Death in Daylesford

This new Phryne Fisher mystery, number 21 in the series, is set in Daylesford and Hepworth Springs where Phryne and Dot have gone for a week's holiday after receiving a mysterious invitation from a stranger. Captain Herbert Spenser runs a retreat for shell-shocked soldiers who served during World War I and he invites Phryne to visit the premises, possibly in the hope that she will support the work he is doing. Needless to say the visit results in anything but a quiet holiday.

Shortly after arriving in the area, Phryne learns of the mysterious disappearance of a number of women, the death of a young man who fell through a train window some weeks earlier followed by two more  deaths which she witnesses the week she arrives. She is not impressed with the local policeman but fortunately Detective Inspector Brian Kelly arrives to take over the investigation and they work co-operatively to solve the mysteries. Descriptions of Dayleford and surrounding area during the late 1920s form the background to the novel along with an assortment of local residents.

Meanwhile back in Melbourne, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson is away on special assignment leaving Detective Sergeant Hugh Collins working with another officer. Members of Phryne's extended household - Tinker, Ruth and Jane - who remain in Melbourne also discover that they have a mystery to solve when Tinker discovers a body floating in the sea he and a school friend of the girls disappears. Working with Hugh they endeavour to solve the case. Consequently there are lots of mysteries to solve plus stories to tell when Phryne and Dot return home.