Dead Man’s Chest is the 18th book in the Phryne Fisher series by popular Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. It is January, and Phryne has decided to take her family to Queenscliff on holiday while her bathroom is renovated. But their arrival at the beachside house borrowed from Mr Thomas, an anthropologist currently on a field trip in deepest Northern Territory, instantly immerses them in a mystery. The Johnsons, butler and cook, are absent, along with all their goods and chattels. Their immediate neighbours, a Hungarian lady with surrealist tendencies and a widow hosting three obnoxious teenaged schoolboys, are unable to clarify matters. The local constable, Tom Dawson, is soon labelled Constable Moron by Phryne. To make matters more interesting, there is someone going around snipping plaits off young ladies and there is a film crew making a movie about the legendary Swan Bay pirate, Benito, and his hidden treasure of Peruvian gold. When the Johnsons beloved dog, Gaston turns up, the mystery deepens. Luckily, an eager young lad, soon christened Tinker by Phryne, is engaged to assist with investigations, adopted daughter Ruth delights in testing her culinary skills, and Dot’s fiance, now a Detective Sergeant, Hugh Collins arrives to lend official help where needed. In this instalment, Jane reads a lot, sorts bones and stars in a movie; Dot buys a dress and uses a coal scuttle as a weapon; Ruth lovingly prepares many meals; Phryne muses on the contents of boys pockets, on Crimes against Couture, and the dogs solution to any problem, barking; a fish skeleton is used as a fashion accessory and a weapon; Phryne spends an evening with surrealists; there is murder, kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, a treasure hunt and smuggling of tobacco and rum. After causing readers mouths to water with several mentions of Impossible Pie, Greenwood thoughtfully provides the recipe for this, as well as Potato Scones and Noyau Cocktail. Another excellent dose of Miss Fisher. Five stars for this instalment with no sex, no gore, just a good read. I begin to understand why those who started with the TV series dislike the books so much. I did see the filmed version of this book before reading it and boy, did they ever change it!!Phryne goes on holiday with her family only to find that the house a stranger offered her for the stay is empty of food and domestic staff. Said total stranger is off to the back blocks, and she's not even sure where he is, let alone how to reach him. (It has happened to me too, that a person I knew only slightly offered to let me stay in their house while they were away. Amazing people, but that was 30 years ago, too.) Nothing daunted, she settles in and the mysteries start to come to her. Who is cutting off the local girls' long braids? Where are the Johnsons, and why did they leave their dog behind? What is going on at that mysterious moving company? And what really happened to that nasty old woman across the street?If cosy comfortable fiction is your forte, you will enjoy this. Call me old-fashioned (and goodness knows I am) but it was nice not to be subjected to sexual encounters that do nothing to further the story. There's even a recipe for Impossible Pie at the end. I'm not usually sold on mysteries-mit-recipes, but I was glad for once that I didn't have to Google the dish myself. Some of the mystery threads come unravelled, but not even Phryne is perfect.
What do You think about Dead Man's Chest (2010)?
I love these Phryne Fisher mysteries, the characters are strong, and the stories excellent.
—ShaRonS23
Another delightful Phryne Fisher caper
—stephanier
