Seven Australian soldiers, carousing in Paris in 1918, unknowingly witness a murder, with devastating consequences. Ten years later, two are dead...under very suspicious circumstances. Phryne (pronounced Fry-Knee, to rhyme with briny) Fisher's friends, Bert and Cec (sometimes cabbies and sometimes men for hire), appeal to her for help. They were part of this group of soldiers in 1918 and they fear for their lives and for those of the other three men. It's only as Phryne delves into the investigation that she, too, remembers being in Montparnasse on that very same, and fatal, day. While Phryne is occupied with memories of Montparnasse past and the race to outpace the murderer, she finds troubles of a different kind at home. Her lover, Lin Chung, is about to be married. And the effect this is having on her own usually peaceful household is disastrous....
Murder in Montparnasse, Kerry Greenwood
In the process of getting the new AustCrime version up and running, I keep coming across books I've not read, or reviews I've forgotten to post. This fell into the later category, how I managed to miss this I'm not quite sure, but that gap has now been filled.
One of the things with the Phryne Fisher series is whether or not you can dip in and out, or need to read them in order. Whilst reading them in order certainly helps with the complications of Phyrne's family and love life, each little mystery in its own right, is a standalone, so the choice is really up to the reader. I've been a serial reader of the lot of them out of order and topsy turvy, and then, in the later part, I've managed to almost get my act together and read the in order. Which means in this outing, I immediately knew who Lin Chung is, what the backstory to his liaison with Phryne is, who and where his future bride fits into the story, and therefore why all of that is causing a fair amount of ructions in the Fisher household.
Other than the personal complications and fraught feelings, at the heart of this story are Phryne's friends and able helpers when required, Bert and Cec, and something that happened in 1918, fighting in the Great War in Montparnasse, France, with five other friends. Two of home are now dead in supposed accidents, one of whom has been nearly hit by a car, leaving Bert and Cec convinced that these were no accidents, but no idea why they have suddenly all become targets.
Phryne was also in Montparnasse in 1918, and her memories of that time, and the kerfuffle around her home life, with Mr and Mrs Butler vehemently objecting to Phryne's lover potentially being a married man, the disarray around her adds to the pressure of solving this past mystery, and keeping at least part of her coterie safe and with her still. All of which means she must draw on reserves on concentration and strength all readers will always know she had, as well as more than a bit of beguile and ingenuity.
One of the great attractions of this series is that you get what you come for every time. Phryne being brave and resourceful, Dot being stoic and tolerant, the rest of the family there at the drop of a hat with whatever it takes to keep the indomitable Miss Fisher at the top of her game, and all mysteries solved neatly. Of course you entitled to know that she will sort all this mess out, but the how is never quite as clear. Of course those around her are there to reflect the glory, but this time you're also going to get just a glimpse of the Great War events that seeded her will and strength.