This was one of my favourite Phryne books so far, but at the same time I also think it had one of the weakest plots/mysteries. The development of the circus and characters was so well done (I really liked the clown hehe) but I feel like the mystery suffered because of this.

Very little progress is made on the mystery because the book spends so long discussing the circus. The mystery is literally solved in what feels like 10 pages by Jack and others walking in circles until the mystery is solverd, which felt almost Scooby Doo-esque (and not in a good way). There was numerous mentions of sabotage/incidents happening at the circus, but after Phryne arrives, the only thing that happens is that someone puts a splinter under her horse's saddle... it was a bit underwhelming.

I originally rated this 3 stars because of what I mentioned above, but after reading more Phryne and not being able to stop thinking about the circus I had to come back and bump it to a 4. This is one of the most immersive Phryne books, I really felt like I knew all the other new characters and wanted to know more about them (for example, in the Jazz one, all the musicians were just plain and boring, I never learned a single name and kept getting confused over what was happening).

I also definitely think this book is way better than the episode in the series, the execution is much more engaging.