Easy reading and in a busy work week great to just launch into a short story with a good plot, fun characters and a resolution

The Lady With The Gun Asks The Questions is a collection of seventeen short stories of varying length in the Phryne Fisher series by Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. Thirteen of the stories have been published previously (A Question of Death, 2007) and are presented here with some minor alterations; four stories are new. In her introduction, Greenwood tells how Phryne came to be, and the writing process she follows with these novels.

In these stories, the inimitable Phryne: helps a distraught Australian wife in Paris; at one of her exclusive soirees, Death attends thrice; Phryne avenges a badly-done-by secretary, restores Collingwood’s chances at an important match, retrieves purloined pearls for a good cause, uncovers a brothel, gambles for an important locket, riddles with a book thief, assists in a case of a half-burnt house with four dead bodies, foils a two-legged snake at the circus, and helps prove the innocence of a confessor to a murder.

Christmas in June turns deadly for a blackmailer; a playboy meets a deserving end; Phryne receives a marriage proposal; a missing granddaughter is found and not returned; theft of client valuables from a hair salon is investigated; the saboteur of hand-made chocolates is revealed; and church bells ring in code to aid true love.

In addition to the Hon. Miss Phryne Fisher and the regular cast of the novels, featured in these stories, set in Paris, Melbourne, and Hobart, are an Archbishop, a temperance lecturer, a well-intentioned MP, a nasty retired General, a Hungarian poet, a loyal hound, a troupe of carnies, a smuggler, a madrigal choir, a loathsome grandmother, a mad doctor, a bombastic MP’s wife and a former tent boxer.

Greenwood includes a handy glossary of 1920s terms, but absent from this edition are the lavish and charming colour illustrations by Beth Norling, the Interview with Phryne Fisher, her tips on discouraging overenthusiastic suitors, and the recipes for cocktails, cakes and some sumptuous dishes that graced the earlier edition. Fans can decide if the four new stories are sufficient compensation. These are excellent little doses of a favourite Aussie investigator.

The Honourable Phryne (which rhymes with briny) Fisher is a private detective who’s ahead of her time. A strong, intelligent woman who carries a handgun and drives a luxury car, Miss Fisher consistently outwits whoever she comes up against.

This collection includes recently edited stories set in 1928 that were originally published in ‘A Question of Death’ and four new stories set in 1929.

Hotel Splendide

“‘Now, I am about to do something thoroughly unlawful, and if you do not want to watch I should stay here with Madame until I have done it.’”

Miss Fisher, staying in a Paris hotel, helps a fellow Aussie find her missing husband.

The Voice is Jacob’s Voice

“‘Now hush, I’m eavesdropping.’”

No one told Miss Fisher it possibly wasn’t the best idea to invite both Jacob and Esau Tipping to her Winter Solstice party.

Marrying the Bookie’s Daughter

“‘I am what I am and I behave as I wish and I will not be dictated to by anyone.’”

Miss Fisher and Lindsay attend a wedding. Miss Fisher considers a marriage proposal.

The Vanishing of Jock McHale’s Hat

“‘Football produces strange passions.’”

An Archbishop needs Miss Fisher’s help to find a hat.

Puttin’ on the Ritz

“‘Will, old thing, I am enjoying myself and all that, but what do you want to tell me? Can we get it over with, so that we can devote all of our attention to the food?’”

Miss Fisher aims to return some pearls to their rightful owner.

The Body in the Library

“‘There’s going to be a scandal, you know.’”

Miss Fisher helps Detective Inspector Jack Robinson solve a murder.

The Miracle of St Mungo

“‘I have got into a … difficulty.’”

Miss Fisher outsmarts a blackmailer.

Overheard on a Balcony

‘“Are you going to turn me in, Phryne?’”

A Christmas dinner in June is one diner’s final meal.

The Hours of Juana the Mad

“‘The Book is in the safe. You see, we look after it well.’”

The Book is not in the safe.

Death Shall Be Dead

“‘So now we’ve got a mystery, and a murderer to find,’ he observed. ‘Any ideas?’”

Miss Fisher helps Detective Inspector Robinson solve a mystery involving fire, death and a loyal dog.

Carnival

“‘I love carnivals.’”

Miss Fisher would have had a more uneventful time at the carnival if she’d been accompanied by a different escort.

The Camberwall Wonder

“He said slowly, ‘I killed Mr Clarke. I killed him.’”

Stevie has confessed to murder but his mother is certain that he couldn’t have done it.

Come, Sable Night

“‘If I started to get worried about every corpse I saw, I’d be a wreck.’”

Miss Fisher’s evening consists of music, gossip and a corpse.

The Boxer

“It was a cold winter’s day in St Kilda, and Mrs Ragnell was wrapped up so tightly in furs and a sense of personal grievance that she resembled a polar bear with a hangover.”

Mrs Ragnell hires Miss Fisher to find her missing granddaughter.

A Matter of Style

“The Salon de Paris this Thursday morning was anything but quiet.”

The staff of Miss Fisher’s hairdresser are accused of stealing from their customers.

The Chocolate Factory

“‘Well, girls, what do you think?’”

Miss Fisher’s portrait is going to be used on the box of a new assortment of chocolates.

The Bells of St Paul’s

“‘Miss Phryne, what’s wrong with the bells? They ring them every day.’”

There’s a message in the tolling of the bells.

This was one of the best kinds of book mail: the unexpected kind. It was also my introduction to the world that Phryne Fisher inhabits. I’d previously heard of the ‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries’ TV series but haven’t watched any.

While it’s noted that the author completes extensive research prior to writing each book in the series, I couldn’t have pinpointed the time period that many of these short stories were set in had I not already been told in the author’s introduction.

I expect readers who follow this series will love the opportunity to follow Miss Fisher as she solves these short mysteries, potentially getting to know recurring characters in more depth.

Thank you so much to Allen & Unwin for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.