Urn Burial (Phryne Fisher Mysteries)

Author Kerry Greenwood tries her hand at the British cozy staple of a murder during a country house party and succeeds rather well. Phryne Fisher, accompanied by her loyal maid Dot Williams, her Chinese lover Lin Chung, and Chung's capable servant Li Pen, is en route to a huge mansion called Cave House that's located in a rather far-flung part of Australia's Victorian mountain area. However, as they're closing in on the house, they encounter the attempted rape of a young woman. It turns out that the victim, Lina Wright, is a housemaid at Cave House; however, Cave House's owner and Phryne's host, publisher Tom Reynolds, doesn't want to face up to the crime -- or to a number of other odd goings-on at Cave House. Well, Phryne certainly isn't going to hesitate at investigating!

Greenwood does a lovely job with the house party concept. She's especially clever with Miss Mary Mead, an obvious homage to Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple; with Miss Cynthia Medenham, who's clearly based on Elinor Glyn, screenwriter and author of sexy romance novels like Three Weeks which scandalized Edwardian society; and Gerald Randall and Jack Lucas, who would fit neatly into Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. The house party characters were delicious fun!

So why three stars? "Urn Burial" suffers from too many far-fetched elements, including the ending. Greenwood's concept was a five-star invention: transferring the house party from England to Australia and keeping the idea fresh. However, Greenwood's execution was not up to her usual standards.

Urn Burial is the 8th in the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood. Phryne and her Chinese lover, Lin Chung, along with their essential attendants, ladies maid, Dot and bodyguard, Li Pen, attend a house party at Cave House in the Gippsland mountain country. But even their arrival is dramatic, with a gunshot and the rescue of a hysterical parlourmaid who has been assaulted in the fog. Their host, Phryne's good friend Tom Reynolds, is receiving death threats by note, and before Phryne has a change to investigate anything, she falls foul of a trap meant to kill Tom. There is a variety of interesting house guests including a military bully with a frightened wife, a mother intent on marrying off her daughter to a rich young man, the rich young man's friend, who feels cheated out of his inheritance by Tom, a doctor with a nervous disposition, a novelist, a couple of spinsters, one of whom is raising funds to help the heathen masses, and a Polish poet. There is also a cast of staff not to be discounted when it comes to suspects. And of course, the erudite swagman who leads the cave tour. By the time Phryne discovers the parlourmaid has been strangled to death, the roads are cut by the rising river, giving this mystery a locked-room aspect. Just to keep things interesting, there is a secret door, a flooded cellar, a cave tour, cryptic notes left in the library, funerary urns appearing in bedrooms, secret assignations between lovers, a long lost amnesiac boyfriend and an estranged son. In an ending that reveals the secrets that each of the cast is hiding, our charming, sexy, independent, liberated and candid heroine manages to solve the puzzle with panache and style. Readers will look forward to the next instalment, Raisins and Almonds.

although this is listed in british mysteries, it is written by an australian and set in 1928 australia.

phyrne fisher, the series sleuth, is the daughter of a remittance man who ends up the heir to the family fortune after several deaths in england, and is a fabulous and fantastic character. she is independent, capable, brave, intelligent, and, as befits an aussie, brooks no nonsense. her minions and her lover are resourceful and in awe of her.

the plot here, as the plots in the other books in the series, is wonderfully twisty. the writing is first rate. the historical bits are as important and as interesting as the mystery (true of the other titles, too). food and fashion feature as stongly as mayhem and detection. there is humor (or humour) as well. if fact, there isn't anything missing from this book and everything is under the control of a very fine writer. while it could stand alone, having read some of the previous titles would add to the enjoyment of this one. this title takes on the traditional country house murder and does it in style. most of the books in this series contain some reference to the golden age of mystery writing, as suitable for the 1928 setting, which will add appeal to fans of the classics.

i am thrilled to see this series back in america (the first three books were published here in the early 90s, and i've been ordering all the others from australia since then--i like them enough to pay the outrageous postage!). there are at least thirteen titles now in print, which may be almost enough to tide newcomers until the next one, usually published in june.

if you'e tired of all the superficial, badly written, historically inaccurate, infantile, psychologically unlikely mysteries that seem to be getting all too common, try this series.

Audio book review. This book was published by Bolinda, the Australian audiobook company, then picked up by Audible who has published the others in the series. This is book 8. The series is set in 1920's Australia. The book is about 6 and a half hours long.

It's a house party mystery. Phryne arrives with her maid and current love interest. Before they even arrive at the house though a gun shot attracts her attention, then they are confronted with a hysterical house maid. Putting the maid in the back seat they arrive at the house and a doctor is summoned. Then before Phryne can talk to the maid about what happened to her, she finds her dead and the body disappears.

Phryne is staying with a publishing friend, Tom Reynolds, his wife and a group of ill assorted fellow guests. The house as well as the party guests is eccentric to say the least. The former builder has had himself interred in the grounds. Other family members have their ashes interred in urns around the house.

As occurs in Phryne mysteries, Miss Fisher admires the male beauty on hand and investigates the various mysteries. The charm in these books is not the mystery but the characters and the milieu.

I never hesitate to pick up a Phryne audio book but I don't expect great things.

The narrator Stephanie Daniel is very good--good accents and pacing.

The Honorable Phryne Fisher is a society lady who also is a private detective in Australia in 1928. Unable to fit into upper class British society because she feels the mores and customs were too restrictive for females, she ran away from home at eighteen to Paris and then to Australia. She is accepted by Polite Society even though she doesn't conform to the rules women are supposed to live by and her taking of Lin Chung, a Chinese aristocrat as a lover, almost causes a scandal due to prejudice.

The duo along with their servants and bodyguard Li Pen go to Cave House in the countryside to attend a party. Even before they arrive, a shot rings out and they rescue Lina, a servant girl who was brutally assaulted. When they arrive at the house, they find out their host is getting death threats. Later Phryne goes to Lina's room to find the young lady dead. When she goes to get help, in the time she is gone, someone steals the body and the people are trapped on the estate with a murderer due to high flood waters but Phryne is determined to root out the murderer who is threatening her host.

Kerry Greenwood is one of the best Australian mystery writers in recent years with a deserved fan base in the United States. Readers can't help but like the plucky woman who knows what she wants and goes after it including taking a Chinese man (unheard of in those days) and working as a private detective (something rich aristocrats just don't do). Her current who-done-it showcases a talented author and her terrific heroine.

Harriet Klausner

Phryne Fisher is an enchanting young socialite who enjoys setting society in 1928 slightly on its ear. She drives a cool car, flies planes, is a crack shot, and shows up at house parties with her Chinese lover, scandalizing her hosts and fellow guests. And she is gorgeous and wealthy, too. Is it wrong to be jealous of a fictional character?

Urn Burial follows a typical theme for mysteries set in the 20's - a weekend party at a country house. So it is no big surprise when the river cuts the house off from the town and they are all trapped with a murderer. The cast of characters is also as expected with some old maids, a military man, young socialites and dashing young men. But this setup has some modern twists. I don't remember books written in the 20's having quite so much sex in them, for example. Not that this is a bad thing, just different. The attitudes and actions of the characters also have a touch of modernity to them - there are stronger roles for women and less social rigidity that probably existed at the time.

And did I mention that this book is set in Australia? Another interesting twist on the classic mystery. This book highlights and incorporates into the story some of the amazing natural wonders found all over Australia.

This book is a good read. The characters are good, the setting interesting, and the urn theme is bizarre and intriguing. There is some sex, some action, and a good ending. If the mystery is a little weaker than you might like, you don't notice much because it is all of a piece and enjoyable.

Did I guess it? Parts. Will I read more? Yes, I'm looking forward to them!

Phryne Fisher is staying with an old friend at his country house with her Chinese lover, Lin Chung. Her host has been receiving anonymous letters and strange accidents start happening as soon as Phryne arrives. There are plenty of strange and interesting characters in this fascinating story and it certainly kept me reading to find out exactly what was going on behind the scenes.

By the end of the book secrets have been revealed and most of the house party guests are making major changes to their lives. The climax of the book is gripping and terrifying and probably not what most readers will have predicted. I am really enjoying this series having been slightly reluctant to read it because it was set in Australia.

The books are well written and the characters are interesting. I love Phryne - she is a marvellous character. She loves adventure, has many skills not expected of a woman in the 1920s and she is not afraid to go after what she wants. If you enjoy Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple series then you may well enjoy Phryne Fisher.

I really love Kerry Greenwood's books (usually 5 stars), but occasionally the characters aren't as well developed as some of the other books. This one seems to start out more formula driven. I really love getting to know her characters and understand the social background. This time they seem to just be presented purely in the interest of driving a nice plot, relying on the background of the characters we already know. If Kerry didn't have a ghost writer on this, then it seems like she was in a hurry to get to the end. What Phyrne does at the discovery of the first murder, just seems silly. And her lack of caring about the feelings of others seems actually out of character. Phyrne doesn't seem to have any self doubt and comes off just a little too arrogant for my taste in this particular book. If you are just starting out with Phyne I would start with the books in order and put this one off until you have finished the others.

This is a delightful book with an equally delightful and capable protagonist. Phryne can fly her own plane, shoot, ride and take lovers with delight. She's also clever and solves crimes through skill and observation. Greenwood does a wonderful job of creating strong, interesting characters, excellent dialogue and tight plots. She also teaches me something in each book--in this case, it's the geology of caves--without beating me over the head or slowing down the story. There is even a delightful homage to Agatha Christie in this book. While this entry may not be quite as strong as others in the series, it was still very enjoyable.

A creepy old mansion, murders, and spooky caves--what could make a better story?! I admit I've always had a "thing" for caves, and these sound particularly fascinating. Aside from the great story, though, there's the usual selection of lost capital letters, comma splices, and the like. Sigh. That's why I didn't give it 5 stars.

This is a delightful book with an equally delightful and capable protagonist. Phryne can fly her own plane, shoot, ride and take lovers with delight. She's also clever and solves crimes through skill and observation. Greenwood does a wonderful job of creating strong, interesting characters, excellent dialogue and tight plots. She also teaches me something in each book--in this case, it's the geology of caves--without beating me over the head or slowing down the story. There is even a delightful homage to Agatha Christie in this book. While this entry may not be quite as strong as others in the series, it was still very enjoyable.

A creepy old mansion, murders, and spooky caves--what could make a better story?! I admit I've always had a "thing" for caves, and these sound particularly fascinating. Aside from the great story, though, there's the usual selection of lost capital letters, comma splices, and the like. Sigh. That's why I didn't give it 5 stars.

Another dip into earlier Greenwood novels from Poisoned Pen Press. I think the Hon. Phryne Fisher is one of the best characters to hit the mystery scene. If you haven't read this yet, why not?! This one follows Ruddy Gore--early in Phryne's relationship with her Chinese lover. Phryne has been invited to a house party some distance in the countryside, and is introducing her love Lin Chung to society ladies who don't quite know what to make of him. Phyrne's on the guest list primarily because her host is getting death threats, and she soon falls into a trap laid for him. And the river's rising so everyone's struck there for a while. A classic English theme played out in the wilds of Australia. And, of course, Phryne's leading people into a future free of Victorian conventions with a vengeance.

Kerry Greenwood's URN BURIAL: A PHRYNE FISHER MYSTERY tells of a holiday at an Australian gothic mansion in the country where a host faces death threats and traps are set. When murder results and mysterious funerary urns appear, Phyrne sets out on one of the most dangerous investigations of her life.