This didn’t impact my rating of the book, but the version of the audiobook I listened to had a narrator that could not do an Australian accent! For a book set in Australia with Australian characters this seems like a very big mistake. ( )

Synopsis: 'When a mysterious invitation for a spa holiday arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown, retired Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne's curiosity is piqued. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria's rural spa country for shell-shocked veterans of the Great War. It's a cause after Phryne's own heart, but what can Spencer want from her?

Phryne and her faithful companion, Dot, set out for Daylesford, viewing their rural sojourn as a short holiday. While Dot gets to know the remarkable women who run the hotel where they are lodging, Phryne enjoys an enticing meal - and dessert - with the attractive Captain Spencer. But their relaxation is short-lived as they are thrown into treacherous Highland gatherings, a mysterious case of disappearing women, and a string of murders committed under their very noses. Meanwhile, back at home, Phryne's three wards are busy solving a mystery of their own after a schoolmate is found floating facedown near the docks - and pregnant at the time of her death.

With her usual pluck and deft thinking, Phryne methodically investigates the strange goings-on in this anything-but-tranquil spa town.'

Review: This is a page-turner with most of the usual characters. It was good to see a bigger role for Hugh. ( )

I love the series immensely. The wittiness, the depth of detail, how the characters slowly unfold. Occasional raunchy encounter is fine. I’ve even managed to mostly overlook the impossible and inconsistent timeline.

This book was tedious. It was far too long, far too intricate, and the use of language has deteriorated into Victoria stodginess. While it was once breezy, clever, and deep all at the same time, the language has become a quagmire. This has been increasingly the case over the last four or five books in the series. This book by far has been the worst offender.

Please, fix the timeline inconsistencies. Return to the pace and wittiness of the beginning of the series, the heart of what makes this series so good. And last, yes, please tell us more about Phryne’s background, but please don’t get caught up in tiny superfluous details for their own sake. And don’t turn her into a cliché. ( )

I’ve been a fan of this series from the beginning but this one was phoned in, either by the author herself or Allen and Unwin, or, possibly, both. I still enjoyed the hell out of catching up with Phryne and friends, but in quality, this was disappointing.

Death in Daylesford is one of her longer entries, and the story meanders quite a bit across at least 3 different plot-lines taking place in two different places: Melbourne’s mystery being solved by Phryne’s three adopted kids and her assistant’s fiancé (a police detective), and one in Daylesford, a spa town about an hour away from Melbourne, spear-headed by Phryne and her assistant Dot.

The Melbourne plot could have been scrapped and I’d have never missed it. While I like Jane and Ruth as characters, I found their plot/mystery to be too Nancy Drew for my tastes. The death they investigated was tragic, and it’s solution sad, but it was superfluous to requirements.

Phryne’s mysteries were more interesting and more diabolical, but poor editing and the inclusion of the Nancy Drew parallel plot detracted significantly from what it might have been. The poor editing is obvious – and surprising – in the form of missing words, and one scene where the dead body is removed from the scene twice. Blaming the parallel plot is just speculation on my part, but so many things in Phryne’s mysteries were glossed over and she reached conclusions with no discernible process to the reader, that I have to believe Greenwood just didn’t have the page space to expand on plot points the way she might have. Which is a shame, because the plots were interesting and deserved more than they got.

In spite of all this, I enjoyed the read, and I’m thrilled to see a new Phryne Fisher mystery out, after I’d started to believe the series was over. I hope there will be more, and I hope the author and the publisher both get their groove back. ( )

This 21st installment of the "Phryne Fisher Mystery" series was a wonderful three-ring circus of stories. Phryne and Dot have headed off to the country for a week's R&R after Phryne had received a letter of invitation to check out a sanitarium dedicated to World War I veterans struggling with PTSD. Detective Inspector Jack Robinson has been assigned to a high-risk/low possibility of succes case against a racketeer deep in politicians' pockets. Such persuits have already ended the careers of a number of police personnel whether through death or being forced off the job. Jack's usual partner, Sergeant Hugh Collins, has been reassigned to assist a dolt of a man, Acting Detective Inspector Fraser. When a body surfaces in nearby waters, Fraser is quick to judgement and an unlikely person is accused of the crime. Hugh is troubled by Fraser's lack of procedural due process and quietly investigates on his own with the assistance of Phryne's three adoptees.
Meanwhile, back in the hinterlands, Phryne and Dot encounter hints of missing women, a few murders, folks keeping secrets and acting quite odd. There's no respite for Phryne and Dot until the troubles of Daylesford are resolved to Phryne's satisfaction.

As much as I have enjoyed the "Miss Fisher Mysteries" television episodes, I found the written stories so much richer in the telling than television can offer. The writing was deeply atmospheric with the subtlest of details placing the story firmly in Australia of the 1920s. The description of food and fashion was absolutely delicious. The sounds and signs of nature, out in the country, were absolutely charming. Wombats and kookaburras are little known in the northern hemisphere and their desciption adds an exotic element to the story. There are a number of red herrings and a passel of suspects. The tension is maintained evenly throughout the story. All in all, this was a pleasant and enjoyable cozy mystery.

I am grateful to author Kerry Greenwood and Poisoned Pen Press for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone. ( )