“Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood

“Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood
2007, Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 978-1-59058-168-1

This was a first time reading anything by Kerry Greenwood. “Raisins and Almonds” is part of a detective series featuring a lady named Phryne Fisher (pronounced Fry-knee). She is Australian and this story was set in the land down under.

It takes place in the days before World War II and gives an interesting view of those times. Phryne is a sort of a high society lady who rose from rough beginnings and who has a heart big enough to love and care for a great many people from all walks of life.

Into a Jewish neighborhood walks murder. The owner of a bookstore is accused of the crime. A man who is influential in the Jewish community approaches Phryne and asks her to find the killer and free the book mistress.

At the end of the book is a terrific bibliography and a glossary of Yiddish words. All my life I have known the word megillah. I never knew how to spell it. I just knew if you said, “The whole megillah” you meant the whole thing. In the glossary it is defined as: the whole long tale. I never knew it was a Yiddish word.

I will read Kerry Greenwood again. She is a prolific writer with 16 (so far) books in the Phryne series and over 40 novels written in total.