The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions: The Ultimate Miss Phryne Fisher Story Collection

The 15 1920s-era stories in this welcome collection from Australian author Greenwood (Out of the Black Land) will delight fans of Miss Phryne Fisher, who indulges in “Sherlockery” for Melbourne’s citizenry when she’s not indulging her passion for “food, sleep, intellectual puzzles, clothes and beautiful young men.” Highlights include “Marrying the Bookie’s Daughter,” in which Miss Fisher intervenes unexpectedly at a society wedding; “The Boxer,” in which Mrs. Ragne, who “was wrapped up so tightly in furs and a sense of personal grievance that she resembled a polar bear with a hangover,” asks the detective to find her eight-year-old granddaughter; and “Come Sable Night,” in which a flagrant lothario dies, but was it an allergic reaction to a bee sting or was it murder? Never mind that the mysteries are simple and sometimes silly. These tales are studded with slyly witty observation and are the perfect place to enjoy a few hours in the company of a favorite sleuth who dispenses justice in her own inimitable way. This volume is a fine companion to the 21 novels featuring this dashing protagonist. (May)