Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Series One DVD Review! You Will Fall In Love With Essie Davis And This Aussie Mystery Import!

When I saw Miss Fisher’s Murder Mystery, I knew there would be one person who would love it, sort of a cross between Downton Abbey and Agatha Christie, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mystery is an awesome find.

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Miss Fisher’s Murder Mystery is an Australian who-did-it based on author Kerry Greenwood’s “Phryne Fisher Murder Mystery” novel. The series was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger and revolves around Phryne Fisher, a 1920’s heiress who is a private investigator on the side. She is a modern, fashionable, woman part Jessica Fletcher, part James Bond, part Sherlock Holmes. Fisher, played with witty elegance by Australian actress Essie Davis, is every bit a modern woman. She is a soft hearted sex kitten. She prowls the streets of Melbourne in stylish shoes, perfect hair, and a gold plated revolver all to the sounds of 1920’s underground jazz. 

Episode one, Cocaine Blues, is about a wealthy friend who is newly widowed, played convincingly by Miarnda Otto. The episode does a great job setting up the lead character. You know right away that Fisher is fabulous. She’s a modern thinker and she doesn’t live by what society expects of her. She is her own woman. She is a fierce friend. And she is fiercely loyal.  The show doesn’t set her up to be the smartest in the room. She is simply observant. She pays attention to the details, whether they be a scent, a type of shoe, or the color of someones hair. She notices what the rest of us over look. 

Episode two, “Murder On The Ballarant Train”, pays homage to Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”. The episode finds Miss Fisher, along with her newest unwilling ally Inspector Jack Robinson, played by Nathan Page, on the search for a killer who may or may not be on the train. As Miss Fisher builds her entourage, the show becomes a bit more of an ensemble. Page, who is destined to become Fisher’s love interest, along with Dot Williams, the goodie-goodie Catholic maid who is constantly shocked by Fisher’s antics. Constable Hugh Collins, played by the adorable Hugo Johnstone-Burt, and Mr. Butler, the uptight by-the-books butler who you always expect to be appalled by Fisher, but who instead rolls with the punches.  Together, they form the perfect misfit crime fighting team. 

Episode five, Raisins and Almonds, builds stronger bonds between the Fisher crime fighting team, when Fisher is forced to deal with predjudice against the Jewish in 1920’s Melbourne.  Fisher is called in when a young man is found dead in a bookshop. All the clues point to the young mans fiance, but Madame Fisher is convinced otherwise. With help from new sidekicks Bert and Cec (the taxi driver and his fare in episode one- another example of Fisher’s loyalty to those who help her) Fisher finds herself neck deep in yet another sticky situation!

My personal favorite episode, “Ruddy Gore”, named after the Gilbert and Sullivan play,  takes place in the theatre. It revolves around a mystery involving an unexpected suicide, a long ago love affair, an unlikable leading man, and a ghost within the theatre. The ghost is that of a former actress from years before. Fischer is brought in, by a dear friend, to solve the murder and find out the secrets that the theatre holds. The episode also introduces Lin Chung, one of Fisher’s repeat lovers. 

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mystery was a lovely find. This is a show most Americans may never experience which is unfortunate. It’s a romp of an adventure that is well acted, well written and well directed. They have captured the roaring twenties, the seedy underbelly of the jazz world, and the dark alleyways of Melbourne. Essie Davis shines as Miss Fisher. She takes what could have been a cliche character and creates a layered, mysterious, smart, female lead who on paper is wonderful, but on screen is fabulous! Add the wonderful entourage of colorful characters who, in their own way, perfectly balance their lead, and you have a delightful mystery that will keep you on your toes. 

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is out now on DVD!