Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl, Fiona Britton

It's hard not to wonder what the line "Phyrne Fisher meets Underbelly in an arch, out-of-the-box debut historical crime caper" actually means. Turns out it's a bit the timeframe and environment, the character of Violet Kelly, and the situation she finds herself in.

Set in 1930's Sydney, Violet Kelly and her identical twin sister Iris were raised by nuns in an orphanage before breaking free in their own way, leading to a very different set of circumstances. Violet, who is the main character in this novel, actively chooses the life offered at Maison des Fleurs, in a way that feels very much like a finger flip at the nuns that always told them "Girls like you end up working on their backs" ..  "Wilful girls. Wicked girls". 

But Violet has no problems with a luxurious lifestyle, and if that means turning to life in the brothel, under the caring eye of the gruff (and most definitely not French) madame then she's fine with that. The fact that her sister has seemingly disappeared, after taking Violet's intended role of Nanny for a wealthy couple, preys on her mind a little. She's seems to resent Iris for that, if not mostly because it means that she got out first, leaving Violet and their friend Albert behind, in the brutal "care" of the nuns.

Albert works for a local butcher as an apprentice, which gives him an in to some of the going's on in Paddington's social circles, as well as the domains of the infamous razor gangs of the time in Darlinghurst and Kings Cross. Given the social situation, with lots of people camping in parks and open spaces, living on whatever they could beg, steal or sometimes hunt, Albert and Violet think themselves very lucky. Everything in their lives is proceeding comfortably until Madame's past comes back at her in a particularly dangerous manner. 

Xiao Zhu is a powerful, dangerous identity with some very questionable associates, with horrific personal predilections, which the denizens of Maison des Fleurs are involved in when Zhu demands Madame become complicit in the kidnapping, imprisonment and intended tortuous treatment of a young Chinese woman. Cue Violet and Albert's sense of fair play and they hatch a scheme to rescue this young woman, bringing very stormy waters right to their safe harbour.

The comparisons with the world portrayed in the Underbelly series will kind of make sense to some readers, and certainly need to be forefront of mind when approaching this novel. The softer, gentler and more empowered side of Miss Fisher has some echoes in Violet, but, her life is still as a prostitute in a brothel, and that implies a lack of choice in most encounters, despite a very unlikely and somewhat precipitous romance.

The evocation of the sense of place and time is strong though, and the difficult life that so many experienced at that time (with the obvious comparisons to be drawn to the homeless / difficult situation of so many these days) is well executed, as is the violence and threat of the razor gangs. Aspects of life in a brothel were believable, although there were some elements that seemed more designed for entertainment (of the client or the reader - hard to tell) than necessarily felt right within the overall plot. There were some obvious heavy plot lifts, which combined with a stagey sort of style, didn't always deliver the punch that it felt was required. It was almost like the story couldn't quite decide if it was going for down, dark and very dirty, or light, brave and entertaining.

At the end of the day, the problem with comparisons like the ones being drawn for VIOLET KELLY AND THE JADE OWL is that it's setting the novel up to fill some enormous shoes, even before it gets its socks on. It's obviously intended to be an ongoing series, and it's going to be very interesting to see which way the future plays out.