The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - A Matter of Style Synopsis

 

Phryne is getting her hair done at Salon de Paris when she overhears Daphne Ballard complain loudly about personal items that have gone missing at the salon with Mrs Jones whose necklet had also gone missing and Mrs Jenkins who was missing a hairclip. 

Mrs Ballard a loud obnoxious woman who was the wife of a local MP went on to complain that Miss Garlands opal earring had gone missing at the salon the week before and accuses the salon girls of stealing her scarf. 

 

The salon owner Madame Latour tells her it may have fallen to the floor and been swept up and she will make enquiries, Mrs Ballard tells her she will give them 24 hours to return the earring, scarf and everything else that had gone missing and will be back tomorrow to collect them. 

Phryne ask Mme Latour for a private word and asks her to tell her everything that happened. Mme Latour tells her that Edna had been in charge of Mrs Jones styling and Elsie had looked after Mrs Jenkins. 

Phryne then asks about the missing opal earring and Mme Latour tells her Miss Garland has left in good humour on Friday but called later to report the earring missing. Phryne asks if Miss Garland had an dressing applied and Mme says she cannot remember but Jean attended her so calls Jean in. 

Phryne asks Jean if she applied any liquid dressings to Miss Garland's hair and Jean says yes Phryne asks her if she asked Miss Garland to take her earrings out and she says yes and also her ring because she manicured her nails. She says Miss Garland only had one earring on when she asked her to take them out. She says she put the earring back but perhaps Miss Garland did not fasten it properly.

Mme lets Jean go and asks Phryne about the scarf Phryne says she may have some ideas and asks if Mrs Ballard was wearing it when she arrived. Mme Latour says yes it was a hideous thing. Phryne asks if she sat under any of the machines. Mme Latour says yes and Phryne asks to be shown which one. 

Phryne reached into the machine and pulled out the missing scarf followed by the necklet and hairclip. She points to the brass clip on Mrs Ballard's scarf and tells Mme she thinks there may be some loose magnets in the machine which are attracting the metal objects. 

After her hair styling Phryne saw Jean outside the florists. The girl was trembling. Phryne invites her to a nearby teashop for lunch. Phryne then asks her what she did with Miss Garland's earring and she can help her. Jean tells Phryne her boyfriend Matt lost his job and told her to take valuable items from salon clients for him to hawk. Phryne tells Jean to go to Matt straight after work and demand the pawn ticket for the earring but Jean who appears scared of Matt tells her she can't do it. Phryne then tells Jean to tell her where Matt lives and she will deal with it. 

Phryne heads to Matt's address a run down boarding house where the landlady tells her where to find Matt. Phryne tells Matt that the police are on the way and if he wants to avoid 6 months hard labour he will give her the pawn ticket. After Matt hands over the ticket she then threatens him that if he goes near Jean again she will carve her initials on his liver with a blunt knife. 

The next day Phryne returns to Salon de Paris. Mrs Ballard arrives demanding the missing items and Phryne walks up to the machine and pulls out all the missing items including the earring. She tells Mrs Ballard that the machines are in their infancy so she would be advised to remove such items before getting her hair done and even better advised to be more cautious about strewing about wild accusations about the staff at the salon, addressing her as Mrs Bollard. 

Mrs Ballard tells Phryne that her husband is an MP and Phryne says that if that is the case she should avoid causing him embarrassment as the she could see the headline in The Hawklet. Mrs Bollard is enraged and says she will not attend the salon again and storms out. 

Mme Latour closes the door and ask Phryne how she contrive it. She says Jean is such a foolish girl and asks if she has shown Matt the door. She asks if it cost Phryne much to get the earring back. She tells Mme Latour 10 bob at the pawn shop but it was worth it for telling vile Bollard off. She says she hopes Mme will not lose business. Mme says she will probably get more business without Mrs Ballard around. 

Phryne then says as they are in private can she ask Mme a question. She asks if Mme is really from Paris. Mme tells her she will only tell Phryne as she can count on her discretion but she is really Maisie Fields and the closest she has been to Paris is Moonee Ponds. She says she was born in North Port. 

Phryne tells her her French is very good and Mme says she took classes with M. Dupont who pronounced her passable. Phryne tells her her secret is safe and she is delighted she could assist Mme. 

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - The Boxer Synopsis

 On a cold winters morning Phryne is visited by the unpleasant Mrs Ragnall who wants Phryne to find her missing granddaughter, Christina. Phryne ascertains that Christina who is only eight has been missing for two weeks and Mrs Ragnall has not reported the disappearance to the police as she says they are useless. Phryne asks where the child's mother is and Mrs Ragnall says the mother Ellie ran away some time ago.

Phryne sees Mrs Ragnall out and heads to the police station to find out more about Mrs Ragnall. There Hugh tells her that Mrs Ragnall had reported a missing pearl necklace some time back but as they had no reason to believe it was stolen they told her they could not search for it but would take a description report in case it turned up.

Phryne asks about Christina and Hugh tells her she will probably be found amongst the working girls as her mother Ellie is a working girl.

Phryne then heads to South Melbourne and chats to one of the working girls. She offers her a gasper and asks after Christina but the girl tells her she cant help her. She then asks after Ellie and the girls face freezes. The girl tells her Ellie was one of them but she disappeared a few weeks back and a few other girls have also disappeared.

Phyrne then heads to her sisters house to ask about the working girls and Ellie's disappearance. Eliza tells Phryne that Ellie caught pneumonia and was taken to a private hospital run by Dr James. Phryne asks if Ellie had an eight year old daughter and Eliza says it cant be the same Ellie as she is only 20. 

Phyrne heads back to South Melbourne and finds a young girl selling matches amongst the working girls. Phryne buys a match and asks the girls name and she says Christina. Phryne then asks if she isn't a little young to be out on the streets on her own and Christina tells her she has Bear to look after her. Phryne asks if she can meet Bear and Christina tells her Bear doesn't want to meet her. Phryne asks if she will be there tomorrow if she needs another match and Christina says yes. Phryne leaves but senses she is being watched.

The next day Phryne goes to the office of births marriages and deaths. She muses that most Teddy bears do not make very good guardians so the likelihood is that Bear is in fact a man and that he could be Christina's father. After some detective work Phryne discovers that Mrs Ragnall gave birth to Ellie at aged 20 (no father listed) and Ellie had Christina at just 12 years old. Christina's surname listed as Forrest but the father unknown. Phryne also finds a death certificate for Christina signed by Dr James listing cause of death as pneumonia. Phryne remembers what the working girl said about more girls going missing and keeps searching. She finds three more death certificates signed by Dr James for young women with pneumonia as the cause of death. 

Later that day Phryne returns to South Melbourne where she finds Christina and asks if she can see Bear now. Christina leads her to a the gate of a well kept cottage and tells her to wait there. She is met by a huge man. The man greets her with a southern drawl  and asks who she is. Phryne hands over her card and the man invites her in for tea with his wife. 

Bear then introduces himself and says he is Christina's adopted father. Phryne tells him that Mrs Ragnall would like her granddaughter back. Bear tells Phryne that Mrs Ragnall is not a good woman. He says he was a tent boxer in America under the name Black Bear and never lost a fight but jumped ship when he got to Melbourne and set up home with his wife Rosie with his winnings. He says Rosie cannot have children as she used to be a working girl which is why the girls look out for Christina. 

Phryne asks about Ellie and Bear asks what she knows about Mrs Ragnall. Phryne tells him more than he thinks and asks if Mrs Ragnall had the same planned for Christina. Bear asks if Phryne has met a man called Forrest and Phryne tells him she has not had the dubious pleasure. Phryne asks why Christina is selling matches and he tells her Christina believes everyone should earn a living. He says Rosie has a shop now and he keeps order at certain public houses. Phryne thanks him for his time and tells him she intends to tell Mrs Ragnall Christina cannot be found. Back in the car Phryne muses she will have to make a call to Dr Mac and will have to make two house calls tomorrow one unpleasant and one pleasant.

The next day Phryne calls on Mrs Ragnall where she meets Mr Forrest she tells them that Ellie is dead and Christina has run away to Queensland. Mrs Ragnall is outraged and says Christina is far to young to know whats best for her. Phryne asks her if she does as she took such good care of Ellie. Phryne then tells Mrs Ragnall her fee will be 30 shillings as she had to use considerable resources to discover the truth of the case. 

Phryne's next stop is Dr James where she tells him that he is in a lot of trouble but she can help him. She says she knows he has lost 4 working girl patients that month and that he has been "helping them out of their misery" She says she knows Ellie didn't have much of a life as she was sold to a lecher at the age of 12 and she ran away to work on the streets where she caught syphilis. Dr James tells her it was only gonorrhea but he doesn't have enough medicine to cure the girls. Phryne tells him that he is quite mad but that afternoon Dr Mac will arrive to section him and save him from being hanged for the murders. Dr James starts to wail and Phryne slaps him and tells him to "play up and play the game as Grammar expects no less" Dr James asks how he knows about Grammar and she says she has made inquiries. 

Phryne's leaves the hospital musing that it was fun but being back at Bear and Rosie's house and handing over Elliot Forrest's 30 shillings will be pure joy. 

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - The Chocolate Factory Synopsis

Phryne is being painted by Miss Carson for an illustration for Madame Charpentier's latest chocolate selection entitled Dark Lady.

A few months later on a dark winters night Phryne receives a parcel from Madame containing a box of the chocolates which she shares with the household. Also in the package is a plain box containing four nougats which Phryne gives to Jane and Ruth to share. 

The next day at 10am Phryne receives a phone call from Madame to check the delivery arrived safely. Dot arrives and tells Phryne the girls are complaining of feeling sick and says there is something wrong with the nougats. Ruth said they tasted funny and Jane said they had better leave the last one as evidence. Phryne examines it and determines it smells of mustard. Dot sniffs it and agrees. They investigate further and realize that it is deliberate sabotage. Phryne contacts Madame Charpentier and Madame asks for her help.

A short time later Phryne arrives at Madames factory at Footscray. Madame walks Phryne through the chocolate making process so Phryne can see where the sabotage may have taken place. Phryne asks who has access to the chocolate making room and Madame tells her on she does and the room is kept locked. 

Phryne then goes on to interview the staff, the two packers an attractive girl Helen and an outspoken but plain girl Janet. Janet tells Phryne that the plain box of chocolates was actually meant for her as Madame gives them a box to take home every night but hers were nougat which she doesn't like so Madame swapped them and put the nougat in Phryne's parcel. 

Phryne asks Janet why someone would want to mess with her and Janet asks her if shes met the delivery boys Harry and Charlie she says the older of the two Charlie is always making rude comments at the girls but she slaps them down whereas Helen only blushes. 

Phryne asks about Harry and Janet tells her he is quiet but sweet on Helen. Janet says she told him that he didn't stand a chance with Helen.

Phryne then brings in the delivery boys to talk to them. Charlie attempts to flirt with Phryne but she stops him and asks him about the girls. He tells them Helen is a looker but no go and Janet is ok she gives as good as she gets. 

Phyrne then talks to Charlie who is quiet and skakey. Phryne tells him he is wasting his time with Helen she wants a confident boy and that she know he tried to punish Janet because she told him so. She tells him thankfully they have found that someone was not trying to sabotage Madame's business but he will be fired. She give him a pound note and dismisses him telling him to get some sense. 

Madame rewards Phryne with two more boxes of chocolate which Phryne plans on sharing with Lin Chung when he visits that night.
 

Clothes in The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions

 

This is a list of Phryne's clothes mentioned in mentioned in The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions. I have not included those mentioned in the stories already published in A Question of Death as those can already be found in a separate list. 

The Boxer:

• Deep blue overcoat -velvet and silk with gold frogging on the hems, collar and cuffs

The Chocolate Factory:

•  Pegnoir

 

The Bells of St Paul's: 

 

• Erte gown - slate blue with black ruffs at the wrist and hem
• chain-mail and chamois purse
  

Food in The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions

Here is a list of foods mentioned in The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions. I have not included those mentioned in the stories already published in A Question of Death as those can already be found in a separate list. These foods are just from the four new stories:

The Boxer:

• Tea  - Phryne shares with Mrs Ragnall and later with Lady Alice
  
•  Chicken Soup and Lemon and Honey Drink - Dots remedies for her sick Aunt
•  Tea and Shortbread - with Rosie and Bear 

 

A Matter of Style:

• Chicken sandwich and a pot of tea - the lunch Phryne orders from the tea shop with Jean

 

The Chocolate Factory:

• Chocolates -  from Madame Charpentier
  
• Mustard laced nougat - also from Madame Charpentier

 

The Bells of St Paul's:

•  Earl Grey tea, Verve Cliquot Champagne, Pies, quiches, meatballs - High Tea at the Windsor Hotel
  

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - Review

 

I was excited to receive my paperback copy of The Lady with the Gun asks the Questions and expected something like A Question of Death namely a collection of short stories with snippets in between of cocktail recipes, interviews and illustrations however this is not the case as this is simply a collection of stories with none of the fun extras. 

Fan who already own A Question of Death may be disappointed to find that this new book is simply a reprint of the stories from that book with four new stories although I'm sure that there are a few die-hard fans who will still purchase the book knowing this is the case just so they can read the new stories. This was certainly the case for me!

As for the four new stories; I have to say for me they were a mixed bag. I did not think the new stories were as good as the original shorts from A Question of Death but they were still filled with fun and frivolity. 

I'm sure those Phryne fans that have not already read A Question of Death will enjoy this anthology but for me there was simply not enough new content to constitute another book.  

The Lady with the Gun asks the Questions is published by Allen & Unwin and is available now!

I will give a more detailed synopsis of the four new stories in future posts

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - The Bells of St Paul's Synopsis

Phryne and Dot are having high tea at the Windsor Hotel when the Bells of St Paul's church start tolling in the background. Phryne realizes the bells are not playing their usual tones and that they are spelling out a message.

Back at home Phryne reveals the decoded message as "BERE AT MIDNIGHT" Dot says that if the B's were H's the message would read Here at Midnight which seems more likely. Phryne remembers something to that affect and attempts to track down a book on the matter. Dot finds the book: The Bells of St Pauls and Phryne confirms that B flat is written as B so H is used for natural B. Phryne tells Dot to wake her at 11 so they can head over to the church to find who the message is for.

 At just before midnight Phryne and Dot make there way to the side entrance of St Paul's and see a slight young lady waiting in the moonlight. Phryne introduces herself and asks the girl what she is doing and the girl tells her to mind her own business. Phryne tells her that if a crime is being committed she will summon the police and asks the girl if she is one of the bell ringers. The girl confirms she is. Phryne tells her she suspects an elopement is about to take place. The girl introduces herself as Frieda von Mises one of the bell ringers. She says the Dean does not like having female bell ringers but had no choice after he sacked Michael. Phryne asks why Michael was sacked and Frieda tells her he got drunk at a party and then went the Dean went to pick up his daughter Rose he found Michael vomiting  in the rhododendrons and forbide him to court Rose after that. The Dean also confined Rose to quarters. Phryne says it seems like an elaborate scheme for them to meet and Frieda tells her they had no choice as none of them know where Michael lives and they think his real name is something different as they have seen letters addresses to Windmere or Grassmere. Phryne asks why they would help the Deans daughter elope with a stranger and Frieda says he is a big Puppy.

At that moment a man comes down the alley and Phryne recognizes him as Toby, Viscount Windmere. Shortly after the Deans daughter Rose arrives. Phryne asks Toby what he is doing in Australia and he tells her he is there to make money as his father lost their family fortune. He tells Rose he did not tell them he was a viscount as they may think he was rich but he has made some money in business. They ask him how he came to be ringing bells and Toby tells them he enjoyed ringing bells in his local parish so when he arrived in Melbourne he wanted to ring them too. 

Toby tells Rose he wants to marry her. Rose asks him when he was going to tell her she would be Lady Windmere and Toby says one day she will be the Countess of Grassmere but he will renounce the title if she wants. Rose kisses him and tells him that will not be necessary. 

At that moment Roses mother arrives telling Rose she is careless as she left her passport behind and will need it if she plans to elope. She hands rose a large envelope with her passport and tells her there are two steamer tickets inside and they may stay with her family in Bournemouth for a time if they wish. She says by then they should be married as the ships Captain can perform the ceremony. 

Mrs Deans asks Frieda if the bell code was her idea and Frieda surprised asks how she knew. Mrs Dean tells her she wanted to ring bells too but her husband would not allow women. Phryne asks if she doesn't mind about the elopement and Mrs Dean tells her that she didn't realize Michael/Toby was a Lord but if eight god-fearing bell ringers are prepared to vouch for him he must be ok. She ushers the lovers away before her husband wakes up and when they are left the four remaining women begin to laugh.

The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions

 The elegant Miss Phryne Fisher returns in this scintillating collection, which features four brand-new stories.
 

The Honourable Phryne Fisher - she of the Lulu bob, Cupid's bow lips, diamante garters and pearl-handled pistol - is the 1920s' most elegant and irrepressible sleuth.

Miss Phryne Fisher is up to her stunning green eyes in intriguing crime in each of these entertaining, fun and compulsively readable stories. With the ever-loyal Dot, the ingenious Mr Butler and all of Phryne's friends and household, the action is as fast as Phryne's wit and logic.

 I was excited to see a new collection of Phryne stories on first glance but on further investigation I realized that this is a reprint of  2014's A Question of Death with four new stories set in 1929 added. However I have still ordered a copy and will be reviewing the new stories when it arrives and I'm sure other die-hard Phryne fans will be purchasing copies too.

Phryne Fisher Book 22: Death in Daylesford

 Exciting news Phryne Fans! The 21st book in the series entitled Death in Daylesford is scheduled for release November 2020.

Surrounded by secrets, great and small, the formidable Miss Phryne Fisher returns to vanquish injustice.

When a mysterious invitation arrives for Miss Phryne Fisher from an unknown Captain Herbert Spencer, Phryne's curiosity is excited. Spencer runs a retreat in Victoria's spa country for shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War. It's a cause after Phryne's own heart but what could Spencer want from her?

Phryne and the faithful Dot view their spa sojourn as a short holiday but are quickly thrown in the midst of disturbing Highland gatherings, disappearing women, murder and the mystery of the Temperance Hotel.

Meanwhile, Cec, Bert and Tinker find a young woman floating face down in the harbour, dead. Tinker and Phryne's resilient adopted daughters, Jane and Ruth, decide to solve what appears to be a heinous crime.

Disappearances, murder, bombs, booby-traps and strange goings-on land Miss Phryne Fisher right in the middle of her most exciting adventure.

Taman Shud: A Phryne Fisher Mystery - Synopsis

At the end of Kerry Greenwood's book Taman Shud which investigates the mystery of the Somerton Man is a short story in which Phryne finds the body of the Somerton Man. The story is therefore set in 1948 and it is interesting to see how Phryne has matured as she would be 48 in this story. Kerry Greenwood herself says that other than not liking Dior's New Look Phryne would be as wonderful as ever.

Here is a synopsis of the story:

The story starts during the second world war and describes who rather than watching the Germans march on Paris Phryne escapes on a Plymouth bound fishing boat and heads to London. Phryne only decides to join the French Resistance when little ships starting bringing the wounded back from Dunkirk.

Phryne took the name the Black Cat – 'La Chatte Noir' and headed to Tours but the war had a hard effect on her streaking her hair with gray and causing wrinkles around her eyes. For Phryne the end of the war came not a moment too soon but she decided she could not head back to London as it had been destroyed in the war so instead she heads back to Australia and takes a holiday home in Adelaide where she can relax and be free of the nightmares of war.

So Phryne is distraught and angry when she discovers the body of a man on Somerton Beach. She recognises the man as a young German who had been captured by the Marquis and had refused to answer questions even under the threat of torture. Phryne realises that the man is older but it is the same face. Fighting back a sob Phryne tells herself to go up to one of the big houses and have the police called as it is not her dead man!

She notices that the body doesn't have a mark on it and there are no marks in the sand around his feet. It looks like the man has sat down not feeling well and died. She notices his clothes a brown suit, a top coat, white shirt and a tie tied with a Windsor knot which is still in place. Phryne sees the secret smile on the man's face and wonders what colour his eyes are. She then runs up the stairs of one of the houses and has them call the police.

Phryne returns home to Marie a 12 year old orphan she acquired in Carcassone after her parents were killed by a shell. As Marie was a Jew and there were no Jews left in town Phryne took her back to Australia with her. Marie sees Phryne's face and asks what the matter is. Phryne tells her about the man on the beach. Marie sees Phryne is shaken and offers her some tea with cognac.

At a pub on Hindley Street two man are sat at a table talking. The smaller darker man asks 'when does she leave' and his red headed companion Damien tells him 'evening'. The other man Brian asks him to waste a few words on him and asks which evening and Damien tells him tomorrow and it is words that got them into this mess. Brian agrees and asks if Damien is going. Damien says that he is and asks Brian if he is headed for Melbourne. Brian tells him yes on the morning train and asks if there is no sign of a suitcase. Damien says 'he probably left it at the station'. Brian tells him there is no sign and that they will probably raid the station that night and that he may have left it in a locker. He says they are not going to like it and Damien agrees. Brian says he is likely going to his death with the news of their failure and the men both leave.

Phryne has her tea and brandy and is taking a bath when the police arrive. The policewoman Constable Hammond. Phryne ask Marie to make a pot of tea and Marie baulks at the sight of the policewoman. Phryne explains that Marie had only seen people in uniform in the war and they all wanted to send her to Ravensbruck.

The policewoman asks for Phryne's account of finding the man on the beach and then tells Phryne that the bigwigs have told them that she was in the resistance during the war and asks if she knew the man. Phryne explains she doesn't know the man and has never seen him before and asks what

the big mystery is and WPC Hammond explains they don't know who the man is as there was no identification on his body, no labels on his clothes and nothing on his body except for a piece of paper with the words TAMAN SHUD written on. Phryne recalls they are the last words in The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and mean the end and asks if it was a suicide but the policewoman says no as the pathologist can't find cause of death and it seems the man just sat down and died.

The policewoman says there is something about the man's face like he had a secret and died well but her sergeant says that is too fanciful. Phryne agrees with the policewoman and says she saw it too. She says according to the pathologist the man was very healthy and there was no reason for him to die.

Phryne says they should look at the mystery and discounts suicide as they normally leave a note. The policewoman says he only had the scrap of paper with Taman shud on it. Phryne asks if it was handwritten and the policewoman tells her it was torn from a book so Phryne says they need to find the book. She says the man has been searched as people could conceivably remove clothing labels for various reasons but everyone carries something in their pockets such as money or a travel ticket. Phryne asks how the man would have got to the beach and if he was wearing a watch. The policewoman says no. Phryne says it is no ordinary theft and if there was nothing wrong with the man why did he die. The policewoman says he could have been scared to death but Phryne says he did not look scared.

The policewoman finishes her tea and says she had heard of Phryne and her mystery solving before the war. She ask Phryne if she would help solve this mystery as she has any level of clearance and if she solves the mystery there may be a promotion for her. Phryne agrees and tells her to come back when she has more information. The policewoman leaves and Marie tells Phryne that the policewoman want to use her.

For two days Phryne resists the urge to call people she had known in France as she did not want to get involved and the papers were full of the mystery of the Somerton man. Phryne did not call until WPC Hammond return with a code and asked her if she was any good at code-breaking. Phryne says she was not involved in code breaking but contacts Bernard Cooper who had been at Bletchley during the war.

WPC Hammond shows Phryne the paper which looked like complete gibberish to her. The policewoman tells her the book found in a doctors car which was parked near the beach. The doctor found it the next morning and handed it in and the Taman Shud matches it. Phryne asks WPC Hammond if she's sure the code is all there as there is a strange cross over the O in the third line. Phryne tells WPC Hammond she will take the code to Bernard and not to worry about clearance as he had the highest clearance possible and worked on the Enigma code. Phryne tells her she should have an answer from Bernard in a day or two an asks if there is any other news. WPC Hammond tells her that she is not sure if it is connected but someone broke open in the lockers in the left luggage room at Adelaide Central Station. They didn't take anything but left luggage strewn everywhere. Phryne asks what they were looking for and WPC Hammond says she thinks it was a suitcase that the police had found earlier in the day. She says the suitcase did not contain any wallet, keys or passports but the clothes were the right size for the man and it contained a laundry bag with a name Kean or Keane stencilled on it. Other than that there was only the clothes, a toothbrush and shaving equipment that was all American made. Phryne says it may not have belonged to the man and asks if their were any initials and WPC Hammond says T or AE. She says she thinks it could have been Tony or Anthony E Keane but there is no one of that name missing in South Australia and they have not heard back from the other states yet. Phryne says that is promising and says she will go and see Bernard. She asks if there is anything more from the pathologist. WPC Hammond says no but the pathologist is convinced the man was murdered thought there are no poisons in his system but there are poisons that leave no trace. She says the pathologist is basing his theory on the man's face. Phryne says if he took poison there would be a bottle or paper but Hammond says he could have thrown it into the sea. Phryne says she will go and see about the code and call Hammond when she has an answer but Hammond tells her not to call and that she will return in two days.

Phryne calls Bernard Cooper and finds him home. Bernard is astounded she is there and invites her to dinner that night. Bernard asks if anything is the matter and Phryne says no but she has a puzzle for him. Bernard says he thought she was coming for the pleasure of his company and asks her to come now.

Phryne tells Marie she is going out and Marie tells her she too is heading out to the pictures with the greengrocer George. Phryne hops in her Sprite and drives up the hills to Bernard's House. Bernard is waiting for her when she arrives. Phryne notices that Bernard has aged and he thinks the same of her. Bernard invites her in and tells her he has champagne on ice. Bernard talks on and Phryne accuses him on babbling and asks what the matter is. Bernard tells her that he never thought he would get old. Phryne agrees but says she is not old yet. She tells Bernard to pour her a drink and says that he is still the same shaggy bear that she loved in London and she still loves him. Bernard says he still loves her and can not get her out of his mind. Phryne asks if Bernard is alone and asks after Stephanie. Bernard tells her Stephanie died of heart disease two years before. Bernard asks Phryne is she remembers how they used to talk about the hills and the wine during the blitz. He says Stephanie only got to enjoy it for a year before she passed away. Phryne takes his hand to comfort him and he tells her he is glad to see her so she kisses him. Bernard then asks about the puzzle. Phryne sense that the kiss started something that would take Bernard some time to adjust to Phryne produces the paper to show him. It reads:

mrgoadard mtbimpanetpmliaboaqc

ittmtsamstgab

Bernard says it is not an alphabet code and is probably a box code or an ETAIONSHRDLUCWME. Bernard asks where it was found. Phryne tells him it is the code found on the Taman Shud man. But Bernard doesn't get any news where he is and so doesn't know about the case. Bernard works on the code and Phryne leaves him to it and wanders through the house. Whilst she is wandering the house Phryne thinks that she liked Stephanie Bernard's deceased partner which is why she didn't persist in the affair with Bernard.

Phryne sits down to read some magazines when Bernard calls her in and tells her the code is unbreakable unless they have the codeword. Bernard asks if there is something she hasn't told him and Phryne says that the codeword is Taman Shud and she would like to make love with him. Bernard makes a note of the codeword and agrees to her second proposal hugging Phryne to him.

At the station WPC Hammond is drinking tea when a paper is thrown on her desk which she is told to circulate. She is told the tailor said the man was American or at least his clothes were made in America. Her superior asks if she has had any bright ideas but she says no and he tells her he doesn't know why women were let into the force. WPC Hammond responds frostily and her retracts his statements telling her to check all the ships to see if anyone has lost a crewman.

A young man leaves the railway and heads to the railway hotel for a beer. He is fair-haired and blue eyed and has a pale complexion. The barman asks if it is too hot for him and the man replies far too hot with a faint Canadian accent. The barman moves the man's hat which has PH marked on the band and the man asks for another beer and asks the barman if he will join him.

Phryne and Bernard are in bed, Phryne lifts her head of Bernard's chest and he groans. Phryne asks what the matter is and Bernard tells her he is remembering. He says bad memories always come back after good times and Phryne agrees so they swap memories. Phryne tells him about the young German soldier a Wehrmacht who had to be captured because he had information about when a train was coming in containing the Resistance prisoner Jean Moulin. Bernard recalls Jean Moulin was killed in Lyon by Klaus Barbie. Phryne says they did not know that then and she had to keep watch while the young man was questioned but he would not talk so they killed him.

Bernard tells her that he found a message when he was decoding that said 'Destroy Coventry'. He tells her he decoded it 12 hours before the bombers came and that he knew it would happen but did nothing as if he had warned Coventry then the Germans would know that the British could break their codes.

Phryne kisses Bernard and she asks him how he got a scar on his hip he says the blitz and asks how she got a scar on her thigh. She tells him a Gestapo man did not like her answers but she got away as she has friends. Bernard says he knows as Archie has been on the phone telling him to help her and make sure she doesn't get in trouble. Phryne asks what trouble she could get in in Adelaide and Bernard says as long as she hasn't bought her dead man with her. Phryne promises she hasn't. Bernard says he will get up and make tea and then they can solve the puzzle.

Bernard says that if they presume that Taman shud is the code word and look for the frequency of letters in the English language they should be able to solve it easily. Phryne asks what is the code is in a different language. Bernard says then they are in trouble. Bernard continues to try to solve the puzzle but finds it is not as easy as it looks. He gets AUR GT ST US AEK. Phryne tells him the dead man's initials are AEK and that GT could mean go to and ST could be station and that they may have been American which can count for the US. They ponder over the AUR and wonder if it could be gold as it is the Latin term for gold. They then look at the next line and get ANT in the middle which is probably proceeded by W making want. They work out the sender of the message appears to be WT K. They know that WT stands for wireless transmission so think K might be a person.

Phryne then asks Bernard is he is not going to tackle the rest of the letters and he tells her that is the macron. Phryne asks what this is and Bernard says that the O crossed out means that the message runs backwards from this point or the rest is gibberish. Bernard reads on and is puzzled. He asks Phryne if she did any code reading during her time in the resistance and she says none. He asks her is she has heard of the Irish/Nazi connection and she says no. Bernard tells her that he was working for a while on transmissions that Nazi's sent to the IRA. Bernard tells her there was always one name that came up when any killing needed to be done and shows her the message which now read: AUR GT ST US AEK WANT P- ENA – WT K. Bernard tells her the killers were two brothers Patrick and Michael Heaney and that the Germans don't like double vowels so called them Henay. There code name was P and M Henay and that he think K might be P Henay.

The young man approaches the station as the Melbourne train is getting ready to depart. He approaches a small dark man and asks where the money is. Brian tells him he used the stuff but the man wouldn't tell and just upped and died. The young man says goodbye Brian and pushes him under the train and walks away without being noticed.

Phryne says that if Bernard is right they should call someone. Phryne calls Archie and tells him that Patick Heaney is in their midst. Archie tells them about the accident at the railway with Brian Sean Ryan and says he will look for Patrick. Phryne asks if he knows him and Archie says yes and asks if they have told anyone else. Phryne tells him Bernard and that her companion knows where she is. Archie asks if they have told anyone official and Phryne says yes WPC Hammond. Archie asks if she is coming back to Adelaide and Phryne says not that night so Archie tells her he will have it cleared up by the morning and when she comes back she should call on him.

When she gets of the phone Phryne asks Bernard who Archie is. Bernard tells her he is in parliament and he will come with her if she wants but he doesn't got to the city often. Phryne tells him to stay where he is and she will come and join him on occasion. Bernard says that sounds lovely and says he will write out the message and then they should go back to bed.

Sir Archibald Donaldson calls WPC Hammond who listens stunned that he is calling her. She hands the phone to her sergeant who agrees to what Archie asks him and when he gets off the phone tells her she is on loan to the Funny People and as far as he is concerned they can keep her.

When Hammond arrives at Archie's office he tells her that her dead man had some nasty friends. He says she will be shown a lot of pictures and she should say if she recognises anyone as her chief says she has a photographic memory. Hammond sorts out 3 pictures which she hands to Archie as people she recognises. The first is of a red-headed man and the second a small dark man. She says she saw them outside the railway hotel together the day before. The third a blonde man with blue eyes she said she saw on Rundle street that morning.

Archie tells her who the men are and says they will head off to where she saw Heaney that morning with back up and see if they can find him. Hammond finds Damien easily and the backup walk him away down the street but as he is walking he is shot by a sniper by a pale young man. They drag him into a side road and he asks for a priest so one of the attendants runs to get one. They ask him about the man on the beach and he tells them that the new stuff which was meant to be truth serum killed him. He says the man Keane was running and had incepted a message which told him they were on to him so he hid the suitcases and they never found out where. He then asks again for a priest and after one has been fetched and performed the last rite he dies.

The next day Phryne, Hammond and Archie gather in Archie's office. Phryne tells Archie that the man knew they were onto him so left clues to solve his murder then went to the meeting having hidden a suitcase full of what must have been the IRA's money. They shot him with scopolamine into his scalp so no mark showed. It is meant to be a truth drug but some people have a sensitivity to it and he died. Phryne is frustrated that he died without revealing where the money is and says they should ride the tram tot he beach is she hasn't been there for ages. Archie agrees grumpily.

They get to Somerton beach and exit the tram. Archie asks what they are doing there and Phryne says going paddling or at least she is. Phryne heads down to where Hammond first saw the man and dug in the sand. Phryne says she wondered why the man would sit there and also where he would leave something valuable to him and there's nowhere safer than under your feet. Phryne scrapes away the sand and finds a suitcase. She tells Archie to lift it carefully as these things are sometime booby trapped but there appears to be no wires coming from it.

Phryne asks Archie is he will open it but he says no as he notices thick yellow smoke coming from the case. He tells them he would never have got it open as they always contain a phosphorus bomb to destroy the contents but he is not worried as he knows the contents would have been cheques from prominent members of the Melbourne Irish community.

Hammond asks what will happen to the murderer and Archie says he will get his comeuppance at some point. She then asks about the Taman Shud mystery and he tells her it will remain a mystery but her police work has been essential and he expects to see her rise high in her profession quite soon. Archie then asks Phryne if she would care to have lunch with him but she tells him she has another engagement and takes Dulcie Hammond for a quiet drink and a good lunch.

After lunch Phryne heads home and pours herself a good glass of red wine. She recalls Keanes smug looking face and realises it has lost its intensity. She then call forth the image of the German soldier and realises she no longer feels pains about the incident. So although the Taman Shud incident had a disappointing ending it obliterated bad memories from her mind.

Phryne was lying in the sun sipping wine when she receives a telegraph from Bernard congratulating her and telling her that the last phrase in Rubaiyat Taman Shud means an unsolvable mystery and asking her to come back to him soon.

Phyrne picks up her copy of the Rubaiyat opening it a random and reading a paragraph and then calls Marie for more wine

A Question of Death - Come, Sable Night Synopsis

Phryne has invited the madrigal choir over to her house for a rehearsal and to hear the latest gossip. Whilst passing round the champagne cups Claude Greenhill informs her that the clubs lothario Lawrence has dumped Diane whom he was meant to be marrying to take up with Violet her younger sister. One of the other girls Alexandra is gutted as she thought she was next after Diane.

Claude says Lawrence is not as bad a Victor who is the clubs casanova however everyone knows it so none of the girls would fall for him. Phryne notes that Jane who is moping has. Victor comes over and tells Phryne not to believe all she hears from Claude but Phryne reminds him that she knows him. Lawrence joins the conversation and announces that he and Violet are to be married and he wants to choir to sing at the reception.

Diane thrusts a bouquet of roses into Lawrence hands and congratulates him. Lawrence is cut by one of the thorns on the roses. The choir start to sing but halfway through a song Lawrence keels over. One of the choir Anne who is in the medical profession checks him over and proclaims he is dead.

Phryne ushers the choir into another room and calls the doctor. The doctor comes and states Lawrence died from anaphylactic shock and asks what he ate. Phryne lists the foods including strawberries. The doctor says it would have been the strawberries and writes the death certificate. Phryne says if Lawrence knew he was allergic to a food he would have avoided it but the doctor tells her that these allergies can sneak up on people.

Phryne calls Lawrence parents and hires an undertaker. She then asks Anne to get Victor and Claude to come see her. Phryne asks Victor if he put something in the wine that Victor had popped when the wedding announcement was made as he had opened it outside the room. Victor asks why they would think that and Claude says maybe Victor and Lawrence were lovers. Victor said they had been once or twice but Lawrence didn't really like him. Victor says he put nothing in the wine but Lawrence was allergic to bee stings. He also tells them that Lawrence wanted him to marry Diane but he just couldn't and breaks down crying. Phryne sends him to wash his face in the bathroom. Victor returns and Phryne asks him to do something for her she says Jane. She’s in a bad way. I want you to resolve her future, Victor. Settle quite a lot of money on her. I’m not asking you to marry her,’ Victor agrees and Phryne send him back to rehearsal and asks him to send Violet and Alexandra out to her.

Phryne asks them if they knew of Lawrence' allergy. They say no and they thought they would as he told them everything. Violet says Diane might have known. Phryne sends them back to the rehearsal and Claude says it looks like they didn't know about the murder. Phryne agrees but grabs Claude by the ear and says he did though. Claude questions her and she say he is the librarian and arrange the order the music would be sung and he was trying to send a message to someone by doing this.

Claude eventually says the message was for Diane as he knew she was furious and hoped it would shock he out of doing something like this. Phryne realises that Diane must have put bee venom on the thorns of the roses that she gave to Lawrence. Claude says that Lawrence is worth a lot of money and changed his will to include her when he was going to marry Diane but he was short on his income and borrowed money from her and did not pay it back.

Claude and Phryne realise that the venom would no longer be on the flowers so there is no way of proving the crime. Claude says they could call the police but Phryne says they have no evidence. They are thinking about this dilemma when Claude spots a drunken bee climbing out of one of the roses. The pair fall about laughing realising that the death was simply an accident.

A Question of Death - The Camberwell Wonder Synopsis

Jack Robinson attends a crime scene whereby the victim has been murdered the arrest the murderer at the scene and drive him back to the station but all the way he won't talk and only tells them that he killed the victim over and over.

Meanwhile Phryne is home from a date with a man dancing at the Green Mill. However her date is very clumsy and has stomped all over her feet. She fights him off and doesn't allow him into her house. When she comes in she kicks off her ruined shoes and asks Dot. She asks Dot for her slippers and a small glass of green chartreuse and says it is the last time she does anyone a favour.

Dot says she recognises Phryne's date Mr Clarke's name from the papers. Phryne says that is her dates father who helped with mentally disabled people by putting them to work but was probably exploiting them and not paying them properly.

Dot reads the story from the paper which states Mr Clarke is missing and the gardener is accused of murder. Just then the phone rings. It is Lady Rose who is a friend of the Clarkes. She tells Phryne she has a commission for her. Phryne tells her it is after midnight and agrees to see her in the morning at 9am and the goes to bed.

The next morning Phryne heads to Lady Rose' house and is greeted by the maid who tells her Lady Rose is in a foul mood over the murder and that she personally didn't like Mr Clarke as he had some shady dealings to do with import and export.

Lady Rose introduces Phryne to Mrs Slade her cleaner. She says Mrs Slade's son Stevie was simple minded and worked for Mr Clarke and it is he who is accused of Mr Clarke's murder. Mrs Slade says her son wouldn't hurt anyone but he said he did it and there was blood on his collar. Mrs Slade thinks someone put words in Stevie's mouth.

Phryne asks to see the Clarke's house and Lady Rose gets ready to go out. Her maid tells Phryne that Mr Clarke was accused of smuggling goods. They go to the Clarke house, a large mansion called Camberwell.

Phryne pulls up to the house and is let in by a simple boy. She asks Lady Rose if all the staff are mentally disabled and Lady Rose tells her the Housekeeper, Butler and the Steward who looks after all the other staff aren't. She meets Sergeant Day who tells her Jack is on the case but they have no body only he bloody collar. Phryne suggests they send the collar to the lab to check if it is human blood or animal.

Inside they meet Jack and Mrs Clarke who is sat on the floor chanting. Jack tells them she has been doing that all morning and he can't get her to talk to him. Phryne asks what he wants to know and Jack says when she last saw her husband. Lady Rose asks Mrs Clarke but her answer is vague but then she sees the look in Lady Rose's eyes and tells her yesterday morning, he had a meeting with some businessmen and then he was supposed to be back for lunch and he never came.

Jack asks if Mr Clarke was worried about any business dealings or anything but Mrs Clarke tells him that her husband did not talk to her about his business. Lady Rose asks Mrs Clarke if Mr Clarke was planning on leaving her but she says no and he couldn't as he has no money of his own. She says he was always asking her to sign checks for him and he seemed a lot happier recently as he had been singing in the bath.

Phryne asks what he sang and Mrs Clarke tells her French songs. Phryne recognises the song. Jack says he has no further questions but needs to search the house. Phryne goes with him and they are shown to Mr Clarke's room by the steward (who is a hard faced man) as the butler is indisposed.

When they get there they realise the room has been cleaned and the bin emptied. They ask where the rubbish would have gone and ask to see it. Phryne searches through the rubbish and finds something important on a scrap of paper. She runs back into the house to show Jack. Phryne shows Jack the paper and says she has to hurry as it is nearly 11 already then she tells him she will meet him back at Russell Street station then rushes out of the house.

Phryne says that Lady Rose' maid was right that Mr Clarke was a smuggler and the figures on the scrap of paper she found were money that was accruing from the smuggling. She said the paper is torn from a book called Famous Historical Puzzles and the title of the chapter was “The Camden Wonder”. Phryne tells them it is a favourite of hers and is about a certain

gentleman, who has had shady dealings with both sides who vanishes one night. All that is found of him is a torn shirt, stained with blood, and one shoe. The steward of his house confesses out of

the blue that he, his mother and his brother murdered the gentleman. Both mother and brother deny it fiercely, beg their relative to come to his senses, but it goes to trial. The gentleman has been gone for a year. Then the steward changes his story, tries to withdraw his confession, says that he doesn’t know what happened to the gentleman. They stop to pick up Mrs Slade and Phryne says she will continue the story on the way. When Lady Rose returns with Mrs Slade Phryne tells them the steward withdrew his confession, but they were all tried anyway.’Lady Rose asks where the body was as you cannot have a murder without a body but Phryne tells them you can and the trio were hung in the story.

They arrive a the police station and Phryne talks to Stevie. She asks if Mr Clarke was his friend and Stevie agrees and Phryne asks if Mr Clarke cut Stevie's arm. Stevie says yes it was a joke and he did it to bloody the collar. Phryne ask Stevie if Mr Clarke asked him to confess to the murder and told him he wouldn't be in trouble. Stevie says yes and Phryne tells him he has to tell the truth now as the joke is over.

At that moment Phryne hears lots of shouting and Jack is dragging a man into the station. Phryne tells the man he is Joshua Clarke and a murderer. She finds out the man was attempting to escape to France with another woman and a chunk of his wife's estate that he had persuaded to sign over to her. She tells him he is guilty of attempted murder as he knew Stevie would hang for his murder just like the characters in the book The Camden Wonder. Mr Clarke is arrested and Stevie is freed.  

A Question of Death - Carnival

Phryne is on a date with Bobby Ferguson at the carnival. Bobby is in a fowl mood and has complained all night. Bobby realises that he still has his mothers pearl bracelet in his pocket that he meant to have fixed and worries about the number of thieves at the carnival. Phryne advises him to keep his voice down and move it to a different pocket.

Phryne rides the carousel picking a black stallion to ride and then goes in a tent to see the 'missing link. She then heads to the next tent which is the princess of the amazon. Here she meets Doreen 'the princess' and her snake Cleopatra and a mechanic at the carnival Allan Lee. Phryne promises to get rid of her date Bobby and return to the carnival on another night.

She catches up to Bobby who states he has been robbed of the pearl bracelet and shows her the empty jewellery box. He says he realised it was missing when he went to get his money out to pay for a turn on the shooting range. Phryne quiets him down but all Bobby's shouting has attracted the attention of a police officer who starts asking for details Phryne introduces herself as a detective and a friend of D.I Jack Robinson. Allan Lee tells Phryne that Samson the strongman normally sees off thieves.

Phryne realises that Bobby has staged the theft as no thief would steal a bracelet and leave the box. Phryne looks at the shooting range and notices the bracelet hanging among the prizes. Allan Lee tells Phryne that Anna the lady on the shooting range is no thief and Phryne tells him to distract the policeman and she will get the bracelet back. Phryne tells them to go and get the 'Wild Man' and Cleopatra the snake as she knows Bobby hates snakes. Allan and the Wild Man cause a fuss and while Bobby and the policeman are distracted Phryne grabs the bracelet.

Bobby corners Anna while the policeman is distracted and says that she has to either go with him or he will get the police. Anna tells him to get the police. Bobby states he has the pearls and Anna stole them but when they are investigated they are cheap imitations being offered as prizes. Phryne comes forward with the real pearls and tells the policeman Bobby dropped them near the carousel then he tells Bobby to tell the policeman what he has been up to but Allan Lee stops her and tells her they don't want trouble at the carnival so Samson just throws Bobby out.

Phryne spends the evening getting to know the carnival people and spends the night with Allan Lee.

A Question of Death - Death Shall Be Dead

Phryne and Jack are dining at the Cafe Royale. Jack tells Phryne that a man has told him someone is trying to murder him. Phryne asks if someone is trying to murder him and Jack says he doesn’t know but the man says he was shot at. He says the man is a cantankerous old man who lives alone and has no money so he doesn’t see why someone would want to kill him. The old man says someone is trying to buy his house and offered a lot of money but he won't sell.

Jack tells Phryne the mans name is Albie Jackson. Jack then tells Phryne he is studying poetry specifically Chaucer at night school and ask Phryne what she has been doing. Phryne says not much and tells Jack about a couple of cases. When they are leaving Phryne tells Jack to see who owned Albie Jackson's house before him.

The next day Phryne is relaxing at home when Jack rings and tells Phryne that Albie Johnson's place caught fire the night before and three people are dead despite the fact that the fire was put out fast. Jack tells Phryne one of the dead was a client of hers Thomas Mason. Phryne says Thomas Mason was a creep and his wife was her client as she wanted a divorce. Jack says the wife is also one of the dead people but no one can identify her so Phryne agrees to do the job. Phryne wonders who would want to kill Mrs Mason other than her bank robber husband.

Phryne arrives at the house and finds it burnt through. She notes it must have been a dump even before the fire. She makes her way to the kitchen and sees three bodies slumped around the kitchen table. Phryne identifies Mrs Mason and asks when her husband got out of jail. Jack said the day before and Mrs Mason's landlady said he collected her from the house and even though she was terrified she went with him. Jack tells her the other dead man is Foxy Harris another bank robber.

The doctor arrives and says the deaths were caused by cyanide poisoning and the deaths happened less than 12 hours before. Phryne asks where Albie Jackson is and the police say they have found him mutilated on the back porch of the house along with his dog. Albie had flat iron burns on his chest. The doctor says Albie has been tortured but was not poisoned and probably died of heart failure. Jack takes the dog with him and asks Phryne if she has any ideas about the case. Phryne says that if someone was trying to buy Albies house there must be something special about it. Jack says he will find out who owned the house before Albie and then they can search it properly.

A constable comes back with some food and water for the dog from a neighbour across the street. The neighbour says she needs to talk to Jack. The dog eats and they notice it has been hurt and Jack asks the constable to check the bodies for a dog bite.

The neighbour says the dog is called Anubis and tells Jack that Mr Jackson was a strange man that used to be a chemist but when his wife died he lost interest in things. Jack ask if she had heard anything and she says her daughter heard a car at 11 but it was noisy due to the storm. Phryne asks if the neighbour knew the old owners of the house and the neighbour says they were criminals and then man got arrested then the woman left.

After the ambulance men had taken the corpses away Phryne and Jack think about the murder whilst police search the house. Jack says the old owner was called Carr and was in Pentridge for theft and lots of other offences. Phryne and Jack surmise that the robbers thought Albie knew where Carr had hidden his money in the house so tied him up and tortured him but Albie had cyanide from his old chemist supplies and poured it in their drink but they didn’t drink it before he died from the torture. The fire would have started when Mason dying swept a kerosene lamp onto the floor.

Phryne realises where the money would have been hidden and goes back into the house. She asks where the dog slept. The constable points to some blankets. Phryne removes them and finds a trap door. She pulls up the floorboards to reveal the money. Phryne tells them that Anubis was the god of the dead but also the guardian of hidden treasure.

Jack is back home with his family and the dog when Phryne calls to ask him how his Chaucer is going and tells him to read the pardoners tale. Jack reads the pardoners tale and sees the correlation with the case.  

A Question of Death - The Hours of Juana the Mad Synopsis

Phryne is attending the academics cocktail party at Melbourne University with Jeoffrey Bisset who had promised to show her the departments treasure – the Book of Hours made for Mad Queen Juana of Spain. Phryne eavesdrops on a number of conversations all more gossip than anything academic. Bisset interrupts her and takes her to see the book but she is waylaid by Gerald Street the Angelo Saxon and Old Norse tutor. Phryne catches up with Bisset and they go to the library to see the book where they meet the librarian Katz. When Katz opens the safe the book is not there.

They call a meeting of the faculty and Phryne looks through the rest of the contents of the safe which contains papers and the Deans wife's pearls. She pulls out the Latin term papers and Bisset notices a leaf that should not be in the paper. It is a couplet from Carmina Burana from O Fortuna. Phryne asks what it means and Hoskins tells her it means “in this hour without delay touch the beat of the heart' or pluck the strings of the heart.

Phryne suspects the thief is distinguished as they left this clue as oppose to a common thief who would have taken the pearls. Phryne tells the faculty if they think someone has crept in and stolen the book they should call the police but the faculty members are opposed to the idea as they believe the thief must be among them. Phryne asks who has connection in America and needs money.

Gerald Street tell her that Bradbury is bankrupt after trying to play a system on the horses and Phryne says she will solve the theft and when she does she wants to dine at the high table. The Dean tells her no lady is allowed to dine at the high table and Phryne says she will.

Phryne goes out to the courtyard and notices a piece of parchment pinned to a tree. It says 'Tempora a lapsa volant fugitivis falimur horis' Phryne recognises horis as hours. Phryne write Quare? (why?) under the couplet and leaves the university.

That night at dinner Bisset translates the couplet for Phryne as 'Time that is fallen is flying, we are deceived by the passing hours'. Phryne asks Bisset what he does at the university and he says he is professor of English Lit and a tutor in the classics – Latin and Greek. He says it gives him time to work on his book translating the poems of Alcuin. Bisset asks Phryne if she would like to see his work and says he had seen some of the original manuscripts but not all as one family won't let him see one of the manuscripts. This makes Bisset angry as he says knowledge should be free. Phryne asks him who he thinks stole the book of hours and Bisset says he doesn’t think it was Bradbury.

Phryne returns to the tree in the courtyard of the university and notices another parchement which states 'Quis legem dat amantibus' (what law for lovers) Phryne write underneath Render unto me Monmouth and went into the faculty office to find Gerald Street berating his copy typists. Phryne asks him about his investigating and he tells her Bradbury denies it but was alone for a good few hours in the library so had the opportunity. He asks Phryne if she could open the safe easily and she shows him by easily removing the back of the safe.

Phryne goes back to the courtyard and sees another note on the tree which states Dolorous Gard. Phryne muses about the Arthurian legend and the two castles Dolorous Gard and Joyous Gard. Phryne replies to the note with 'usbis est libus' and leaves to bone up on her knowledge of Arthurian legends.

The next day Phryne returns to the courtyard and finds another note, this time Chaucer stating 'A knight there was, and that a wont thy man … he loved chivalry, truth and honour, freedom and curteseye'. Phryne is confused by this and scribbles on the paper give me back the book or else and sat on a nearby bench to watch for the culprit. Phryne notices the English building with the clocktower and the law quadrangle that looked like a Gothic castle and has an idea. She goes to find Professor Hoskins and drags him to show him along with Professor Street. She then finds Bisset and a ladder. Phryne talks the professors through the clues and says if the English building is Joyous Gard then the law cloisters would be Dolorous Gard she climbs the ladder in front of a knight carved into the stone and reaches into the battlements where she produces the book along with another note stating 'Ave, formosissima' (hail most powerful lady) an invocation to Venus.

Phryne looks through the stunning book and asks how they could leave it locked away in a safe. The professors agree to display it in a glass case. The Dean asks who stole the book and Phryne says she wont tell as she's doesn't know. She then asks Bisset to take her for a drink to Noughtons.

At Noughtons she asks Bisset why he stole the book and he said he wanted it to be displayed. He asks Phryne how she knew it was him and she says that it could only be one of three people. Katz, Gerald Street or him and he was the only tall one amongst them and the parchment was pinned high on the tree.  

A Question of Death - Overheard on the Balcony

Phryne and Dot head to the Queenscliff Hotel for a Christmas in June dinner hosted by Tom Adams.

Phryne and Dot sign in and then sit by the fire in the parlour. They are greated by a pale girl called Emmy Harbottle and her husband Genral Alex Harbottle and a buxom readhead named Lilith Johnson a writer of erotic novels. Also at the party was Zechariah Silk the cubist poet who was beating the genral at chess.

Emmy gets up to go for a lie down but her husband getting angry forces her to stay by pinching her a producing a letter from his pocket. Phryne intercepts and takes Emmy for a lie down. Dot says she will stay with Emmy and agrees to meet Phryne to dress her at seven thirty. Phryne spend the afternoon wandering the pier and riding the ferry.

Phryne goes down for dinner and is greeted by Tom who seems ill at ease. Phryne asks what possessed him to invite the general and Tom says he owed him a favour and that his wife was Toms cousin. They sit to dine and the general is his bolshy self. His wife tries to calm him but he threatens her with the letter and she balks. The General starts a fight with the poet by calling him a conchie and Tom Adams tries to calm him but the general says he knows Toms secret and calls Lilith a slut. This kills the conversation and the plum pudding is served. The General eats his and falls to the floor dead.

Whilst they await the doctor Phyrne and Dot sit with Emmy who is calm and seems more relieved than distressed. Phryne thinks about Tom being blackmailed and wonders what Liliths secret could be. The constable arrives as Phryne is about to take a walk and she asks him what killed the General . The policeman tells her it was an overdose of his heart pills.

After the police have finished with the guests they retire for bed. Phryne wonders when the Genral could have been poisoned as it could not be at dinner as the courses were shared. Phryne can't sleep so she goes for a walk and finds Tom Adam's as he can't sleep either. She asks Tom if he poisoned the General but Tom says no. Phryne asks what the General had on Tom and Tom tells her he was married in London but had been courting recently. Tom said he believes his wife is dead and has someone trying to find out for him. He says the General blackmailed him for invitations to society events. Phryne ask what the General had on Lilith and Tom tells her that Lilith has a blameless home life and her femme fatale personality is an act but if her readers found out she was a housewife her books would not sell. Phryne goes to get a cocktail.

The next morning the guests are told not to leave the hotel. The police say the General was poisoned with Digitalin and search the guests property but no one had any drugs. As they eat lunch Phryne struggles to recall something about the waiter that served plum pudding. She recalls something odd about the colour of his hands. She grabs Zecheriah who is behind her and pulls him onto the balcony where she tells him she knows he is a fraud. He asks how she knew and she says that his glasses did not magnify when he put them on the menu and his hair looked dead like a wig.

Then she asks why he murdered the general. Phryne says it was Silk that dressed as the waiter than served the pudding. Phryne asks why he did it and he says that he was a soldier and Alex was his General. Then he tells Phryne that Alex sent his battalion to their death except for him as he was imprisoned by Turks and kept for two years. Silk tells Phryne that he took on this persona to get his poems published and that he had been engaged to Emmy before the war. He said the letter the General has threatened her with was his letter to her.

Phryne asks how he poisoned the General and he says he had a knife smeared with the poisons so when he left the room he changed into the waiter outfit and brought the pudding back and cut it up. He asks how Phryne knew it was him and she said because of his poem about foxgloves whose poison is digitalin. Phryne asks what he will do now and he says he will got to Africa to treat people as he used to be a medical student. Phryne promises not to reveal him unless someone else gets blamed.

At that moment Emmy rushes out onto the balcony saying she heard the whole conversation. She kisses Silk and says she’s sorry and she only got married because she thought he was dead and she had no money. Silk says they can't be together now as this horrible secret would drive them apart. She asks why he didnt come back for her and Silk says because she was rich and well looked after and he had nothing to offer but they really can't be together after a murder.

Lilith then joins them on the balcony and gives them a note from the General saying he killed himself. Phryne asked Lilith how she got the note and she says that the General was pursuing her as he thought she was a fallen woman and pushed the note under her door.

Silk and Emmy retire to her room happy that Silk had not killed the General and Phryne asks Lilith for the rest of the story Lilith tells Phryne that the General was threatening to reveal an affair she had in a moment of weakness to her husband and said she would have to have a lifelong affair with him if she didn’t want him to reveal her secret. Lilith says she invited the general to her room and gave him a glass of wine with his heart pills dissolved in and then stole one of the suicidal notes he was prone to writing to make it look like suicide. Phryne promises not to reveal the truth.   

A Question of Death - The Miracle of St Mungo Synopsis

Phryne is having cocktails with Lucy, Lady Wessex who has asked for Phryne help as she is being blackmailed by a man who she had a fling with. The man is threatening to tell her husband and has a picture in a locket of Lucy and him together. She said James was unhappy as the locket was his wedding present to her that he had bought out from Glasgow. She says she can't raise the money as she has nothing to sell without raising suspicion.

Phryne asks about a paining in the hallway and Lucy says it is St Mungo the patron saint of Glasgow. St Mungo had helped a women whose husband had found out she had given her marriage ring to her lover. The Husband had killed the lover and threw the ring into the river and told the wife she must present herself wearing the ring at dinner that night or she too would be killed. St Mungo called up a salmon and took the ring out of its mouth and gave it back to the lady.

Phryne asks Lucy about her lover and she says he is a medical student named Percy and friend of her brother. They had been seeing each other for three months but he asked her to leave her husband and she said no. Then he started demanding money.

Phryne says she has an idea. They both dress for dinner and go downstairs. After dinner with a bunch of bright young things a young man asks Phryne to dance. Phryne refuses but says she will talk to the man for a while. He introduces himself as Gerald, Lucy's brother. He says he is at university studying art as their father is rich so he doesn’t need a profession. He says a lot of the young men at uni are not rich and need to work to make money like Percy and Tommy. Tommy is a bouncer at Montpellier a place the boys go to play cards. Phryne asks Gerald to take her there and he says he will the next night.

The next night they go to the Montpellier a place of squalor. The go to a side room where the card game is going on and Phryne notices a young man who she suspects is Percy. She introduces herself and it is Percy so she asks him to cut her in to the poker game. Phryne starts losing hand after hand until she has not money left. Then she offers her virtue for a piece of jewellery. Percy agrees and she tells the others to leave the room. Phryne asks to see the stake and Percy asks her why she is doing this she says a whim. Percy notices Phryne is a lot more composed and seems less drunk than earlier and that she had pulled to cards out of the deck that were not the ones he had stacked. Phryne puts her cards down, a royal flush and Percy accuses her of cheating. She admits he did but said he did too and only noticed her marked cards because her marks were in different places to his. Percy reaches to grab Phryne but she pulls her pistol on him. Phryne tells him to let her go and she wont tell his friends about his cheating or Gerald about Percy's relationship with his sister. Percy agrees and Phryne leaves.

The next morning Phryne asks Lucy about that mornings fish delivery. She then plants the locket in the fish without Lucy knowing. Later that morning a yell comes from the kitchen and Lucy goes to find out what is going on. The cook comes out with the fish with the locket gleaming from its belly. She says she recognised the locket as the one Lucy had lost overboard. Lucy's husband tells her to wash the locket and put it back on and she hugs him happily crying. He tells Phryne he too remembers the story of St Mungo and she raises her glass to him.  

A Question of Death - The Body in the Library Synopsis

Phryne and Jack are in the library of Robert Sanderson MP inspection a dead body of a young woman. The notice the girl is not wearing shoes but her feet are clean so wonder how she got there and where her shoes have got to. Phryne asks for the doctors report and Jack tells her the cause of death is indeterminate and there has been recent sexual activity.

Jack tells Phryne that Robert Sanderson was trying to pass a bill to legalise prostitution as he feel prostitutes are exploited by there pimps so he had made a lot of enemies. The worst one being Reverend Joshua Blackroot who called Robert Sanderson a whoremonger.

Phryne notices that the young woman's clothes do not match as some items are expensive and others cheap. They notice a card stuck to the young girls back that says for a good time call Alice. Phryne notices the girls hair is girtty so Phryne combs it onto a magazine and discovers coal dust in her hair. Phryne surmises that the chimney sweep must have brought the girl in his sack.

Jack goes to arrest the sweep and Phryne starts to read the magazine. She notices an article about Reverend Blackroot she reads it and notices a picture of the murdered girl who turns out to be Jane Trellis-Smythe a woman active in church work who helps the Reverend in his home for fallen women. Phryne surmises that she could be the Reverend lover doing church work while her husband is away. She wonders if the Reverends home for fallen women is a front for an illegal brothel and says perhaps Mrs Trellis-Smythe wondered what it would be like to be a fallen women so dressed up and perhaps was smothered when she threatened to uncover the brothel and then was dumped at Robert Sandersons house to cause a scandal and stop him putting through his bill that would put the Reverend's brothel out of business.

Phryne shows a card that she found on the hall stand to Jack it says chimneys swept and the second card stuck to the girls back says the Reverend Blackroot's home for fallen women for a good time call Alice.