cover image Flying Too High

Flying Too High

Kerry Greenwood. Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95 (245pp) ISBN 978-1-59058-237-4

The many U.S. fans of Greenwood's feisty and plucky Australian flapper sleuth Phryne Fisher should especially enjoy the second entry in the series (Cocaine Blues, etc.), which presents another pair of cases from the early days of her career as a private detective. The two inquiries present quite different challenges: the first, to track down the kidnappers of a young girl, whose father just won the lottery, before she is harmed; the second, to identify the murderer of a bully whose son has been charged with the offense. Fisher again displays an impressive set of skills, from air-walking and daredevil plane flying to blood-splatter analysis, and Greenwood leavens her plot with Wodehousian characters and wit.