Kerry Greenwood

I'm going to tell you today about one of my favorite authors.  (Remember the other day when I said I could only think of one at Barnes and Noble? - Well this is the one)

Kerry Greenwood writes two different series of mysteries.  Both of them take place in Australia.  This in itself makes it interesting to me because of the language idiosyncracies.  I have to google her words with some frequency to find out what she's talking about.  Usually I can infer it, but I like to double check.  Examples:  She talks about loading up an Esky - which is like an Igloo cooler.  One of her characters also drinks chateau collapseau wine.  I haven't gotten a definitive on that yet, but I think that's like boxed wine. 

The first series that I started reading about has a main character named Phryne Fisher  (pronounced fry-knee).  This woman is living in the 1920s.  She was raised in England and then as a young woman inherited a bunch of money which allowed her to leave her horrid family and move to Australia.  Because she was mistreated when she was growing up, she has a lot of empathy for the working class and poor people.  And because she is independently wealthy, she has a butler, and a cook, and a maid, etc. etc. etc.  She also is very high spirited, and pretty much does whatever she pleases.  (Which of course she can do because she is rich).  She has a Chinese lover,  at some point during the series adopts a couple of orphans, and speaks her mind.  I think Greenwood has written more than 20 of these, and I still like them.  (You know how it is when sometimes someone keeps trying even after they should have stopped writing about a certain character - and then the books just get silly?  Sort of like sitcoms that don't end when they should?)

Because she pretty much does what she pleases, she meets lots of interesting people, and has friends all over.  In one 'episode' she joins the circus, in another she learns how to fly a plane (which was very new of course at that time.)  She loves clothes, drinks a lot (but of course never gets drunk) and sleeps around a bit (although she mostly stays with her Chinese lover - who - by the way ends up being married to someone else after a while, but of course since it's Phryne, everyone - including his wife -  is okay with all of it.)  She drives a fast car, carries a little gun, and pretty much does what she pleases.  She's tiny, and lovely and elegant. 

When I saw that Kerry Greenwood had another series, I figured I had to check it out.  This one is the newer of the two, so there are only about 5 in this series so far.  But believe me - I check every time I'm at the library, or cruising my Nook, or at the bookstore for something new from her.

The second series is in some ways far different from the first, and similar in others.

The second series is about a baker in present day Australia.  She is large, doesn't worry about how she dresses, and has trouble managing her hair.  I of course love her because she is a size 20 and very comfortable with that.  She's not trying to lose weight, and has a fabulous Israeli lover.  Who thinks she is absolutely perfect.  Which I love.  

Corrina (the baker) lives in an odd apartment complex.  It was built in a Greek style, and has shops on the main floor.  The people who own the shops have apartments above them, and then more people live in the other apartments  Although I've seen floor plans, and read all about these shops and apartments, I still have a bit of a hard time figuring out how it all fits together.  But I'm working on it.  With each re-reading I garner some new piece of informatoin.   There is a rooftop garden, a large basement area, and the building is filled with unusual characters.  Corrina's best friend is a witch, there's a weaver in one apartment, a gay couple in another, a couple of young wanna be actresses (who work for Corrina in the shop) - you get the picture?  Not othat they're all odd, but it's definitely an aclectic group.  Almost everyone has at least one cat - except for one woman whom everyone hates, who has a dog.

These stories are very modern - they involve people on drugs, homeless people, going out on 'soup runs' to feed the homeless in Melbourne, etc.  But much of the stories revolve around Corrina baking and being in her shop.  I love that part of the books.  (And she includes recipes at the end - of course!)

Some day I'd like to meet Kerry Greenwood.  If she ever is near my home I'm sure going to try.  Here's why.   Besides loving her books, she seems like a really cool person.  You know that part of the book where the author writes about everything being fictional and any mistakes are theirs and no one elses?  Well, in one of her books, she basically says - hey - if you find something wrong historically, or there's a store in the wrong place or something - don't bother writing to me, because I don't want to hear about it. 

I laughed out loud when I read that.  I thought - You GO Kerry Greenwood.  And keep writing about Phryne and Corrina because I'm always looking forward to the next episode!!