Raisins and Almonds

July 30, 2007
The mysterious strychnine poisoning of scholarly Jewish immigrant Simon Michaels leads to one of the more complex and somber cases in the career of Greenwood's Australian Jazz Age amateur sleuth Phryne Fisher (Urn Burial
, etc.). Fearing that the killing may signal a rise in anti-Semitism, affluent community leader Benjamin Abrahams hires Fisher to clear the name of his tenant, bookseller Sylvia Lee. Fisher, only slightly distracted by Benjamin's devastatingly handsome son, quickly exonerates Lee and dashes off in pursuit of the theory that Michaels was killed for a coded message that might be related to the local Zionist movement. Compared with some of the other entries in Greenwood's popular series, the mood is more serious and the identity of the murderer more mysterious, but fans will have no cause for complaint.

September 15, 2007
Australian flapper and sometime private detective Phryne Fisher returns to save the day once more. A man collapses and dies in a bookstore, and the stores well-liked owner is arrested on suspicion of serving him tea laced with strychnine. Police, led by the affable detective inspector Jack Robinson, see it is a typical spurned-lover case (woman, rejected, gets revenge), but her friends dont buy it. Neither does Phryne, who plunges in headfirst and almost immediately discovers that this seemingly simple case is far from it. The Fisher mysteries are entertaining on multiple levels, from their setting (1920s Australia, only Phryne occasionally travels); to their story lines, which are never what they seem; to their lively characters, led by the delightful, engaging, straight-talking Phryne. The Phryne novels have been appearing in the U.S. at a rapid rate over the last several years, and the series has gained tremendous word-of-mouth recognition. Its definitely A-list material for all fans of historical mysteries.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)