the bee's knees' and the cat's meow.

Phryne Fisher, one of the most delightful sleuths you will meet, is on her way to a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore when she meets some thugs in a dark alley and not only manages to handle them nicely but does it without ruining her silver gown. She then learns that she has rescued a handsome young Chinese, Lin Chung and his grandmother and for a brief moment is mistaken for a deity. She denies it but does agree to a cognac. She then goes on to what she hopes will be an enjoyable evening at the theater, but it is not to be. When there is a bizarre death during the play the theater manager calls on her skills to help solve the murder. But before she can solve the new murder, she finds that she must solve a decades old murder and put the theater's ghost to rest before more people are killed. And she also has to figure out if there is connection between the murders and the mysterious stranger who seems to be following her.

Set in the 1920's, Phryne Fisher is an independent, unconventional young woman who is also very practical and unflappable in the face of danger. Greenwood has created an engaging sleuth and surrounded her with characters that complement and contrast with her quite well and thrown in enough historical data to make the story interesting without going into so much detail that it bores the reader.

This feels as if Ms Greenwood didn't like writing this one. I've read several of the Phryne Fisher books and this one just doesn't have the same feeling as the earlier ones. I did enjoy the jabs she takes on the shallowness of actors -- only too true. Hardly any of the regulars have much to do in this one, and even Jack Robinson stays on the sidelines.

Phryne Fisher, one of the most delightful sleuths you will meet, is on her way to a gala performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Ruddigore when she meets some thugs in a dark alley and not only manages to handle them nicely but does it without ruining her silver gown. She then learns that she has rescued a handsome young Chinese, Lin Chung and his grandmother and for a brief moment is mistaken for a deity. She denies it but does agree to a cognac. She then goes on to what she hopes will be an enjoyable evening at the theater, but it is not to be. When there is a bizarre death during the play the theater manager calls on her skills to help solve the murder. But before she can solve the new murder, she finds that she must solve a decades old murder and put the theater's ghost to rest before more people are killed. And she also has to figure out if there is connection between the murders and the mysterious stranger who seems to be following her.

Set in the 1920's, Phryne Fisher is an independent, unconventional young woman who is also very practical and unflappable in the face of danger. Greenwood has created an engaging sleuth and surrounded her with characters that complement and contrast with her quite well and thrown in enough historical data to make the story interesting without going into so much detail that it bores the reader.

This feels as if Ms Greenwood didn't like writing this one. I've read several of the Phryne Fisher books and this one just doesn't have the same feeling as the earlier ones. I did enjoy the jabs she takes on the shallowness of actors -- only too true. Hardly any of the regulars have much to do in this one, and even Jack Robinson stays on the sidelines.

This time out Phryne Fisher is investigating murder and mayhem at the theatre production of the Gilbert & Sullivan show 'Ruddy Gore' in Melbourne's 1920's. With her new lover helping out Phryne must solve the mystery before any one else dies. I love the atmosphere of the Phryne Fisher books, I've been to Melbourne and many of the places she writes about are still there and the books have added much magic to my travelling.

I continue to just burn through the Phryne Fisher series with wonderfully vivid characters and a complex and rich plot the Fisher series has brought a sceptic to believe crime fiction can be so much more than trench coats and shady gangsters

I am originally from England, so find this series of Kerry Greenwood very entertaining, lots of the phrases she uses are familiar to me. I am now into her other series Earthly Delights and am not enjoying it - the author makes a book interesting with her Historical reference as well as the adventure of the current book.