Erin
Recommend to mystery and historical fiction fans
I received a eARC from Netgalley and the publisher for my honest opinion.

This is the 19th book in the series, and I have not read any of the others although I have watched the show on Netflix. It is set in 1920’s Melbourne, Australia.

This book is extremely well written. Miss Fischer is investigating the fates of several missing young women. Along the way the author touches on many weighty (and interesting) topics such as being pregnant and unmarried in the 20’s, homosexuality, and eugenics. However there are are also many moments of humor and lightness in the book.

I was intrigued, educated and entertained by this book. Highly recommend!

I love this series. The main character as well as the other characters in the book are amazing. The sitting is great and the mystery keeps you coming back for more.

Frothy, easygoing and fun. I like the books wayyyy more than the tv series! There is something a little predictable in the story, and the plot isn't always entirely logical, but it's always good to have a strong female lead.

Another rollicking good read from Ms. Greenwood featuring her fabulous Phryne. I read Greenwood because she's an entertaining, articulate author who creates compelling characters and stories that just pare lain fun to read.

Her work is also painstakingly researched, which makes Phryne's often outrageous exploits more believable and interesting. This one was especially compelling because it references Australia's Magdalene Laundry scandal, which amounted to slavery. This book sent me back to the beginning to re-read Cocaine Blues, the first book in the Phryne Fisher mystery series. As a reader, I am grateful that Greenwood didn't stop after two books as I understand was the original plan.

Unnatural Habits by Kerry Greenwood is the nineteenth book in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. It is 1929 in Melbourne, Australia and the Honorable Phryne Fisher is on her way to a meeting of the Adventuresses Club with Dr. Elizabeth MacMillan (Mac). Along the way, they encounter a woman being attacked by some thugs. After rescuing Polly Kettle, they take her along to the club. It seems that Miss Kettle is a reporter for the Daily Truth working on a story about girls who have gone missing from Magdalene Laundry at Abbotsford Convent. The three young women were pregnant and no one seems to care that they have disappeared. Miss Kettle is determined to stick with her story and soon departs. The next day Phryne gets a visit from DI Jack Robinson who reports that Polly has been abducted and asks Phryne to investigate. Phryne needs to retrace Polly’s steps in order to find the missing reporter. Will Phryne and her compatriots be able to find Polly in time?

Unnatural Habits follows Phryne Fisher on another investigation. I found the mystery to be complicated with multiple parts. It was a little convoluted at time, but it was interesting. I did feel, though, that the story was a little too long. The author could have cut out some of the eating and bathing (we do not need details on every bath and meal) for a more concise story. Unnatural Habits has entertaining characters with Phryne at the forefront. Phryne is smart, sassy, strong, social and so much more. I wish the author had not made Jack so bland. He fades into the background. The author did an amazing job at capturing the time-period (clothes, language, food, cars, entertainment, etc.). While Unnatural Habits is the nineteenth book in the series, it can be read alone. The author provides all the details a reader needs. I am giving Unnatural Habits 4 out of 5 stars. Pick up a copy of Unnatural Habits to go on another adventure with Phryne Fisher and her troupe of family and friends.

Really enjoyed it. Wondered if I would like it as much as the tv series based off it and I did. Phryne's voice is sparkling and witty and the writing flows. Don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I would recommend to anyone who likes the show or likes books about feisty woman who are ahead of their time.

I really should be used to the differences between the books and TV episodes by now. The episode inspired by this book bears almost no resemblance to the book. Basically, all they have in books common is missing pregnant teen girls.

So, the book. Phryne encounters a female reporter and finds herself getting involved in the case of some missing poor, young girls. Then the reporter goes missing. And soon, Phryne and her crew, or minions as she likes to call them, are on the hunt and up to their necks in white slavery, slave labor, virginity tests, child marriage, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and a socialist-inspired fruit farming collective run and worked by females only. There's a lot going on and at times my attention wandered but Phryne and minions were full of life and opinions and passion. Phryne is more self-centered and sybaritic than in the TV show and at times, I thought she needed to woman up and be less indulgent but she never backs away from doing what she thinks is right and enacting her own version of justice. When you are in trouble, Phryne Fisher is just the woman to help you. Provided she thinks you're worth helping.

Greenwood has beautifully developed the relationships in the series. They're layered, rich, and complex. She weaves politics, economics, social issues, a hint of romance, humor, and mysteries into a brew that's dark wit a hint of sweet, rich, and engaging.

Some favorite quotes:

"Miss Fisher is a force of nature and there is never anything you can do about her."

"Well, darling, one does not like to watch a nice little woolly baa-lamb go leaping and gamboling into a field full of large bitey wolves. It has a certain morbid interest, I agree," said Phryne, sipping deeply. "But it is basically a blood sport and I don't even like fox-hunting."

The egg whites, apparently, had completely declined to be whipped.

...but Jane's writing looked like an intoxicated inky spider had staggered across the page on the way to the bar for another drink. Which it really didn't need.

When I need a break from the world, I reach for any of Kerry Greenwood’s Phyrne Fisher Mystery Series. There is something so capable about Miss Fisher. The clothes and food descriptions are so glorious, and the pacing is calm and relaxing. And I find them very re-readable.

Phyrne Fisher is my go-to comfort read heroine.

Unnatural Habits

by Kerry Greenwood

Kerry Greenwood created a much more complex mystery in Unnatural Habits than others of the Phryne Fisher Mystery Series that I have read. There are several significant investigations occurring simultaneously as well as some minor threads to be unravelled. I remember viewing the movie version of this book years ago. With this series, I usually like the movie better than the book, but in this case I must insist that the book is, in fact, light years past the movie which can not begin to do justice to the intricate plot or character development.

Greenwood, through Phryne Fisher, takes up the cause of girls and women who are treated like sexual property in a time when most women receive little respect and the Catholic church ignores various kinds of ill treatment of girls, women, and boys. Phryne is unable to rest until all of the immediate problems are solved, and she puts her own life at risk to rescue less fortunates.

This particular tale is enhanced by the frequent inclusion of her “minions” as she calls her willing helpers—Tink, her apprentice; Dot, her assistant and companion; Jane and Ruth, her adopted daughters; Burt and Cec, socialist taxi drivers; and Mr. and Mrs. Butler, providers of specialty drinks and food. Each character is called upon to use their unique skills to aid in the investigations.

Australia of the 1920’s comes to life with descriptions of dress of various levels of society, examinations of attitudes, laws, and customs, and use of unique terms. Some of the moral issues examined in the book would be considered reprehensible by most people today. Others are still being debated. There are some actions taken in the novel by Miss Fisher and others that are illegal, but are ignored because ignoring them promotes the general good and provides food for thought for the reader.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Notes: All of the Phryne Fisher books may be enjoyed as standalones, but the characters are more interesting if you have read a few of the books in the series.

Publication: July 4, 2017—Poisoned Pen Press

Memorable Lines:

She was pursuing a very perilous line of enquiry and appeared to have the sense of self-preservation of a chocolate Easter egg in a blast furnace.

“Assume the rules do not apply to you, and they don’t.”
The tone of voice could have been used in the fishing industry for freezing prawns.

“Government reports are like that,” Phryne told her. “Not altogether meant to be understood, thus easily denied.”

It is a rare occurrence for me to set aside a novel once begun but despite many returns to this one, this Phryne and I just don't click! I'm in love with the tv series and it can't merge the two worlds. I can't criticise the writing and the mystery is building up but I found the characters too flippant - the Phryne of Netflix has a softer side and for me, the series is made by the close relationship with Jack which just isn't in the book. Additionally, this felt darker and more risqué but I can't put my finger on why. All in all, just not my cup of tea - eagerly awaiting the next instalment on tv though - another rare occurrence!

Another rollicking adventure from the beautiful and brilliant Phryne Fisher. Every character has their own quirks and strengths, proving it takes more than just Miss Fisher to solve these mysteries!

By now I’ve noticed something: every one of Miss Fisher’s books focuses on one aspect of the 1920s life in particular. This one concerns itself with the condition of women, and even more so with the white slave trade that seemed to be going on particularly in that decade (though there’s debate about whether it was really as prominent as the media made it to be).

It is a strong novel, with a definite plot (more so than other I’ve read), that touches on the many different aspects of being a woman in that decade. Maybe even a bit too much, since in places, the depiction of the women’s condition takes over the story and follows the mystery only loosely. We learn especially of the difficult position girls who got pregnant out of wedlock found themselves in. It was a time when, in spite of the many advances women had gone through, been a single mother was still considered a disgrace for her, for her baby and especially for her family, and many girls ended up being heavily mistreated for this.

But I also enjoyed to learn about Miss Fisher’s past a bit more in details. Here she remembers her experience in WWI in particular and her poor childhood in passing. I like it, because this creates a character who is more complex that it may seem at first.

I really enjoyed this one.

Fans of the tv series may be disappointed to learn the Phryne in the books is different than the Phryne in the show; if you don't mind the differences in the character's age, relationships, ability to do almost everything before the age of 30, then the book is a fun romp through the 1920s. For fans of historical mysteries who don't mind their characters a little more liberated.

Phryne is hot on the trail of string of missing girls - cute blonds, and the girl reporter trying to track down the story. Through the convents and laundries where disgraced girls are sent to atone, Phryne will risk her life to get to the bottom of this mystery. This adventure also finds Phryne on the trail of an unusual perpetrator of unusual crimes.... Plenty of twists and turns, and an excellent historical study into the plight of fallen women. Even Dot begins to question some of the practices of her own faith as she helps Phryne navigate the customs of the Catholic church.

I already have one of my roommates itching to read it. This is yet another exciting mystery featuring the delightful Miss Fisher. Excellent writing and a wonderful excuse to curl up with a cup of tea and slip away on an adventure.

Phryne Fisher meets Polly Kettle, a journalist on the track of a story about pregnant women disappearing from the Abbotsford convent, where they work in the Magdalene laundry. Phryne thinks that Polly is too naive and foolhardy and that she will soon run into trouble. And she is right—almost immediately, Polly disappears.

When Phryne looks into it, she learns that several girls have disappeared from the laundry. She also hears that a shady employment agency is offering actresses parts overseas and that her friend, Doctor MacMillan, has been asked to verify the virginity of a surprising number of young women lately. Could a white slavery ring be practicing in Melbourne? But why would they want pregnant women?

I am finding with Greenwood that things that appear to be related usually aren’t. As with the other Phryne Fisher novels I’ve read, there is more than one criminal involved, which I feel is a cheat.

Also, Phryne is beginning to seem a bit cartoonish to me as she battles evil and sexism. For light reading, these novels are enjoyable, but I think I have read enough of them.

I am familiar with Phryne Fisher from the TV series, but I hadn't realized that there are books with her as the main character.

This was an amazing tale. There were a number of threads being followed by Phryne, Dot, the minions, and the police (Jack and Hugh). It began when a newspaper reported disappeared. She had been working on a story about young women, pregnant out of wedlock, who had also disappeared. Phryne sets out to find missing Polly and stumbles across white slavery, abuse in a convent, and eventually, the stories behind all.

The tales are well told. The characters are well developed. and done is such a way that the reader doesn't feel that the story drags when multiple paragraphs are spent on things like chess games. Because this is set in post WW1 Australia, the vocabulary is not contemporary watered-down mush. It is highly developed and I found myself more than once checking to see if the definition I had surmised was correct. My own vocabulary has grown thanks to Kerry Greenwood. That said, it was not difficult reading and the average reader should not have to spend time with a dictionary as the meanings of most words are evident in the context of the sentence.

There were a few things that surprised me about Phryne because they had not been mentioned in the TV series. I shan't reveal them so the reader can learn these things as the author intends. Those who love the televised stories will enjoy the books as well. Our fond friends there are present in the books, along with a few new faces who I fully expect to continue in the next books.

I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys novels set in this period, stories of strong women, and detective tales.

I love Kerry Underwood's books and especially the Phryne Fisher series. Set in 1929 (love reading about that era) Phryne Fisher is a force to be reckoned with. She goes in with an authority that tells everyone "I am here and here's what we are doing". Her "crew" is filled with some pretty quirky characters and I found myself chuckling at them and their antics several times.

A great series that, while I have not read all of them, I have certainly enjoyed the ones that I have read. I love when people say something can't be done and she replies "yes, it can", here's the money, get it done!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Set in Melbourne in 1928 it involves a star cast of characters - the Hon. Phyrne Fisher, lots of orphans and destitute children picked up and rehabilitated, single pregnant women (discarded by all), vicious nuns of the infamous Magdalena Laundry and various supporting stars - all unique.

Phyrne gets drawn into activities which need active and urgent help. Girls keep going missing in Melbourne. Three heavily pregnant girls right now, and then there is a problem of young blonde women also disappearing from Melbourne. Only blondes.

Ramifications in both cases are quite complex. The Catholic Church holds considerable sway in Melbourne, getting access and finding out what happened to the girls once they enter the hallowed precincts of the convent is going to be tough. Finding out what happens to the blonde beauties is dangerous as obviously lots of money is involved.

Sailing into violent situations and finding a way out seems to be the way to go and Phyrne excels at it all. With verve, sophistication and lots of support she solves issues which have been a headache for the Melbourne police, especially since once solved she does not try to gain any credit or publicity for these wins. So its wins all around.

Loved the style of writing, the flair of Phyrne and the easy going style of the book.
Goodreads and Amazon reviews up on 10/7/2017. Review on my blog end October 2017.

Miss Phryne Fisher and Dr. Elizabeth MacMillan saw three thugs approach a sole woman with bad intent. Phryne warned the thugs to take off when they didn’t Phryne made a signal and four men came out of the shadows and took care of the thugs. Phryne was the mistress of Lin Chung and heavily protected. Phryne and Dr. Macmillan to see if she was okay. Her name was Margaret /Polly Kettle and she was a reporter tired of not having a good story to write. She didn’t want to write just fluff articles. Dr. MacMillan worked in Queen Victoria Hospital. Phryne asked Polly if she would like a drink and new stockings as they headed toward the Adventuresses Club which was only for women in Little Lon. Dr. MacMillan told Polly she was not to write about the club and Polly told Dr. MacMillian her lips were sealed. Polly was a well brought up young woman and Polly said she had been asking too many questions and that is why she was set up to be attacked. Outside the club sat a ragged boy Tinker that was an apprentice detective for Phryne and lived at her house. Tinker was to do certain things for Phryne. Dr. MacMillan took Polly to the Withdrawing Room. There was a girl in the room named Annie who took care of Of Polly and Annie cleaned the mud off Polly’s knees and palms, gave her new hosiery and let Polly wash her face and comb her hair Annie also attended to Polly’s clothes Molly drank her sol volatile,her hot sugared tea, and then drank her brandy obediently. Annie explained she was an attendant { Annie had a scarred face and no one else would probably hire Annie who was probably eighteen}. Annie said she loved her job. After that Polly went to the table with Dr. McMillan and Phryne. Who were having a drink and got her the gin and tonic she requested when they asked. Polly worked for the Daily Truth she was doing a story on three missing very pregnant girls who had come up missing from the Magdalen Laundry at the Abbotsford Convent. They had been sent out to stay with a pious widow in Footscray and then they vanished. No one had heard from the girls and “ No one cares about bad girls” Polly burst burst out “ one mistake and they are shut up in a laundry doing hard work , their babies are adopted out and they are ruined”. Phryne had told Polly she had to make sure if the girls are dead or alive and go from there. Polly had never met anyone like Dr MacMillan or Phryne. Among the women of Polly’s nice respectable middle class she was considered exceptionally bold and even immoral for insisting on a career that did not report on garden parties. Polly had pictures of the three missing girls. Phryne told Polly her questions needed to go in another direction as she could definitely get hurt or worse. The next day while at home Phryne got a visit from Jack who was a cop who came to let Phryne Polly had already been abducted- three guys had grabbed Polly and shoved her in a big black car and no one had heard from her since.
I just couldn’t get into this story. It just didn’t keep my interest in any way so I didn’t finish it. I don’t know why I just didn’t enjoy reading this but I am sure others will.