Books › Cocaine Blues
Cocaine Blues
a Phryne Fisher mystery.
First published 2006 · 424 pages
A champagne-soaked, jazz-soundtracked romp featuring a heroine who refuses to apologize for her brilliance or her appetites.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sipping a perfectly mixed cocktail in a smoky, jazz-age speakeasy. It is an effervescent, unapologetically glamorous romp that balances the cozy familiarity of a classic whodunit with a fiercely modern, feminist sensibility. The prose is crisp and witty, lingering delightfully on the sensory details of silk dresses, fast cars, and expensive perfumes, while maintaining a brisk, engaging pace. The atmosphere is indulgent and spirited, inviting you to revel in the sheer competence and charm of a heroine who navigates high society and seedy underworlds with equal aplomb. It will utterly delight readers who want their mysteries served with a side of sharp banter, historical decadence, and a protagonist who embraces life, pleasure, and justice on her own uncompromising terms.
- Mood
- glamorous
- effervescent
- indulgent
- spirited
- Tone
- wry
- cheeky
- sophisticated
- unapologetic
- breezy
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- female independence · unapologetic pleasure · post-war liberation · class rebellion · found family
- The writing
- Crisp, witty, and dripping with sensory details of haute couture and jazz-age decadence.
- The arc
- Moves from restless boredom to the thrilling, triumphant satisfaction of a woman claiming her own agency and outsmarting everyone.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave a fiercely independent, glamorous heroine who solves crimes without ever wrinkling her silk trousers.
Content notes
- drug use
- abortion
- domestic abuse
- murder
About the book
In 1920s London, the Honourable Phryne Fisher has become bored with the party season. She set her sights on detective work in Melbourne, Australia. Once she books into the Windsor Hotel she's embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, cocaine smuggling rings, corrupt cops and communism.
Description from Open Library.
Books like Cocaine Blues
See why they match
Flying too highKerry GreenwoodA sparkling, champagne-fueled romp through the 1920s with a heroine who solves crimes as flawlessly as she dresses.
Murder in MontparnasseKerry GreenwoodA sparkling, champagne-fueled romp through the 1920s that hides a surprisingly tender exploration of wartime scars.
Her Royal SpynessRhys BowenA sparkling, witty romp through 1930s London high society with a heroine who is long on titles but delightfully short on cash.
Murder Must AdvertiseDorothy Leigh SayersA sparkling, satirical romp through a 1930s London ad agency that slowly reveals a dark underbelly of vice and desperation.
A Study in Scarlet WomenSherry ThomasA sharp, gaslit reimagining where a brilliant outcast uses society's blind spots to forge her own independence.
A perilous undertakingDeanna RaybournA fiercely witty romp through Victorian London, fueled by crackling banter, deadly secrets, and a heroine who absolutely refuses to behave.