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Phryne Fisher #6
Blood And Circuses
From the author of the bestselling Phryne Fisher Series comes Blood and Circuses , the next historical mystery featuring an unstoppable, elegant amateur sleuth. Can Miss Fisher uncover the truth without losing her life? Looking for a thrilling detective novel? This story Phryne Fisher is bored. Life appears to be too easy, too perfect. Her household is ordered, her love life is pleasant, the weather is fine. And then a man from her past arrives at the door. It is Alan Lee from the carnival. Alan and his friends want her to investigate strange happenings at Farrells Circus, where animals have been poisoned and ropes sabotaged. Mr. Christopher has been found with his throat cut in Mrs. Witherspoon's irreproachable boarding house and Miss Parkes, an ex-performer, is charged with his murder. Phryne must go undercover deeper than ever to solve the circus malaise. She must abandon her name, her title, her protection, her comfort, even her clothes. She must fall off a horse twice a day until she can stay on. She must sleep in a girls' tent and dine on mutton stew. She must find some allies―and maybe a circus romance. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the young and fresh-faced policeman Tommy Harris has to solve his own mysteries with the help of the foul-spoken harridan Lizard Elsie, or Miss Parkes will certainly hang. Can Phryne take on this great circus mystery before disaster strikes?
218 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
399 people are currently reading
2614 people want to read
About the author
Kerry Greenwood
89 books2,550 followersKerry Isabelle Greenwood was an Australian author and lawyer. She wrote many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted as the popular television series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. She wrote mysteries, science-fiction, historical fiction, children's stories, and plays. Greenwood earned the Australian women's crime fiction Davitt Award in 2002 for her young adult novel The Three-Pronged Dagger.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 602 reviews
March 9, 2023
3.5★
“ ‘No, what's fascinating about the circus is the people. And I don't expect you to like them, Dot. They aren't respectable.’
‘That's why you like them,’ commented Dot. Phryne looked at her companion's reflection in the mirror and grinned.”
Too right! For all her wealth and trappings, Phryne Fisher, self-appointed private investigator, enjoys mixing it up with the best (or the worst) from the wrong side of the tracks. That’s provided she can get home to a hot bath, drawn by her maid, Dot, and a delicious meal, cooked by Mrs. Butler. Mr Butler, as his name would suggest, manages the house and attends to her car, a striking yellow Hispano-Suiza.
In this case, she is asked to find the murderer of an interesting circus character, Christopher/Christine, billed as Criss/Cross. Meanwhile, the circus itself seems to be under assault from forms of sabotage, so could she look into that, too, please?
Phryne will go undercover as Fern, a trick rider with the circus, which will require some old clothes, changing her accent, and living with the circus women, not to mention learning how to stand up on a galloping horse. But she is looking forward to getting out of the doldrums.
Mr Butler takes Phryne and Dot to the shops to buy some cheap, simple clothes to suit her Fern persona.
“ ‘This is going to be exciting, Dot! I've got too reliant on things and people. It will do me good to manage on my own for a while.’
Dot hefted the parcel and led the way out of the shop.
‘Have you ever managed on your own, Miss Phryne?’ she asked as Mr. Butler piled the parcels into the car.”
Has she managed on her own? (Not judging by the above.) After dinner, she thought about what Dot had said and remembered all the people in her family, at school, and everywhere she went who used to keep an eye on her.
“She had never been alone.
Phryne allowed Mr. Butler to take away the plate. What am I worrying about? she wondered. The circus was composed of people just as society was, just as school had been. There was always a man to be persuaded, bought, daunted or charmed.
‘And I'm the woman to do it,’ she said aloud.
‘Miss?’ asked Mr. Butler.
‘Nothing to signify, Mr. B.’ He hovered at her shoulder.
‘Another glass of wine, Miss Fisher?’
‘Thanks.’’
You get the idea. There’s always a man, which means she feels bound to triumph.
Raised poor in Melbourne, she and her family moved to England when her father inherited wealth and a title. Returning to Melbourne as a cultured young woman, Phryne is assumed to have been born with that silver spoon which she now has.
She is a head-turning stunner, clever, charming, and highly sought-after by men of all ages and circumstances. Dot and the Butlers accept that they never know who may have spent the night and show up at breakfast with her.
She has lovers scattered around the world, and it seems none of them burn their bridges with her. I found her affairs a little forced in this. She is warned about the strict hierarchy of the travelling troupe, the three ‘classes’ who travel in convoy, in that order, between towns: the circus, the carnival, and the gypsies.
Circus folk do not mix with carnies or gypsies. It will ruin her reputation and brand her as a tart. No matter. When she wants a dose of sex, she simply seeks out whomever she fancies, assuming they all fancy her. But she can't escape the criticism.
"Phryne was conscious of being alone, in shabby clothes and completely ignorant. You've bitten off more than you can chew, this time, Phryne, she thought. You'll never make any sense out of this."
I enjoyed the atmosphere of the circus and its followers, as well as some of the characters (human and animal) she befriends. The trick riding was especially fun. But I found Phryne more self-centred and less appealing. She does redeem herself eventually when she realises she is in serious danger and can’t charm her way out.
She is still a compelling mistress of mystery, so I will continue the series, of course. It isn’t necessary to read them in order, but it’s more enjoyable to see the characters develop and return.
My reviews of the previous books in the series:
#1 My review of Cocaine Blues
#2 My review of Flying Too High
#3 My review of Murder on the Ballarat Train
#4 My review of Death at Victoria Dock
#5 My review of The Greenmill Murders
“ ‘No, what's fascinating about the circus is the people. And I don't expect you to like them, Dot. They aren't respectable.’
‘That's why you like them,’ commented Dot. Phryne looked at her companion's reflection in the mirror and grinned.”
Too right! For all her wealth and trappings, Phryne Fisher, self-appointed private investigator, enjoys mixing it up with the best (or the worst) from the wrong side of the tracks. That’s provided she can get home to a hot bath, drawn by her maid, Dot, and a delicious meal, cooked by Mrs. Butler. Mr Butler, as his name would suggest, manages the house and attends to her car, a striking yellow Hispano-Suiza.
In this case, she is asked to find the murderer of an interesting circus character, Christopher/Christine, billed as Criss/Cross. Meanwhile, the circus itself seems to be under assault from forms of sabotage, so could she look into that, too, please?
Phryne will go undercover as Fern, a trick rider with the circus, which will require some old clothes, changing her accent, and living with the circus women, not to mention learning how to stand up on a galloping horse. But she is looking forward to getting out of the doldrums.
Mr Butler takes Phryne and Dot to the shops to buy some cheap, simple clothes to suit her Fern persona.
“ ‘This is going to be exciting, Dot! I've got too reliant on things and people. It will do me good to manage on my own for a while.’
Dot hefted the parcel and led the way out of the shop.
‘Have you ever managed on your own, Miss Phryne?’ she asked as Mr. Butler piled the parcels into the car.”
Has she managed on her own? (Not judging by the above.) After dinner, she thought about what Dot had said and remembered all the people in her family, at school, and everywhere she went who used to keep an eye on her.
“She had never been alone.
Phryne allowed Mr. Butler to take away the plate. What am I worrying about? she wondered. The circus was composed of people just as society was, just as school had been. There was always a man to be persuaded, bought, daunted or charmed.
‘And I'm the woman to do it,’ she said aloud.
‘Miss?’ asked Mr. Butler.
‘Nothing to signify, Mr. B.’ He hovered at her shoulder.
‘Another glass of wine, Miss Fisher?’
‘Thanks.’’
You get the idea. There’s always a man, which means she feels bound to triumph.
Raised poor in Melbourne, she and her family moved to England when her father inherited wealth and a title. Returning to Melbourne as a cultured young woman, Phryne is assumed to have been born with that silver spoon which she now has.
She is a head-turning stunner, clever, charming, and highly sought-after by men of all ages and circumstances. Dot and the Butlers accept that they never know who may have spent the night and show up at breakfast with her.
She has lovers scattered around the world, and it seems none of them burn their bridges with her. I found her affairs a little forced in this. She is warned about the strict hierarchy of the travelling troupe, the three ‘classes’ who travel in convoy, in that order, between towns: the circus, the carnival, and the gypsies.
Circus folk do not mix with carnies or gypsies. It will ruin her reputation and brand her as a tart. No matter. When she wants a dose of sex, she simply seeks out whomever she fancies, assuming they all fancy her. But she can't escape the criticism.
"Phryne was conscious of being alone, in shabby clothes and completely ignorant. You've bitten off more than you can chew, this time, Phryne, she thought. You'll never make any sense out of this."
I enjoyed the atmosphere of the circus and its followers, as well as some of the characters (human and animal) she befriends. The trick riding was especially fun. But I found Phryne more self-centred and less appealing. She does redeem herself eventually when she realises she is in serious danger and can’t charm her way out.
She is still a compelling mistress of mystery, so I will continue the series, of course. It isn’t necessary to read them in order, but it’s more enjoyable to see the characters develop and return.
My reviews of the previous books in the series:
#1 My review of Cocaine Blues
#2 My review of Flying Too High
#3 My review of Murder on the Ballarat Train
#4 My review of Death at Victoria Dock
#5 My review of The Greenmill Murders
December 29, 2016
By FAR the worst Phryne Fisher I've read so far, and one I almost didn't make it through.
Phryne goes undercover in the circus to help some people she didn't really want to help, because she'd slept with one of them once. She immediately gets massive doubts about how she'll be able to cope without her creature comforts, including Dot to help her get dressed and her own bathroom and cook. Interesting considering how often she rubs in people's faces that she was born poor and grew up without any creature comforts at all...
Once she gets to the circus she sheds her old self and becomes Fern, the little sprite who used to do gymnastics and wants to learn to stand up on a horse. She learns that life is hard when you can't put 'The Honourable' before your name, that people are mean to her, and that when she can't be allowed to express the full extent of her just unbelievably individual and unique and beautiful personality (read: buy expensive things and have a bath every day), she feels like she is losing herself and nearly has a breakdown. Several times.
For me, the premise of this book was a terrible mistake on Greenwood's part. To take Phryne away from her nice clothes, her pretty house, her excellent cook and butler and maid and Commie friends, only to have her whine constantly about how those things make her who she is and how she is losing herself because she has to spend a week or so undercover earning her way, only shows the reader how Phryne is a romantic construction, no more than the sum of her parts. Without the descriptions of beautiful clothes, glittering parties, things that scream 1928, she is nothing at all. While she could have been given a new aspect in this scenario, all we are subjected to is endless pathetic whinging, to which I imagine most readers without a Lord for a father and rather a lot of money are extraordinarily unsympathetic. I certainly was.
I don't remember the plot. It was convoluted, boring and completely overshadowed by our one-dimensional heroine. Oh, there was a lesbian encounter (a new one for Phryne) and a hermaphrodite.
Also, the ending, where Phryne is nearly raped and instead left to die in a lion cage, read almost like a bit of pornographic fiction. And then, when she was finally (thank God!) revealed to be the Hon. Phryne Fisher and bathed in asses' milk and honey or what have you, and left to sleep the sleep of the just and right and rich, the two men she has slept with in this one both sleep next to her, in a bizarre I-don't-know-you-but-we've-both-slept-with-her-and-she-needs-us-right-now set up. Because she just really needed some male attention after only having one sexually satisfying and femininity-reinforcing encounter in the last two weeks.
I really, really disliked this book and everything Greenwood said about her character in it.
EDIT: Here to report in the year of our lord twenty sixteen that this was indeed the book that put me off Phryne permanently. I kept my (I think complete?) set of books gathered from secondhand shops and op shops and booksales for a while longer, but every time I thought about reading the next one I remembered this GODAWFUL book and chose something else. So eventually I admitted that I was never going to be interested in picking her up again, and sold them all. I felt so free! ALSO the tv series is PURE GARBAGE and I hated it more than I hated this book, which is saying something.
Phryne goes undercover in the circus to help some people she didn't really want to help, because she'd slept with one of them once. She immediately gets massive doubts about how she'll be able to cope without her creature comforts, including Dot to help her get dressed and her own bathroom and cook. Interesting considering how often she rubs in people's faces that she was born poor and grew up without any creature comforts at all...
Once she gets to the circus she sheds her old self and becomes Fern, the little sprite who used to do gymnastics and wants to learn to stand up on a horse. She learns that life is hard when you can't put 'The Honourable' before your name, that people are mean to her, and that when she can't be allowed to express the full extent of her just unbelievably individual and unique and beautiful personality (read: buy expensive things and have a bath every day), she feels like she is losing herself and nearly has a breakdown. Several times.
For me, the premise of this book was a terrible mistake on Greenwood's part. To take Phryne away from her nice clothes, her pretty house, her excellent cook and butler and maid and Commie friends, only to have her whine constantly about how those things make her who she is and how she is losing herself because she has to spend a week or so undercover earning her way, only shows the reader how Phryne is a romantic construction, no more than the sum of her parts. Without the descriptions of beautiful clothes, glittering parties, things that scream 1928, she is nothing at all. While she could have been given a new aspect in this scenario, all we are subjected to is endless pathetic whinging, to which I imagine most readers without a Lord for a father and rather a lot of money are extraordinarily unsympathetic. I certainly was.
I don't remember the plot. It was convoluted, boring and completely overshadowed by our one-dimensional heroine. Oh, there was a lesbian encounter (a new one for Phryne) and a hermaphrodite.
Also, the ending, where Phryne is nearly raped and instead left to die in a lion cage, read almost like a bit of pornographic fiction. And then, when she was finally (thank God!) revealed to be the Hon. Phryne Fisher and bathed in asses' milk and honey or what have you, and left to sleep the sleep of the just and right and rich, the two men she has slept with in this one both sleep next to her, in a bizarre I-don't-know-you-but-we've-both-slept-with-her-and-she-needs-us-right-now set up. Because she just really needed some male attention after only having one sexually satisfying and femininity-reinforcing encounter in the last two weeks.
I really, really disliked this book and everything Greenwood said about her character in it.
EDIT: Here to report in the year of our lord twenty sixteen that this was indeed the book that put me off Phryne permanently. I kept my (I think complete?) set of books gathered from secondhand shops and op shops and booksales for a while longer, but every time I thought about reading the next one I remembered this GODAWFUL book and chose something else. So eventually I admitted that I was never going to be interested in picking her up again, and sold them all. I felt so free! ALSO the tv series is PURE GARBAGE and I hated it more than I hated this book, which is saying something.
September 22, 2011
This installment of the Phryne Fisher mysteries takes a more sensationalist turn (yes, even in light of the incest, blackmail, drug-dealing, rape, and child-trafficking in earlier volumes). Hermaphrodites! Dripping pools of blood! Multiple and varied sexual assaults! Raving alcoholics! Bar brawls! Gang wars! Escapes from prison! People rendered unconscious by gunshots, stabbings, blows to the head, and simple exhaustion! Sex with clowns! Sex without clowns! Lions, tigers elephants and bears!
When too many things go inexplicably wrong at the traveling circus, old friend (she has about a million old friends) Alan Lee asks Miss Fisher to go under-cover as a trick-rider to investigate. Feeling stuck in a rut (of luxury and wealth, such a sob story), she agrees to leave home and servants behind for a few days of grime and greasepaint. Mostly clown greasepaint rubbing off on her during sex, but still! After all, she doesn't have Dot to do her laundry this time. It was nice to see Phryne a little less than supremely confident and stylish, even if the circumstances were entirely voluntary and thus not particularly rousing of my sympathy. And the mystery aspect was stronger than in the previous volume.
When too many things go inexplicably wrong at the traveling circus, old friend (she has about a million old friends) Alan Lee asks Miss Fisher to go under-cover as a trick-rider to investigate. Feeling stuck in a rut (of luxury and wealth, such a sob story), she agrees to leave home and servants behind for a few days of grime and greasepaint. Mostly clown greasepaint rubbing off on her during sex, but still! After all, she doesn't have Dot to do her laundry this time. It was nice to see Phryne a little less than supremely confident and stylish, even if the circumstances were entirely voluntary and thus not particularly rousing of my sympathy. And the mystery aspect was stronger than in the previous volume.
November 5, 2013
I can tell what happened here.
Blood and Circuses, the 6th Phryne Fisher mystery, is so far, the least satisfying, and I think I know why. Kerry Greenwood has written the character for 6 books and five years at this point. I can almost hear her inner monologue: Am I in a rut? Are all of the books going to follow a pattern? Do I want to switch things up a bit? She did that.
This is essentially supposed to be a fish out of water story, with Phryne playing the fish. Specifically a play on a subtrope of FOW -- City Mouse. Phryne is stripped of her wealth, privilege, house, car and family. How will she survive? Except Ms. Greenwood seems to forget what she has told us in each of the other five books in the series: Phryne can take care of herself, that is her superpower. She grew up poor. She didn't gain wealth until she was a teen and even then, didn't take it seriously. She was always Rose in first class finding a poor bloke as a lover and dancing with the rabble in steerage. So now we're to believe that going into the countryside and living for a few weeks with a traveling tent circus will bring her nearly to the breaking point? That she will be so weakened she will take a lover not out of libidinous desire, but for protection? Um, no.
For much of the book there are two story-lines: Phrynie's circus investigation and Lt. Robinson's Melbourne murder. Obviously they were linked and it took until the last act of the book to bring them together. Some of the plot details were sketchy and there were also a few jarring perspective shifts in this one. The period and circus vs freaks research was flawless. I think Ms. Greenwood was so busy showing off her talents at meticulous detail, story and structure suffered.
Basically, Phryne lost her agency, just enough, and in such an unbelievably trivial (for her) way, it lost me. I get why Ms. Greenwood did it, but the reason Phryne broke was just too little. Phryne is a superhero. She's Bond. She's Nero Wolfe. She's flawed, but she doesn't break easily. I just didn't buy it and to be honest, I don't think Ms. Greenwood did either.
Blood and Circuses, the 6th Phryne Fisher mystery, is so far, the least satisfying, and I think I know why. Kerry Greenwood has written the character for 6 books and five years at this point. I can almost hear her inner monologue: Am I in a rut? Are all of the books going to follow a pattern? Do I want to switch things up a bit? She did that.
This is essentially supposed to be a fish out of water story, with Phryne playing the fish. Specifically a play on a subtrope of FOW -- City Mouse. Phryne is stripped of her wealth, privilege, house, car and family. How will she survive? Except Ms. Greenwood seems to forget what she has told us in each of the other five books in the series: Phryne can take care of herself, that is her superpower. She grew up poor. She didn't gain wealth until she was a teen and even then, didn't take it seriously. She was always Rose in first class finding a poor bloke as a lover and dancing with the rabble in steerage. So now we're to believe that going into the countryside and living for a few weeks with a traveling tent circus will bring her nearly to the breaking point? That she will be so weakened she will take a lover not out of libidinous desire, but for protection? Um, no.
For much of the book there are two story-lines: Phrynie's circus investigation and Lt. Robinson's Melbourne murder. Obviously they were linked and it took until the last act of the book to bring them together. Some of the plot details were sketchy and there were also a few jarring perspective shifts in this one. The period and circus vs freaks research was flawless. I think Ms. Greenwood was so busy showing off her talents at meticulous detail, story and structure suffered.
Basically, Phryne lost her agency, just enough, and in such an unbelievably trivial (for her) way, it lost me. I get why Ms. Greenwood did it, but the reason Phryne broke was just too little. Phryne is a superhero. She's Bond. She's Nero Wolfe. She's flawed, but she doesn't break easily. I just didn't buy it and to be honest, I don't think Ms. Greenwood did either.
July 15, 2024
Definitely not my favourite Phryne Fisher case, partly because of my dislike of circuses (I’ll take the bread, though) and partly because her hypocrisy was laid bare.
Throughout the previous books in the series, whenever somebody even hints that she might have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth she always turns on them like an angry lion and points out that she came by her wealth later in life and that she was originally from a working class background. Yet, in this book, where she has to go undercover as a circus performer and is stripped of all her monetary assets and luxuries, she whines like a spoiled toddler.
The actual mystery was fine, though, and it all progressed and wrapped up quite nicely, so I’m still giving this 3 stars.
Throughout the previous books in the series, whenever somebody even hints that she might have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth she always turns on them like an angry lion and points out that she came by her wealth later in life and that she was originally from a working class background. Yet, in this book, where she has to go undercover as a circus performer and is stripped of all her monetary assets and luxuries, she whines like a spoiled toddler.
The actual mystery was fine, though, and it all progressed and wrapped up quite nicely, so I’m still giving this 3 stars.
March 17, 2019
Not the strongest book in this series, and I missed some of Phryne's passion and spark, but I still enjoyed it.
December 13, 2015
This is a nice change of pace for Phryne, taking her out of her element and putting her in the circus, where she isn’t automatically great at everything and people don’t automatically like her — some of her privilege of being a rich person gets stripped away, leaving the tough kid who grew up in poverty to deal with things. There’s a good bit of drama towards the end, which got a bit too much for my tastes in a cosy mystery (attempted rape, protagonist is left naked in a cage with large predator animals). I did like Jack’s involvement and trust in Phryne’s work, though, and the way he corrected the other policeman who was calling an intersex person “it”.
Also, Phryne’s men made me laugh this time when they both got in bed with her to cuddle her after her shock. They really didn’t protest very much!
The series remains easy to read and solidly entertaining; I’m getting through it at speed.
Originally posted here.
Also, Phryne’s men made me laugh this time when they both got in bed with her to cuddle her after her shock. They really didn’t protest very much!
The series remains easy to read and solidly entertaining; I’m getting through it at speed.
Originally posted here.
November 28, 2020
Farrell’s Circus was plagued with bad luck - a poisoned horse, two fires, a broken tightrope, beatings of the circus crew by locals, sick animals, canceled bookings, and low audience attendance. It seemed too much to be coincidental. Now the half-woman and half-man was found murdered in her/his bed at the rooming house. Miss Parkes, a former trapeze artist and recently released from the killing of her acrobat husband, was arrested. Some circus folk approached Private Investigator Phryne Fisher for assistance. A gypsy had warned of a “malicious enemy” to the circus that a black-haired and green-eyed woman with a name beginning with “F” could help, which aptly described Miss Fisher. It is 1928 and Phryne is bored. She goes undercover as rider to solve the mystery. What happened to the spunky, sexy, and self-confident Phryne? She was acting like an immature, sulky, and petulant teenager when she was ignored and dismissed as she appeared as a poor and shabbily dressed dancer down on her luck giving the circus a shot. She was undercover and should not want attention. You can’t always be the center of attention but it certainly helps if you are beautiful, smart, and wealthy. I had enough of her whining, but then her self-confidence returned (after she was showered with love and attention). Meanwhile in Melbourne, a gang war was escalating between the Brunswick Boys a/k/a the Brunnies and Albert Ellis’ Roy Boys. My favorite characters were the youthful Constable Tommy Harris, who exhibited empathy, curiosity, and gumption, and 50-year-old Lizard Elsie, a crazy and belligerent drunk who coasted between her sailor lovers when not living on the streets. Inspector Jack Robinson and Sargeant Terry Grossmith are on the case. While reading, my ratings went from 2.5 to 4 and ended with 3.5 stars.
April 15, 2017
In this installment, Phryne leaves behind her safe and comfortable house to do some slumming with the circus. She’s implausibly great at everything, of course, so it’s no surprise she learns how to do some trick riding. It’s also no surprise that her lovers are a clown and a carnie — and neither of them mind.
I was tempted to drop my rating from four stars to three this time when I think about how dramatic this one gets. There’s a lot of violence, with a whole gang situation. And there’s also attempted rape and personal danger for Phryne herself. For a series I normally view as relatively cosy, that felt like a bit much. But then, if you think about it, it’s not much more over the top than the anarchists of Death at Victoria Dock or some of the later stuff Phryne does for Lin Chung.
Also, there’s a bit where the clown is almost violent with Phryne, against her will — sorry, no, not having had sex for a long time is no excuse for that.
On the other hand, I enjoy Jack’s half of the story. An intersex individual is always a bit of an invitation for an author to mess up. Greenwood mostly does not, and Jack is satisfyingly brusque in ordering his subordinates to refer to the individual by their chosen name and pronouns. There’s also a fun friendship developing between unlikely characters in the form of Lizard Elsie and a former acrobat. So a tentative four stars it remains.
Originally reviewed on my blog.
I was tempted to drop my rating from four stars to three this time when I think about how dramatic this one gets. There’s a lot of violence, with a whole gang situation. And there’s also attempted rape and personal danger for Phryne herself. For a series I normally view as relatively cosy, that felt like a bit much. But then, if you think about it, it’s not much more over the top than the anarchists of Death at Victoria Dock or some of the later stuff Phryne does for Lin Chung.
Also, there’s a bit where the clown is almost violent with Phryne, against her will — sorry, no, not having had sex for a long time is no excuse for that.
On the other hand, I enjoy Jack’s half of the story. An intersex individual is always a bit of an invitation for an author to mess up. Greenwood mostly does not, and Jack is satisfyingly brusque in ordering his subordinates to refer to the individual by their chosen name and pronouns. There’s also a fun friendship developing between unlikely characters in the form of Lizard Elsie and a former acrobat. So a tentative four stars it remains.
Originally reviewed on my blog.
January 8, 2018
Phryne is bored with all her riches and comforts so she jumps at the chance to go help an old friend at the circus. She goes undercover as a trick rider named Fern. Amazingly, this time she is all on her own. Phryne doesn't take any of her normal entourage with her and she goes mad trying to cope without them. She also learns how mean people are when you are not so rich and powerful. This confused me a lot. Phryne grew up poor. I know her life has been different for quite awhile, but we are always made to believe she enjoys the coarser things in life also. That she is an independent woman who can take care of herself. Here, she just floundered like a fish out of water.
Of course there was sex (clown sex be forewarned), violence, mystery and mayhem. The mystery fell a little short for me, but it wasn't bad. I just couldn't get over the horrible Phryne Fisher.
Of course there was sex (clown sex be forewarned), violence, mystery and mayhem. The mystery fell a little short for me, but it wasn't bad. I just couldn't get over the horrible Phryne Fisher.
July 15, 2019
I love Phryne Fisher and all her escapades. In this story, she joins a circus to try and help one of her old lovers figure out why things are going wrong. In typical fashion, she uncovers the mystery and gets herself out of her scrape. There were a lot of close calls though! Love this series.
November 16, 2024
Nowhere near my favourite Phryne Fisher story, I have to admit I struggled my way through Blood and Circuses a little bit. Luckily there was an interview with Kerry Greenwood following my audio listen, and what she had to say about the shift of milieu for Ms. Fisher won me over, at least in the long term.
Blood and Circuses takes Phryne Fisher away from her more comfortable society and into the bosom of a travelling circus, populated with the usual "freaks," clowns, animal tamers and "gypsies," with the addition of some truly unsavoury scum who provide all the danger.
There are really two mysteries at work in Blood and Circuses -- one is a murder mystery (which I found myself truly invested in) and the other is what Phryne was brought in to investigate: the ongoing sabotage of the circus. Getting to the solutions of these mysteries, however, just weren't as fun for me as they usually are. Still on display was Phryne and her indomitable spirit, still on display was her love of love and lovemaking, still on display was danger and Australian colour, but there were elements that kept me from becoming truly invested.
If I am being honest, I just don't like circuses, and that environment is so out of joint for Phryne, that I found myself hoping Blood and Circuses would end. And a reader never wants to feel that way, especially if they have affection for the protagonist. And yes ... when it was over I was glad.
Which brings me back to the interview with Kerry Greenwood. She tells us in the interview that moving Phryne to a circus was a deliberate act for Greenwood herself. When she started her sixth book in the series, she came to something of a crossroads. She wondered if there was room for growth where Phryne was concerned, or was she, as Agatha Christie's detectives seem to be, fully formed and simply a flat character with a set of skills that are used time and again to solve a new crime, where the crime itself is all that differs, and the character never changes. So she dropped Phryne somewhere unique to her, and discovered that Phryne did have room to grow (and that her skill set could always expand).
When I heard that, I found myself nodding and thinking, "Well done, Kerry." It didn't make me enjoy Blood and Circuses any more than I did when I was listening, but it did make me appreciate it more. I have a feeling it's going to pay off in the novels still to come.
Blood and Circuses takes Phryne Fisher away from her more comfortable society and into the bosom of a travelling circus, populated with the usual "freaks," clowns, animal tamers and "gypsies," with the addition of some truly unsavoury scum who provide all the danger.
There are really two mysteries at work in Blood and Circuses -- one is a murder mystery (which I found myself truly invested in) and the other is what Phryne was brought in to investigate: the ongoing sabotage of the circus. Getting to the solutions of these mysteries, however, just weren't as fun for me as they usually are. Still on display was Phryne and her indomitable spirit, still on display was her love of love and lovemaking, still on display was danger and Australian colour, but there were elements that kept me from becoming truly invested.
If I am being honest, I just don't like circuses, and that environment is so out of joint for Phryne, that I found myself hoping Blood and Circuses would end. And a reader never wants to feel that way, especially if they have affection for the protagonist. And yes ... when it was over I was glad.
Which brings me back to the interview with Kerry Greenwood. She tells us in the interview that moving Phryne to a circus was a deliberate act for Greenwood herself. When she started her sixth book in the series, she came to something of a crossroads. She wondered if there was room for growth where Phryne was concerned, or was she, as Agatha Christie's detectives seem to be, fully formed and simply a flat character with a set of skills that are used time and again to solve a new crime, where the crime itself is all that differs, and the character never changes. So she dropped Phryne somewhere unique to her, and discovered that Phryne did have room to grow (and that her skill set could always expand).
When I heard that, I found myself nodding and thinking, "Well done, Kerry." It didn't make me enjoy Blood and Circuses any more than I did when I was listening, but it did make me appreciate it more. I have a feeling it's going to pay off in the novels still to come.
October 13, 2022
Gang war threatens the streets of Melbourne, as Jack Robinson and his constables try to figure out who is spiriting crooks away, out of the clutches of the law. A locked-room killing spices up life in a respectable boarding house. Meanwhile, Phryne Fisher is bored with her easy life and easy men...so of course, she runs away and joins a small-time circus, to find out who is trying to drive it to ruin.
True to form, the redoubtable Miss Fisher can already ride, and apparently the skills of haute ecole circus riding are a doddle for her (well, isn't everything?), so she becomes a member of "the rush." She also finds more than one man more than eager to bed her, of course, from the carousel gypsy who wants to spin her world around on its axis to a sad clown worthy of I Pagliacci.
Perhaps the authoress was a bit bored with her cosy little formula, too, as she strips Phryne of her usual support group for this mystery. No Dot to fetch and carry and clean and press. No Bert and Cece to take up the slack when Phryne bungles. The adopted daughters don't get even a single mention, as if they had never existed.
The setting is less jazzy and elegant, and at the same time less convincing, in part because there are quite a few bits of circus lore the authoress assumes the readers know about (the clown's faces on eggshells, for example), and in part because some of it's a bit coincidental. The business with the letter and the big reveals at the end, for example, was pure Jessica Fletcher. I don't know, this one just didn't appeal as much as some others. There was a bit too much reference to sexuality and sexual activity for my taste in a "light entertainment" genre. At the same time I was amused that the whole circus story takes, what? A week? and yet Phryne thinks as she's returning to her own way of life about how her muscles are toned and hardened and she's fitter than she ever was. Gee, I almost wish I lived in her particular fairyland. Even at her age, I doubt that would work in the real world.
ETA: This time through I noticed more than a passing resemblance between the plot and the movie Diamonds are Forever, with its circus/carnival motif and the funeral home thing. I also tripped and fell flat over Mr Burton, who when he appears is described as 45, and a few pages later is said to be 30! That plus the fact that when he reappears in a later novel he is described as "elderly", even though all these mysteries take place in a little over one year, set my head spinning. 30--or even 45--was not "elderly" even in 1928, thank you. We're down to a star and a half now.
True to form, the redoubtable Miss Fisher can already ride, and apparently the skills of haute ecole circus riding are a doddle for her (well, isn't everything?), so she becomes a member of "the rush." She also finds more than one man more than eager to bed her, of course, from the carousel gypsy who wants to spin her world around on its axis to a sad clown worthy of I Pagliacci.
Perhaps the authoress was a bit bored with her cosy little formula, too, as she strips Phryne of her usual support group for this mystery. No Dot to fetch and carry and clean and press. No Bert and Cece to take up the slack when Phryne bungles. The adopted daughters don't get even a single mention, as if they had never existed.
The setting is less jazzy and elegant, and at the same time less convincing, in part because there are quite a few bits of circus lore the authoress assumes the readers know about (the clown's faces on eggshells, for example), and in part because some of it's a bit coincidental. The business with the letter and the big reveals at the end, for example, was pure Jessica Fletcher. I don't know, this one just didn't appeal as much as some others. There was a bit too much reference to sexuality and sexual activity for my taste in a "light entertainment" genre. At the same time I was amused that the whole circus story takes, what? A week? and yet Phryne thinks as she's returning to her own way of life about how her muscles are toned and hardened and she's fitter than she ever was. Gee, I almost wish I lived in her particular fairyland. Even at her age, I doubt that would work in the real world.
ETA: This time through I noticed more than a passing resemblance between the plot and the movie Diamonds are Forever, with its circus/carnival motif and the funeral home thing. I also tripped and fell flat over Mr Burton, who when he appears is described as 45, and a few pages later is said to be 30! That plus the fact that when he reappears in a later novel he is described as "elderly", even though all these mysteries take place in a little over one year, set my head spinning. 30--or even 45--was not "elderly" even in 1928, thank you. We're down to a star and a half now.
March 10, 2019
A slow start as the pieces are place on the board, but it sharpens into a nicely done whodunit with a few twists and surprises. The circus setting is beautifully rendered, and Phryne Fisher is a marvelous heroine.
March 17, 2018
Quite frankly, I found this one too dark, and thought it contained too many thoroughly horrible elements. It felt widely out of step with the tone of this series, which is generally charming and light (terrible things happen, but not like this).
It doesn't help that while undercover, Phrynne doesn't actually do any sleuthing. The villains are laughably obvious, in that they are clearly evil. No one uncovers them. One of them confesses via letter, but that's about it. It's less a mystery novel, and more a series of unpleasant events.
Did not enjoy, in the end.
It doesn't help that while undercover, Phrynne doesn't actually do any sleuthing. The villains are laughably obvious, in that they are clearly evil. No one uncovers them. One of them confesses via letter, but that's about it. It's less a mystery novel, and more a series of unpleasant events.
Did not enjoy, in the end.
September 16, 2019
Well-to-do Phryne Fisher is a little bored, so when an old friend from her childhood asks her to help him solve a mystery in the circus and carnival where he is employed, she jumps at the chance. This means going undercover as a trick rider and keeping her eyes open.
Unfortunately, Phryne is not a trick rider. She is, however, an attractive woman who learns quickly, so equestrian director Molly Younger takes her on.
In the mean while, a man has been murdered in a local boarding house, and Inspector Jack Robinson is on the job.
As the book progresses, we begin to see how the two stories intertwine. We also get an inside look at the politics and hierarchy of circus life in the 1920s ... and believe me, there's a lot of both.
I had seen the "Blood and Circuses" episode of Miss Fisher Mysteries on television, and the two tales are only marginally similar. I far preferred the book; even the "whodunnit" was different from the program, and far more sinister.
Unfortunately, Phryne is not a trick rider. She is, however, an attractive woman who learns quickly, so equestrian director Molly Younger takes her on.
In the mean while, a man has been murdered in a local boarding house, and Inspector Jack Robinson is on the job.
As the book progresses, we begin to see how the two stories intertwine. We also get an inside look at the politics and hierarchy of circus life in the 1920s ... and believe me, there's a lot of both.
I had seen the "Blood and Circuses" episode of Miss Fisher Mysteries on television, and the two tales are only marginally similar. I far preferred the book; even the "whodunnit" was different from the program, and far more sinister.
January 13, 2021
Blood and Circuses is, of course, a reread for me -- the book in which Phryne Fisher joins the circus to work out a mystery, at the pleading (and goading) of her carnie friends... while at the same time, a horrible murder has taken place which Jack Robinson must investigate. It's always interesting to see Phryne out of her element, because that's when she has to be her most resourceful, and the circus is a whole new world for her.
There's also Lizard Elsie, and her adventures with Miss Parkes and Constable Harris, which keep things entertaining (to say the least).
It always feels like it takes a while to heat up, and then suddenly flies by once Phryne's there in the circus. It's surprising to realise how fast it goes. I always enjoy this one, and I'm particularly entertained (as ever!) by the scene in which the clown and the carnie have to cuddle Phryne to help her get over her shock...
There's also Lizard Elsie, and her adventures with Miss Parkes and Constable Harris, which keep things entertaining (to say the least).
It always feels like it takes a while to heat up, and then suddenly flies by once Phryne's there in the circus. It's surprising to realise how fast it goes. I always enjoy this one, and I'm particularly entertained (as ever!) by the scene in which the clown and the carnie have to cuddle Phryne to help her get over her shock...
July 26, 2015
Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood is the 6th book in the Phryne Fisher mystery series. Phryne joins the circus to investigate a series of mishaps culminating in the murder of one of the performers. I love how she is always willing to try something new and to be taken out of her comfort zone yet always comes out on top. Another great addition to the series.
May 10, 2023
This one was not enjoyable at all. I think I will pause on the series and read something else for now
October 21, 2025
This mystery series is a once-in-awhile read for me and this particular book was a very slow read, perhaps because its setting, a circus, is not appealing to me in the least. I almost didn't want to finish it but I was so close to the end, I wanted to find out how it ended. Very anticlimactic. But I'd consider reading more in the series in future.
March 28, 2023
I am not sure how I feel about this series. I found I had to make myself listen to this book and I am not sure why.
It has a interest plot and a cast of characters that were weird and entertaining. This series may not be for me. I will give one more book a go and see how I feel after that.
It has a interest plot and a cast of characters that were weird and entertaining. This series may not be for me. I will give one more book a go and see how I feel after that.
February 26, 2019
This one...No.
I'm not sure why, but there was just something missing in this version of Miss Fisher's adventures. While the last book was arguably the best one yet, this was unarguably the worst.
Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. The TV version was better. Not a recommended read AT ALL.
Look, usually I like myself a book centred around a circus. They're usually fun and thoroughly enjoyable. This one? Not so much.
In this one, Phryne's convinced to investigate a circus' spate of bad luck by going undercover as Fern, a new member of said circus. All the while, the police, led by Jack Robinson, are investigating the death of a member of circus, the 'half man-half woman' Mr. Christopher.
I'm not a 100% sure how to verbalise it, but this book just lacked soul. Where the previous ones handle societal bigotry of the 1920s by emphasising the many issues with said bigotry, this one is just a circle of 'how to racist or classist or what have you,' and it almost seems like everyone is trying to out-do each other in this race. Mr. Christopher is treated horrendously as a victim of murder by the police, with little censure of the same (Jack Robison tries, but it never seems like Greenwood's heart is in it).
If this hadn't been so short, I would have DNF-ed. I can see why the needed the back story of Phryne's sister in the TV version, because this as it is would not have been compelling.
As is, not recommended at all, and I'm hoping the next in the series is back to usual standards - I don't want to have to give up on it so soon. 1/5 stars, and I'm probably being generous.
I'm not sure why, but there was just something missing in this version of Miss Fisher's adventures. While the last book was arguably the best one yet, this was unarguably the worst.
Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. The TV version was better. Not a recommended read AT ALL.
Look, usually I like myself a book centred around a circus. They're usually fun and thoroughly enjoyable. This one? Not so much.
In this one, Phryne's convinced to investigate a circus' spate of bad luck by going undercover as Fern, a new member of said circus. All the while, the police, led by Jack Robinson, are investigating the death of a member of circus, the 'half man-half woman' Mr. Christopher.
I'm not a 100% sure how to verbalise it, but this book just lacked soul. Where the previous ones handle societal bigotry of the 1920s by emphasising the many issues with said bigotry, this one is just a circle of 'how to racist or classist or what have you,' and it almost seems like everyone is trying to out-do each other in this race. Mr. Christopher is treated horrendously as a victim of murder by the police, with little censure of the same (Jack Robison tries, but it never seems like Greenwood's heart is in it).
If this hadn't been so short, I would have DNF-ed. I can see why the needed the back story of Phryne's sister in the TV version, because this as it is would not have been compelling.
As is, not recommended at all, and I'm hoping the next in the series is back to usual standards - I don't want to have to give up on it so soon. 1/5 stars, and I'm probably being generous.
August 8, 2007
BLOOD AND CICRUSES (PI-Phryne Fisher-Australia-1928) – VG
Greenwood, Kerry – 6th in series
Allen&Unwin, 2005, Australian Trade paperback – ISBN 1741145546
First Sentence: Mrs. Witherspoon, widow of uncertain years and theatrical background, was taking tea in her refined house for paying gentlefolk in Brusnwick Street, Fitzroy.
***Wealthy private investigator Phryne is bored until she is approached by Samson the strong man, Alan the carousel operator and Doreen the Snake Woman to investigate what started as a series of accidents at the circus. With one of the circus members now dead, Phryne gives up her life of luxury and her friends to go undercover as a trick rider with the circus.
*** There is a lot more going on between the covers of this book than first appears. Greenwood knows how to take diverse, interesting characters and build a great story around them with the mystery almost being secondary. Here we have the murder of an hermaphrodite who was the love of both a man and a woman. We are introduced to the hierarchy of the circus and Phryne’s feelings of vulnerability and loneliness. There is a ex-con who doesn’t know whether she has committed murder but who finds a bit of her soul in helping an alcoholic go through withdrawal. There is sex, there is profanity; this is not your average cozy. What it is is a great character-driven story with a unique character.
Greenwood, Kerry – 6th in series
Allen&Unwin, 2005, Australian Trade paperback – ISBN 1741145546
First Sentence: Mrs. Witherspoon, widow of uncertain years and theatrical background, was taking tea in her refined house for paying gentlefolk in Brusnwick Street, Fitzroy.
***Wealthy private investigator Phryne is bored until she is approached by Samson the strong man, Alan the carousel operator and Doreen the Snake Woman to investigate what started as a series of accidents at the circus. With one of the circus members now dead, Phryne gives up her life of luxury and her friends to go undercover as a trick rider with the circus.
*** There is a lot more going on between the covers of this book than first appears. Greenwood knows how to take diverse, interesting characters and build a great story around them with the mystery almost being secondary. Here we have the murder of an hermaphrodite who was the love of both a man and a woman. We are introduced to the hierarchy of the circus and Phryne’s feelings of vulnerability and loneliness. There is a ex-con who doesn’t know whether she has committed murder but who finds a bit of her soul in helping an alcoholic go through withdrawal. There is sex, there is profanity; this is not your average cozy. What it is is a great character-driven story with a unique character.
April 12, 2014
I like listening to Phryne Fisher books because I like Stephanie Daniels' voice!! These are definitely a light read, but fun. I lost the plot of this toward the end - entirely my fault, I'm sure, as I was listening while driving and my attention probably wandered at some point over some mundane detail like which street I needed to turn down, making sure I didn't run down a pedestrian or wondering why a car in front wasn't turning with a green arrow or something. So in general, it is probably best to stick to listening to my audiobooks as I walk on the treadmill or crochet - something where I don't need to concentrate on avoiding vehicular accidents!
February 19, 2019
There is perhaps some problematic terminology & descriptions due to the status of 1920s circuses, but it was still a fun read. I found the conclusion mildly arbitrary but the mystery almost wasn't the point - rather an exploration of circus life.
November 18, 2024
A bored Phryne leaves luxury and ease behind to join the circus and solve several crimes, pausing along the way to gather up a few more lovers. The cast is especially delightfully eccentric including an erudite dwarf, a dancing bear, and "Blue Tongue Elsie," the "Sailor's Friend." Fun stuff.
July 23, 2018
My last review was premature. THIS volume is also very different from the TV adaptation. Some of the key characters are the same, but the ne'er do wells are totally different. I much preferred Phryne's roll as a trick rider to the TV's magician's assistant. As is no surprise the backstory is much richer in the book. I really appreciated the different caste levels as they were laid out in the book about circus life - within the circus itself as far as who was the top tier performers and then how the circus is held above the carnies and then the "gypsies." Some quick internet research shows that Australian Romani did travel and tell fortunes at fairs in the early 20th century but not sure if they actually followed circuses like is depicted in the book.
August 17, 2020
i didnt like this one.
phyrne isnt involved in the mystery much. she doesnt even do much research into investigating her own little side mystery. it was mostly her integration to the circus. i want to read about the incomparable phryne fisher solving mysteries not constable harris.
this story also involved a intersex character. He is constantly misgendered and mistreated. the bigots are treated poorly by the narrative but we are still required to listen to their abuse
very sad that this one departs from the classic phryne
phyrne isnt involved in the mystery much. she doesnt even do much research into investigating her own little side mystery. it was mostly her integration to the circus. i want to read about the incomparable phryne fisher solving mysteries not constable harris.
this story also involved a intersex character. He is constantly misgendered and mistreated. the bigots are treated poorly by the narrative but we are still required to listen to their abuse
very sad that this one departs from the classic phryne
June 30, 2020
Phryne seems more like a real person in this book. She has doubts about her ability to accomplish what she sets out to do and she struggles with fears and limitations to her physical abilities. The puzzle is a complicated one as well which baffled me, but I could see that I had been given all the pertinent clues.
May 18, 2018
This book was a little bit maudlin compared to the others. Makes me wonder what the next will be like.
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