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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