Dead Man’s Chest is the 18th book in the Phryne Fisher series by popular Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. It is January, and Phryne has decided to take her family to Queenscliff on holiday while her bathroom is renovated. But their arrival at the beachside house borrowed from Mr Thomas, an anthropologist currently on a field trip in deepest Northern Territory, instantly immerses them in a mystery. The Johnsons, butler and cook, are absent, along with all their goods and chattels. Their immediate neighbours, a Hungarian lady with surrealist tendencies and a widow hosting three obnoxious teenaged schoolboys, are unable to clarify matters. The local constable, Tom Dawson, is soon labelled Constable Moron by Phryne. To make matters more interesting, there is someone going around snipping plaits off young ladies and there is a film crew making a movie about the legendary Swan Bay pirate, Benito, and his hidden treasure of Peruvian gold. When the Johnsons beloved dog, Gaston turns up, the mystery deepens. Luckily, an eager young lad, soon christened Tinker by Phryne, is engaged to assist with investigations, adopted daughter Ruth delights in testing her culinary skills, and Dot’s fiance, now a Detective Sergeant, Hugh Collins arrives to lend official help where needed. In this instalment, Jane reads a lot, sorts bones and stars in a movie; Dot buys a dress and uses a coal scuttle as a weapon; Ruth lovingly prepares many meals; Phryne muses on the contents of boys pockets, on Crimes against Couture, and the dogs solution to any problem, barking; a fish skeleton is used as a fashion accessory and a weapon; Phryne spends an evening with surrealists; there is murder, kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, a treasure hunt and smuggling of tobacco and rum. After causing readers mouths to water with several mentions of Impossible Pie, Greenwood thoughtfully provides the recipe for this, as well as Potato Scones and Noyau Cocktail. Another excellent dose of Miss Fisher.