Kerry Greenwood Raisins and Almonds

Raisins and Almonds

Kerry Greenwood

Poisoned Pen, Sep 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 9781590581681

When her Chinese lover Lin Chung leaves Australia on business in Shanghai, Phryne Fisher finds a handsome diversion, Simon Abrahams at a public dance hall. Soon afterward they compete at the Foxtrot Competition run by the Jewish Young People's Society in which Phryne is the exotic shiksa. They win the contest but lose the "heat" as Phryne is not a member. While much of the Braille Hall ballroom participants debate the ruling of the judges, Simon's Uncle Marek informs his nephew that his father Benjamin wants to meet his dance partner.

Benjamin asks Phryne for a favor. A different Simon, a Jew from Salonika was poisoned at Lee's Books New and Secondhand Shop. The evidence was swept away by the owner Miss Sylvia Lee and the certifying physician Dr. Stein. The police arrest Miss Lee, as the victim owed her money and she is the only person who could easily have slipped strychnine into his tea and clean the cup afterward. Phryne charges him 10 "oy" quid a day with the understanding that she will seek the truth which could be a Jew killing a Jew. As she investigates, Phryne digs deep into the Jewish community in Australia where chicken soup cures most everything and RAISINS AND ALMONDS are a tradition, but can either solve a murder with political implications?

The latest Phryne Fisher historical whodunit is a great period piece that brings to life the Jewish culture in Australia in the late 1920s. Phryne remains a unique protagonist who defies society rules for single women as she does what she wants flaunting society's restrictive dictates. The mystery is clever with a few twists and the way the sleuth finally figures out the case is brilliant as she understands human nature. Readers will appreciate this vivid deep mystery but never look at RAISINS AND ALMONDS the same way as before digesting Phryne Fisher's newest caper.

Harriet Klausner