Phryne Fisher, her sister Beth, and her faithful maid, Dot, decide that Luna Park is the place for an afternoon of fun and excitement with Phryne's two daughters, Ruth and Jane. But in the dusty dark Ghost Train, amidst the squeals of horror and delight, a mummified bullet-studded corpse falls to the ground in front of them. Phryne Fisher's pleasure trip has definitely become business.

Digging to the bottom of this longstanding mystery takes her to the country town of Castlemaine where it soon becomes obvious that someone is trying to muzzle her investigations. With unknown threatening assailants on her path, Phryne seems headed for more trouble than usual.

Meanwhile, Phryne's lover Lin Chung has his own mystery to solve. Feuding families and lost gold fill his mind until he learns that Phryne herself has become missing treasure.

Reviews

"The world of Phryne Fisher is an exotic and compelling one, thanks both to the setting, 1920s Australia, and to the frenetic heroine herself. Living with two adoptive daughters, her Chinese lover Lin Chung, a temperamental but loyal serving staff, and a demanding cat, Phryne is constantly surrounded by activity. Lin Chung takes off for nearby Castlemaine to resolve an ancient Chinese family feud, and Phryne is stuck with her moody younger sister, Eliza, whose visit has put a damper on the otherwise freewheeling Fisher household. After finding a real skeleton inside a supposedly fake cowboy at an amusement park, Phryne discovers a connection to the “dummy” and Castlemaine—giving her the perfect reason to visit Lin Chung. Greenwood weaves historical data into the plot like gold thread, giving it richness without weighing it down. The gold rush of the 1850s, for example, ties together a story involving four of Lin Chung’s relatives and the skeleton cowboy. As always, the highlight of the series is the sexy and sybaritic Phryne, whose kind heart and generous spirit far outweigh her slightly scandalous behavior." --Booklist

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Greenwood’s prose has a dagger in its garter; her hero is raunchy and promiscuous in the best sense."

--The Weekend Australian