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'Murder in the Cathedral', a Phryne Fisher mystery by Kerry Greenwood

 


 Kerry Greenwood’s knowledge of church ways and the Anglican Province of Victoria a century ago are marvellously, if quirkily at times, on show in her posthumously published Phryne Fisher mystery, ‘Murder in the Cathedral’. The stylish socialite detective has been invited by her old friend Lionel Watkins to attend his installation as Bishop of Bendigo. For this reason, we learn from Miss Fisher that “I’m not much of a believer myself, but I was brought up in the Church of England. It is the religion of the Great Compromise. It is above all a creed founded on the principle that murdering each other on points of doctrine is something that only foreigners do.” This confession of faith, if you will, is basis for her opinion, shared with the investigating constabulary, that “every church has its awkward moments, but clergymen and organists don’t go around killing each other because they have guilty secrets.” She works by her own process of elimination, nearly always leaving officialdom in her wake.

 The elegant Shamrock Hotel is the base for a complex investigation involving police, clergy, parishioners, prospectors and Bendigonians of all kinds and proclivities. Indeed, Bendigo itself is a main character in the drama, with its clunky trams, dubious late mining ventures, multiple claimants for cathedral churches, and assorted provincial types, many of them suspects for a most unlikely murder scenario. Yet at no time is the reader’s belief in the plausibility of the story suspended. This is due to Greenwood’s accomplished ability as a plot maker, the constant twists and turns of events, her cast of period characters from all classes, and especially the long-serving circle of Phryne’s friends and work colleagues: her companion Dot and Dot’s fiancé Constable Hugh Collins, the larrikins Bert and Cec, and local detective inspectors hard-pressed with solving crime and dealing with the mercurial presence of Miss Fisher herself. The author’s gift for creative uses of verbs and adjectives is a treat on every page, as is her pleasure in antiquated Australianisms resuscitated for the reader’s enjoyment, at least some of which require an explanatory visit to the Phryne Fisher Glossary: http://phrynefisher.com/glossary.html Both website and novel are recommended summer reading.         

 Available at the St Peter’s Bookroom while stocks last: ‘Murder in the Cathedral’, by the late Kerry Greenwood (Allen & Unwin, 2025), only $35. This brief review first appeared in the Christmas Issue of the St Peter’s Parish Paper.

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