Bea Reviews Raisins and Almonds by Kerry Greenwood

Series: Phryne Fisher #9
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: June 6th, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
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Blurb from goodreads:

Phryne Fisher loves dancing, especially with gorgeous young Simon Abrahams. But Phryne's contentment at the Jewish Young People's Society Dance is cut short when Simon's father asks her to investigate the strange death of a devout young student in Miss Sylvia Lee s East Market bookshop. Miss Lee has been arrested for the murder, and Phryne believes that she is a very unlikely killer. Investigation leads her into the exotic world of Yiddish, refugees, rabbis, kosher dinners, Kadimah, strange alchemical symbols, and chicken soup. With help from the old faithfuls Bert and Cec, her taxi driver friends; her devoted companion Dot; and Detective Inspector Call me Jack Robinson, Phryne picks her way through the mystery. She soon finds herself at the heart of a situation far graver and more political than she at first appreciates. And all for the price of a song .

My Thoughts:

I discovered this series a couple years ago on NetFlix. The whole series of books has been turned into an Australian TV show and I've watched all 3 seasons multiple times on NetFlixUS. But I hadn't read any of the books so when I saw this at NetGalley, I promptly requested it. I was actually hesitant to read it because I love the TV show so much, what if I didn't like the books or liked them not as much? Well, I didn't love this but I did enjoy it. The TV episode based on this book was pretty true to the source so I was already familiar with much of the story.

Phryne gets involved in the investigation of a young Jewish man, trying to clear woman accused and hunt up the true killer. In the process, she takes a young, slightly naive, Jewish man as a lover and learns quite a lot about Zionism. It was interesting seeing the discussion from a different perspective, specifically Australian, as I really only know the American perspective. Greenwood does go into a lot of detail, not all of it necessary, and that did bog the story down at times. The actual mystery is second fiddle to the Zion story line though it took me a while to realize that with everything that was happening.

For me, the best parts of the story were the characters themselves; Phryne, Dot, Jack, Hugh, etc. including a few who got chopped from the TV show but are regulars, apparently, in the books. Surprise! :D I enjoyed seeing, or in some cases meeting, them in book form and getting to understand them better. The characters who appear just in the story, such as Miss Lee, and Simon were also interesting though Simon could have been fleshed out more. I loved that Miss Lee, like Phryne, was a resourceful and independent woman, happily making her own way in the world. These women are no shrinking violets! And Phryne has a healthy sexual appetite that is respectfully handled. I was glad to see that she could be gentle with an inexperienced young man. She really does have a knack for handling people.

While the story, and mystery, didn't wow me, I enjoyed the people, the setting, and the details. I liked it enough that I now have two more Miss Fisher re-releases on my Kindle thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.