Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Sep. 29th, 2013 10:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catherineldfUnder the heading of things I am plugging this week. I get pretty frustrated with PBS Mystery since they seem to have decided that it is essential that nearly all detectives worth watching must be angsty straight white guys. The only major exception to this is Miss Marple (which I liked better with Geraldine McEwan in the role) and reruns of Prime Suspect, with the always superlative Helen Mirren, and Rosemary and Thyme. Silk is the only new series that I think of, and that seems to be an ensemble cast with a plotline involving lawyers, rather than detectives.
Enter Australian Public Broadcasting with a spectacular series based on author Kerry Greenwood's Phyrne Fisher books. I was pointed toward this now 20 book long mystery series, set in 1920s Australia with a flapper detective, by the fine folks at Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's Bookstore (support your local indies!) and have read the first three books so far. I find them quite interesting and entertaining but...crowded with many characters and multiple mysteries. Phyrne tackles women's rights, illegal abortions, domestic abuse, the status of gay men and lesbians in the time period and the status of immigrants, and that's just the first few books. That said, I think Greenwood hits her stride in Book 3, and look forward to reading the others; they make a nice counterpoint with the series. The series is all kinds of awesome - great cast, particularly Essie Davis (see below), terrific production values with costumes to die for, pared down but still very entertaining plots, and eminently watchable. I picked my copies up on Ebay since the Acorn Online ones are freakishly expensive, and it was definitely worth the effort.
Enter Australian Public Broadcasting with a spectacular series based on author Kerry Greenwood's Phyrne Fisher books. I was pointed toward this now 20 book long mystery series, set in 1920s Australia with a flapper detective, by the fine folks at Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's Bookstore (support your local indies!) and have read the first three books so far. I find them quite interesting and entertaining but...crowded with many characters and multiple mysteries. Phyrne tackles women's rights, illegal abortions, domestic abuse, the status of gay men and lesbians in the time period and the status of immigrants, and that's just the first few books. That said, I think Greenwood hits her stride in Book 3, and look forward to reading the others; they make a nice counterpoint with the series. The series is all kinds of awesome - great cast, particularly Essie Davis (see below), terrific production values with costumes to die for, pared down but still very entertaining plots, and eminently watchable. I picked my copies up on Ebay since the Acorn Online ones are freakishly expensive, and it was definitely worth the effort.