Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Fiona Banks, Kevin Carlin, Lynn Hegarty, Roadshow Entertainment.
Cast: Geraldine Hakewill, Joel Jackson, Catherine McClements, James Mason, Toby Truslove.
Hakewill in the title role picks up most stylishly where Essie Davis left off. Ms Fisher’s Murder Mysteries are given a progressive twist.
The series, based on Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher Murder Mystery novels, is an Australian mystery drama created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger.
Leading cast sees Hakewill (Wanted, Wasted on the Young) as Peregrine Fisher, Jackson as Detective James Steed and McClements as Birdie. In 1964, the lovely and reckless Peregrine comes into an unexpected inheritance and is rocketed from a lonely, dissatisfying small-town life, into a career as a fearless investigator, supported by a clique of remarkable women who help her follow in the footsteps of her famous Aunt Phryne.
Set in Melbourne in the 1960s, the period drama and mystery revolves around the personal and professional life of Peregrine Fisher, who inherits a fortune when the famous aunt she never knew goes missing over the highlands of New Guinea.
Peregrine sets out to become a world-class private detective in her own right, guided by a group of exceptional women in The Adventuresses’ Club, of which her aunt was also a member.
Comprising four tele-movies, the first is titled Just Murdered. Peregrine arrives in Melbourne and decides to follow in Phryne’s footsteps and solve the murder of a dead model at a bridal fashion show.
In Dead Beat, Peregrine’s ex-boyfriend has been implicated in the murder of a pop singer from a popular television show and Peregrine is determined to investigate.
Space for Murder proves Birdie’s past comes back to haunt her when her friend is found murdered after sending her a cryptic message.
A chef is found dead at a culinary school run by Samuel’s ex-sister-in-law in Seasoned Murder.
Set in the swinging ‘60s, it takes advantage of style, fashion and music of the time. It’s a fun role that Hakewill works to advantage.
