Solitaire Book Club: The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions

The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions by Kerry Greenwood. I have watched a few of the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on some some streaming service or other, so I thought this collection of short stories about the Twenties-era Australian flapper-sleuth would be a nice way to dip into the written version of Phryne Fisher.

Greenwood clearly distinguishes between TV-Phryne and Book-Phryne, but I found that difference mostly in the supporting cast and continuity details; the spirit of Phryne herself seemed to carry very well from the page to the screen: self-assured, competent, stylish, and unapologetically libidinous. Greenwood describes creating her as a sort-of female version of Simon Templar or James Bond, with the same verve and drive, and in that she has succeeded. Phryne Fisher is a woman to be reckoned with, for sure.

What is less successful is the short-short mystery genre (the 17 stories in the volume average 14 pages). The mysteries are either too easy, leaving one to wonder why Phyrne was needed to solve them, or too oblique and relying on a bit of information not revealed to the reader. But I guess it was not really about the well-crafted whodunit it here - it was more a chance to spend some time with this formidable woman and be immersed in the Melbourne of  century ago. And that was a delight.