The Last Best Party of 1928

In this her 16th adventure, Phryne attends the party named above. All 15 of the previous Phryne Fisher books take place earlier in 1928, and the Party is being held for six days from Dec. 26th to New Year's Day 1929. Most of the action takes place at the party with hundreds of guest staying in the Manor House or in fancy tents on the grounds. The Party serves to show the absolute excesses of the rich immediately before the Crash of 1929.

Phryne's attendance is partially for fun, but primarily to investigate death threats against the party's host, who with his twin sister inherited a fabulous fortune and they have for years been going about spending it. Over the years they have gathered a group of followers from around the globe. Now they are throwing an extravaganza with incredible food, live jazz and other music, a polo match, and a number of opportunities to engage in tantric sex and other behaviors that many in that day might deem degenerate or perverted. All with great panache, of course!

Phryne attends the party and solves the mystery of the threats in her usual light -hearted manner, displaying supreme confidence and style. Meanwhile, at her house on Christmas Day, we meet Phryne' s sister, Eliza, and Eliza's lover Lady Alice, and Jane and Ruthie have their first wonderful Christmas ever. All great fun.

As usual, Stephanie Daniel's performance was excellent.

I read this book out of order. Ordinarily I try to read books in a series in chronological order in order to keep evolving characters and relationships straight. But I bought this one on sale and just dived in. Even without the continuity, I enjoyed it a great deal. It might not, however, be the best one of the Phryne Fisher books for a newcomer to read first.

7 people found this helpful

Favorite Fisher

I think this is the strongest of the Fisher mysteries. Masterful narration once again by Stephanie Daniel. I have downloaded all of the titles available in this series and I highly recommend. Fun period mysteries that are well-paced, easy to listen to, and not too fluffy. A solid notch above typical chick-lit romances.

6 people found this helpful

Phryne is as entertaining as ever.

If you could sum up Murder in the Dark in three words, what would they be?

Fun, sexy, intriguing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Phryne - who wouldn't want to be her?

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

NOT try to sing!!!! Whenever the book referenced songs of the time, the narrator felt the need to sing them. She is great as a narrator, but she is NOT a singer. Her attempt to perform Jazz with a New Orleans drawl was especially painful to listen to. If I could fast forward through those spots I would have.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely!

3 people found this helpful

Charming but not a mystery

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I wouldn't. I think it was very well-written, but it certainly wasn't a mystery. It is SO character-driven. The whole plot revolves around developing the main character, who I found irritating. It moved well, and there were moments of excitement. But not suspense and certainly not mystery.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I liked the period setting.

Any additional comments?

It's such a petty thing, but there was a lot of singing done by the (excellent) narrator. But the singing was atrocious, and often. It began to drive me out of my mind early in the narrative, and I found myself lurching up to turn the volume down, for fear that the neighbors could hear it. Maybe a small thing, but it really was a crazy-making deterrent in my mind.

5 people found this helpful

Exceptional with some exceptions

The author always delivers a good story and Phryne Fisher is an amusing and strong character; but I could do without the occasional too-much-information sex scene that annoyingly interrupts a good plot.
The narrator - Stephanie Daniel - is very good at conveying the different characters with nimble changes of accent or tone of voice; but I really wish she would not sing when song lyrics are quoted: this is not where her talent lies!

4 people found this helpful

OK and Good in Parts

I should have reviewed this right after I read it as I usually do. My best recollection is I missed the Luscious Lin Chung who did not accompany Phryne to the "Last Best Party of 1928." (Some bigoted thug employees of the hosts threw Lin's non-swimming scholar cousin in the water, nearly killing him, because of his race). Even without that tidbit preceding their appearance, I found it hard to be sympathetic toward the Templars, brother and sister wastrel hosts -- apparently they ran thru their massive fortune and still are splurging away what's left on the best food, drink, and entertainments... including, Tarquin, a little boy running errands & dressed in a costume including gold hose & shoes with wings -- "Eros or Hermes?" Phryne ponders. Gerald informs Phryne he's been getting death threats. The kitchen staff are afraid of a ghost -- haunted shed. When the kid disappears, the brother at least seems to care. It's hard for me to care about death threats toward such a dissolute pair, but the disappearance of the children is another matter... It was OK but some of the books in the series are much better.

1 person found this helpful

Captures the 'eccentricity' of the time

Well I liked Stephanie's singing !

The ditties are reflective of many a home of the late 20's ( in Australia) and not everyone had the best melodious voice. Most people did sing. While later generations may like to think they discovered feminism and sexual freedom they are wrong. While this is light listening it does attempt to describe what some people did do for fun and pleasure.

The people concerned may have been rich and infamous as in this story, and even to this day there are the odd references to similar events.
These days the 3 or 4 day festivals are annual events, and some people in the 'olden days' also had their fun over a few days. The story is about a time before The Great Depression and set between Christmas and New Year.

This is not my favourite Kerry Greenwood story even though I thought Stephanie Daniel did a great job reading it.

1 person found this helpful

Phryne is great company

What made the experience of listening to Murder in the Dark the most enjoyable?

I listened to this on a long road trip and it made the boring driving trip pass quickly and almost painlessly - the pain came from the singing - as stated by another reviewer I couldn't turn the volume down quickly enough to ease my pain. I cannot state enough how much I hated the singing.

What other book might you compare Murder in the Dark to and why?

I love all of the Phryne Fisher books - they are great fun - and prove to be a good listen too.

Which character – as performed by Stephanie Daniel – was your favorite?

Stephanie generally does a good job at voicing the characters, as I have already stated I'd be happier without the singing.

1 person found this helpful

Should have listened to other reviewers

Overall, I like this series. This particular one is not one I would recommend. The presenter, usually quite good, is not this time. Her American Southern accent is without a doubt THE WORST I've ever heard. I can deal with the occasional singing in the other books but this time there is WAY too much and her singing in a southern accent was so bad I skipped and skipped and skipped to get away from it. I would recommend to give this one a miss, even if you like the other stories in the series.

Always Wonderful but...

I love these audio books and Stephanie Daniel is absolutely AMAZING. What a talent...however: in every single book she does this thing where she “sings” music that appears in the story line. It is truly appalling and I wish she would find another way. I have actually begun to quickly jump forward! But otherwise a small price to pay I suppose to enjoy these wonderful books with otherwise stellar narration.