Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher Mysteries)

After seeing the television shows, I was surprised to discover that Phryne Fisher of the novel was smarter and more interesting than the show's character. I suspect they dumbed down the TV show to appeal to a wider audience. I loved the historical references to language, fashion and style. Even the writing seemed appropriate to the age. I read a different book by this author awhile back which was about a baker. Not as interesting or fun as Cocaine Blues.

I really enjoyed Cocaine Blues. It is a very entertaining, light read. The main character, Phryne Fisher, is very appealing and a lot of fun -
almost like a slightly naughty Nancy Drew. I loved the Australian setting and the 1920s era. I could imagine Phryne wearing all of the glamorous outfits described in the book...what fun! I'm looking forward to reading more books in the series.

I was introduced to the series by the television show. The book is a fun quick read. The television show changes the story a little bit, but not enough to stop watching. The author is a great storyteller. If you want something fun to read at the beach, the series would be a good one.

I enjoyed reading Kerry Greenwood's first book in the series because I have seen all the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Acorn TV. It was fun putting the movie faces to the characters in the book. Since the book and the movie are two completely different genres it was OK that they weren't identical. I was able to accept what I was reading while thinking about the movie. Ms. Greenwood has a great writting style and I have already ordered more from the library to keep me company in the evenings! ps...I'm looking forward to season 3 of the series on Acorn TV.

This is the first Fisher Mystery and certainly the place to start for anyone who wishes to read through the entire set (and everyone will want to after reading this first work). The later works offer a more polished account of the life and times of Phryne Fisher, but I think that anyone who reads this work before the others in the series would rate it five stars; I rate it at only four stars because I started later in the series and worked backward.

I started reading this collection because I watched several episodes of the Australian TV series on netflicks. My husband and I both loved the series so I decided to try the books and they are even better. Well written with great charm and wit. The descriptions of the period clothes and cars are an added bonus and make you feel like you are there. Phryne Fisher is a force to be reckoned with and I look forward to many more adventures!

Nice story about Australian girl who is "scandalous" in her dress and behavior! It is a fun read and tells many things of the 1920's and how people were expected to act, etc. Kerry Greenwood "people's" her books with many interesting characters and situations. The Australian setting is a change for those of us who read British and American mysteries.
I have read most of the Phryne Fisher mysteries and look forward to reading the next one--whenever it comes out.

This was amazing. I adored Phryne and all the characters. Enough details to show a familiarity with the era, and to give that little bit more to make the reader realize the author loves the story. Enough twists to keep one guessing, and I didn't guess the perpetrator until just before the reveal. If you love the late 1920s, but need a protagonist that shows a fire familiar to our times, Phryne's probably your girl. Must read more of this series!

Amusing tale as the backtext for the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries TV series. Some of the story line was altered for the TV script, but reasonably faithful. Quick, fun read. Writer's detailed descriptions of Phryne's fashions are interesting.

This is a light, fun murder mystery about a fashionable flapper in Australia. It's very fun to read and I enjoyed it immensely. The biggest criticism of it I can think of is that the point of view is all over the place, but I forgave it for that because the mystery kept me guessing even though I had already watched the TV show. I will definitely buy the next one in the series.

I discovered this series through the Miss Fisher Mysteries on PBS. This book is delightful. You may not like how Phryne is portrayed but I had no problem with her. It's not the same as the show but then, it shouldn't be.

I first met Miss Fisher on television. Since then I have read a few of Greenwood's books. Miss Fisher is just as delightful and scandalous on paper as she is on the screen. Although the stories are set in post WW I in Australia, Phryne is a 21st century woman.
Cocaine Blues is the first of the series when Miss Fisher returns to Melbourne after a long absence.

I loved this introduction to the Australian female version of Sherlock Holmes. This series of books is a fast moving, enjoyable mystery romp. Thank you, Kerry Greenwood, for a wonderful new character who has exciting and interesting adventures. Phyrne is clever and fun to know.

I was already a Kerry Greenwood fan from her Earthly Delights series about the Australian baker, Corinna Chapman, so was pleased to enjoy her efforts in this more popular and continuing series. I'll try a second book in the series, but am not as delighted with Phryne Fisher so far as I was with baker Chapman.

If you like the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries,you will really enjoy the book. A little different from the show but very well written and keeps the attention. Have to pay attention at first, as the story jumps but comes together nicely in the end.

I got interested in reading this book after seeing several episodes Phryne Fisher Mysteries on BBC. The story is good but reading it required trying to follow the vernacular of the country and of that time. Phryne is an interesting character.

Meet Miss Fisher, lady detective. This story just flows like a river with mystery, murder, and cocaine. So many likable characters, from Dot the maid, to Bert and Cec, taxi drivers. Phryne gets herself into intrigue, love, and really scary situations. A wonderful read.

I watched the Miss Fisher mysteries which is how I got interested in the books. This first book was better than the show and I really liked the show a lot. Phryne is a great character and I love how she takes charge and is fearless. I can hardly wait to read the next book. Very enjoyable mystery and full of action and fantastic characters. Different from most Brit mysteries but fun!

Got hooked on the Ms. Fisher mysteries when a friend told us about the Australian TV series made from them. Have not read them all, but they are interesting, especially regarding the early 1900s setting, including mores, attitudes, politics, etc. I really look forward to reading each new one as it comes out.

I was interested in reading the books after watching the Miss Fisher series on PBS. The character is the same but many details are different in this first book at least. It is an easy fun read, and I will read the others.

Great story line with flapper era behavior in Australia. Who is the King of Cocaine. A female slueth is sent from England by a father to determine if his daughter is being poisoned by her husband. The detective discovers the butcher abortionist, lost jewelry, revenges abuse of a maid and discovers her life career.

My wife and I just discovered the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries on PBS TV and after watching a couple decided to take a look at the books. This first book in the series was an excellent introduction and gives a good background of the main characters that appear in the television shows. I will very likely be going on to the next several books in the series, and may even take a look at some other stories written by the author.

I watched the Miss Fisher mysteries which is how I got interested in the books. This first book was better than the show and I really liked the show a lot. Phryne is a great character and I love how she takes charge and is fearless. I can hardly wait to read the next book. Very enjoyable mystery and full of action and fantastic characters. Different from most Brit mysteries but fun!

Got hooked on the Ms. Fisher mysteries when a friend told us about the Australian TV series made from them. Have not read them all, but they are interesting, especially regarding the early 1900s setting, including mores, attitudes, politics, etc. I really look forward to reading each new one as it comes out.

I was interested in reading the books after watching the Miss Fisher series on PBS. The character is the same but many details are different in this first book at least. It is an easy fun read, and I will read the others.

Great story line with flapper era behavior in Australia. Who is the King of Cocaine. A female slueth is sent from England by a father to determine if his daughter is being poisoned by her husband. The detective discovers the butcher abortionist, lost jewelry, revenges abuse of a maid and discovers her life career.

My wife and I just discovered the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries on PBS TV and after watching a couple decided to take a look at the books. This first book in the series was an excellent introduction and gives a good background of the main characters that appear in the television shows. I will very likely be going on to the next several books in the series, and may even take a look at some other stories written by the author.

Terrific, light hearted read. Some other reviewers didn't seem to like that the situations strained crediblity, but that's what made this so much fun. Felt like a comedic, behind the scenes Agatha Christie novel if 1920s era women could be portrayed with that they were really thinking instead of worrying about offending readers' sensibilities.

I really enjoyed watching "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" on Netflix (the TV series is from Australia), and I thought I might enjoy reading the books the show is based on. The book is just as good, and I'll definitely be reading more of these mysteries.

I liked the "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" TV Series, so thought I'd try the books. Just reading #2, so I can't speak for the series yet, but this has been quite fun. She is even more sexual in the books than the TV series (and she is certainly pretty sexual in those!), which is fun to imagine in a 1920's gal. I recommend you try this!

I found Phynne in video first. Liked the author so much I've sought out books by her. The headline says it all. The characters are thoroughly engrossing to get to know, there is always a real social ill and some justice in the solution. Phynne is gorgeous as is her wardrobe. There is social concern and compassion in every story.

My husband started to watch this series on Netflix streaming and I only glanced at the first several episodes while reading. The TV production is so smartly done that I gradually became enthralled with it and so ordered the first in the series book. Loved it. Has even more delicious details of affluent life in mid 1920s Australia.

Very modern and quick read. This is fast food fiction at its finest. The bad news: it is addicting and you will be reading the next one and the next one and the next one. Just like fast food, you know you should be reading War and Peace but you just want something comforting so you pick up a Miss Fisher mystery instead. The good news: this won't go to your hips. Enjoy

Unfortunately, I watched the Australian TV series based on these books first. The series has a lot of elements that I like, and Phryne is more a complete person than a female James Bond, or Superman! Also love the attraction between Phryne and Inspector Robinson, which does not exist in the books.

I like Downton Abbey, Lord Peter Wimsey, Maisie Dobbs, good mysteries, and especially good period mysteries. Phryne's life in 1928 Melbourne, Australia, shows a female Lord Peter decisively NOT living at the family estate, but instead estabishing her place in the Melbourne society. Raised in poverty in Australia before her father inherited the title, schooled in "finishing schools," a veteran of the Great War in France, a former model for Parisian artists, she comes back to Australia, accumulates servants and friends and orphans, sets the Social Tone, and loves pretty young men. Oh, and she detects.
Cocaind Blues starts the series....and you will strive to read the rest of the series. Enjoy the literary allusions, too.

Its probably unusual to describe a book titled "Cocaine Blues" as a fun read, but that's exactly what it is. I love "Miss Fisher" and her highly improbable life and going back in time to a place (Australia) that isn't all that familiar to most Americans. The characters are interesting, the situations outlandish and fascinating. Enjoy!

a fun read..... having seen the PBS mystery series first, i was pleasantly surprised at how closely it followed the book. the characters are interesting and well rounded and the period (1920's) references add a lot of charm. Phryne is wonderfully over the top, the quintessential Flapper.

I caught the Miss Fisher mystery series and enjoyed that enough to check out the books. This was a wonderful introduction to the clever, audacious Phryne and her intriguing friends. I had a marvelous time with this and it's audible form. Great characters and a fun plot.

I became interested in the Kerry Greenwood series after watching the Miss Fisher Mysteries on Neflix. The book was fantastic. Somewhat different than the tv series but excellent in its own unique way. I am planning on reading the rest of the series (20 books I think).

An interesting variant on Hercules Poirot...set in the era of fast cars and faster flapper girls...the plot is a little convoluted and the characters need more differentiation. Sensuous and filled with period detail, the author and the down under setting have earned my interest.

First introduced to Phryne Fisher via the TV show "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" and *loved* it. So when I realized it was a series, I knew I had to read them! The details are so much more poignant and catching, and you will not be disappointed. She's my new favorite fictional feminist.

Although I prefer the very excellent TV series with Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher, this book was good and fun to read. Gave me some of her back story which I am not sure was mentioned in the series premiere. I enjoyed it.

Good plot, well developed characters, humor, what must have been kinky sex even in the Roaring 20's. I usually avoid female protagonists, however, I do read a few for variety. Money and the vices it buys, youthful rebelliousness, and an intelligent amateur lady detective all put together make a good story.