A cursed opal, a gnarled family tree, and a sinister woman in a green dress emerge in the aftermath of World War I.
After a whirlwind romance, London teashop waitress Fleur Richards can’t wait for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War. But when word of his death arrives on Armistice Day, Fleur learns he has left her a sizable family fortune. Refusing to accept the inheritance, she … accept the inheritance, she heads to his beloved home country of Australia in search of the relatives who deserve it more.
In spite of her reluctance, she soon finds herself the sole owner of a remote farm and a dilapidated curio shop full of long-forgotten artifacts, remarkable preserved creatures, and a mystery that began more than sixty-five years ago. With the help of Kip, a repatriated soldier dealing with the sobering aftereffects of war, Fleur finds herself unable to resist pulling on the threads of the past. What she finds is a shocking story surrounding an opal and a woman in a green dress. . . a story that, nevertheless, offers hope and healing for the future.
This romantic mystery from award-winning Australian novelist Tea Cooper will keep readers guessing until the astonishing conclusion.
“Readers of Kate Morton and Beatriz Williams will be dazzled. The Woman in the Green Dress spins readers into an evocative world of mystery and romance in this deeply researched book by Tea Cooper. There is a Dickensian flair to Cooper’s carefully constructed world of lost inheritances and found treasures as two indomitable women stretched across centuries work to reconcile their pasts while reclaiming love, identity and belonging against two richly moving historical settings. As soon as you turn the last page you want to start again just to see how every last thread is sewn in anticipation of its thrilling conclusion. One of the most intelligent, visceral and vibrant historical reads I have had the privilege of visiting in an age.” —Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration
“Refreshing and unique, The Woman in the Green Dress sweeps you across the wild lands of Australia in a thrilling whirl of mystery, romance, and danger. This magical tale weaves together two storylines with a heart-pounding finish that is drop-dead gorgeous.” —J’nell Ciesielski, author of The Socialite
- Full-length historical story with both romance and mystery
- Stand-alone novel
- Includes Discussion Questions for Book Clubs
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Readers of Kate Morton and Beatriz Williams will be dazzled. The Woman in the Green Dress spins readers into an evocative world of mystery and romance in this deeply researched book by Tea Cooper. There is a Dickensian flair to Cooper’s carefully constructed world of lost inheritances and found treasures as two indomitable women stretched across centuries work to reconcile their pasts while reclaiming love, identity and belonging against two richly moving historical settings. As soon as you turn the last page you want to start again just to see how every last thread is sewn in anticipation of its thrilling conclusion. One of the most intelligent, visceral and vibrant historical reads I have had the privilege of visiting in an age.
This historical fiction follows the path of two women in two different times in Australia. Fleur Richards loses her husband as WWII is ending and travels to Australia to sort out an estate she doesn’t believe she deserves. Della Atterton is an accomplished taxidermist who lives nearly a hundred years earlier. Her story is at the heart of the novel. There is a mystery behind the Atterton’s shop in Sydney that continues to Fleur’s day. Of course, the shop is part of the estate Fleur inherits.
The action weaves back and forth between the two heroines and the mystery unwinds. There are romances that spark in each time.
I enjoyed the story and would look for more books by this author. A good read and intriguing mystery.
Englishwoman Fleur married an Australian soldier, Hugh Richards, shortly before the end of World War I. She’s notified he died in the final days, and she has an inheritance in Australia.
The story jumps back to 1853. Austrian Stefan von Richter arrived in Sydney looking for flora and fauna specimens. He witnessed a crime against the Aborigines, and met Della, a beautiful taxidermist.
Not until the end of the book is the connection between the two stories clear. The woman in the green dress, a convict who was transported to Australia and is Della’s aunt, is not a main character and not an admirable one at that.
Lots of emotional upheavals for Fleur, some understandable, some curious. Interesting story, but a bit unsettling.
I have to admit that when The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper was sent to me to review, I truly had no idea what to expect. Boy, did I get a reading experience! This novel went above and beyond anything I could have hoped for in a Historical Romantic Suspense novel. The story is truly unique — a young female taxidermist in the mid-1800s in Australia falls for an Austrian military captain who has been sent to Australia to uncover one mystery only to uncover another. Then there is a young WWI widow from London whose late husband’s inheritance sends her packing to Australia to uncover a mystery herself. The Woman in the Green Dress weaves two times periods and two loves stories that intersect into one suspenseful read that I HIGHLY recommend.
Fleur Richards, one of the main characters, is a very noble and humble young woman. The reader’s heart can’t help but break for Fleur as she journeys to Australia to figure out what happened to her husband and to uncover the mystery of his family’s inheritance. Fleur is a hard worker and a true go-getter. When information is not forthcoming about her husband and what he has left her, Fleur takes matters into her own hands and does what she needs to get to the bottom of things. I really appreciate this aspect of her character. She doesn’t sit around and wallow. Fleur acts! While I did love her character, there is one thing about her that drove me a little bonkers. She constantly tells people that she doesn’t deserve the inheritance left to her by her husband. She does it so many times I started to feel offended for her husband. I kept thinking, “What if he were somehow able to know that Fleur is going around telling everyone she doesn’t deserve or want the gift her husband gave her? Wouldn’t he feel so hurt?” I know that if I left something to a loved one and they kept trying to get rid of the gift I would feel heartbroken and very hurt. Then it made me think about Jesus. He’s constantly trying to give us humans His free gift of love and acceptance, yet many reject it. In Romans 6:23, we are told that, “the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (emphasis is mine).” None of us has to do anything or be anything in order to achieve this free gift from our Heavenly Bridegroom. All we have to do is accept it. For some of us, though, that’s a really hard thing to grasp. Like Fleur, we don’t feel like we deserve such an amazing and free gift. We feel like we have to be a better person or do something amazing first. But there really is nothing to do except accept. Does Fleur learn this beautiful lesson? You’ll have to read the novel to discover the answer to this question. I, however, definitely appreciated this reminder!
The Woman in the Green Dress is a superb read that will stick with me long after the final page has been turned. I enjoyed this highly engaging, unputdownable story. If you are a fan of well-written historical romances with a seriously excellent mystery weaved throughout, then The Woman in the Green Dress is the book for you!
I received a copy of this novel in eBook form from Thomas Nelson Publishers via NetGalley in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Refreshing and unique, The Woman in the Green Dress sweeps you across the wild lands of Australia in a thrilling whirl of mystery, romance, and danger. This magical tale weaves together two storylines with a heart-pounding finish that is drop-dead gorgeous.
I found it hard to change time periods–1890’s to 1910’s but I know it was needed to understand what was going on. Never knew about the green………………
This historical fiction mystery seemed to begin a little slowly, but quickly drew me in. The formula hopping back and forth between 1850’s and 1919 in Australia was very interesting historically and characters are well developed and fit the periods. The mystery was not at all what I expected and very original. I highly recommend this page-turner!
A great read
Excellent saga encompassing two historic time periods masterfully sifted together. Well-drawn characters and situations. A very well woven plot with mystery, romance, tragedy and intrigue,
Fantastic story about two women’s lives merging 50 years apart in Australia. Realistic and exciting. Mystery and romance. Such a wonderful take, even better by audio with Australian accent.
Interesting play between two historical periods with well developed characters.
Excellent book! It kept me guessing until the end.
Tea Cooper spins a tale filled with mystery and romance. I absolutely adore split time stories, so was immediately drawn into both stories. As a new to me author, I found Ms. Cooper’s writing to be refreshing. While most WWI or post war historical fiction is set in Europe, I was enchanted by the Australian setting and the eclectic cast of characters that came to life under Ms. Cooper’s pen. With excellent pacing, the clues are expertly woven together in a satisfying conclusion that left me eager to read more of Ms. Cooper’s books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Woman in the Green Dress, by Tea Cooper
Told in a split timeline, The Woman in the Green Dress, weaves an enchanting tale of Fleur, a young woman who inherits her deceased wartime husband’s estate and properties in Australia just after WWI and Della, master of the unconventional craft of taxidermy, who works along with her aunt to keep their family’s shop afloat in the 1850’s.
At first unwilling to accept what her husband—whom she had known such a short time—left her in his will, Fleur gradually warms to the idea as she uncovers more about her husband’s estate. As she digs up the past among the dusty relics of the curio shop, old secrets and a mysterious cursed opal come to the surface, along with the mystery of a woman in a green dress.
Della finds that her Aunt Cordelia has reinvented the taxidermy shop and forged it into a curio shop, catering to ladies’ with specialty items but on the side, dealing in something more dangerous than furs and frivolities. Dell’s path crosses with a gem hunter, Stefan, on the lookout for Australian opals, one in particular, which comes with an unexpected harbinger of doom.
Readers of historical fiction and historical mystery will relish this finely wrought drama, pivoting around a dangerously precious gemstone. I felt myself immersed in the Aussie outback, tracking down clues with the characters. The Woman in the Green Dress is a hauntingly beautiful novel of misplaced desire, healing from the past, and hope for the future.
I give it 4 stars
The ending rang a little hollow for me. I would have rounded it out a little more and made one thing in particular more clear. I can’t say too much, as that will give away the ending. Also, Della’s voice was kind of lost at the end.
The cover drew me to this book and the title, because I love the color green. But neither the dress or the woman had a major role in the book. It would have been more fitting, perhaps, if the woman in the green dress had been a main character.
Overall, I really liked the book and will definitely read more by Cooper.
If you like a page-turner filled with twists and turns, you will LOVE this book!
The Woman in the Green Dress was initially published in Australia and has now been republished by Thomas Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. I can’t say there was anything overtly Christian about the novel—there was definitely no clear faith element. There was no bad language, sex, or violence, and there was a disgust of racism that was unfashionable for the time.
It’s a dual timeline story, and one that’s relatively unusual because both timelines are historic. The story starts in London on 11 November 1918—Armistice Day. Fleur Richards is looking forward to seeing her husband and emigrating with him to his homeland of Australia. Instead, she finds he died of the Spanish Flu a week before the war ended, and she must travel to Australia alone to collect his inheritance.
The past story starts in 1853, and centres on Captain Stefan von Richter, who has travelled to Australia as a favour for an old mentor, and who is searching for opals. He travels from Sydney to the Hawesbury region, where he meets Della Atherton, a taxidermist who also owns a curio shop in Sydney … the same shop Fleur inherits in 1918.
There is always a link between past and present in a good dual timeline story (well, in this case it’s a link between past and further past). That’s certainly present in the locations, although the final connections don’t become apparent until the very end. There is also a mystery element that builds up gradually and delivers a solid finish.
All in all, The Woman in the Green Dress is an excellent novel with lots of linked threads that tie up into a satisfying whole. Recommended for fans of dual timeline stories and Australian colonial fiction.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
Tea Cooper’s The Woman In the Green Dress was a work of fiction. The time period is pre and post WWI. There are many characters and this book is well written. The story takes place mainly in Australia and most of the characters are convicts and or their descendants. The book switches time frames from mid 1800s to early twentieth century. Readers who are interested in Australia should find this an interesting read. ARC
The Woman in the Green Dress
by Tea Cooper
Rating: 4/5
After seeing this recommended on Instagram, I had to read it for myself. I was intrigued by the premise and I do love when two stories get folded into one. The mystery aspect was well done while the romance was not in the forefront which was a nice change.
Amidst the celebrating during Armistice Day, Fleur Richards receives news that her husband did not survive the war. She is confused and distressed to learn that he has left her a fortune in his home of Australia. She travels from London to Sydney in order to figure out what her husband has left her and transfer the inheritance to someone more deserving. What she finds is a mystery surrounding the shop and land owned by her late husband’s family. Can Fleur find out what happened to the supposedly cursed shop and family? Will the mysterious opal and woman in a green dress help give her answers?
The story moves back and forth between the past and present which can be a bit confusing without proper headings but the author was very good about giving you a timeline. As someone who has never been to Australia, I was delighted to learn new things about the animals and wildlife (I guess that’s the scientist in me). I loved learning about the history and am eager to read more. I was a bit disappointed that the author didn’t tie up all the loose ends but there is a satisfying conclusion to the mystery. I also felt the title was a bit misleading but it still works, I guess. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and characters.
I still recommend reading this book if you enjoy romantic mysteries set in historical Australia.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.
There is mystery and intrigue throughout! In the midst of war, influenz, Fluer must find answers that the death of her husband along with his inheritance created. Along the journey she finds home!
The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper features an eye-catching cover for this dual timeline, historical fiction novel. The story was a slow start for me as I struggled to find a connection between the two storylines. Somewhere around the 40% percent mark, my interest in the novel heightened. The story’s strength lies in the questions, searches, and mysteries, but I think greater character development would have enhanced the story.
Bert ranked as my favorite character in The Woman in the Green Dress. Though he was a secondary character, he drew the two timelines together and I liked him more and more as I traveled through the story. I also liked how certain characters’ histories and motives, some of which were surprising, remained a mystery until the proper reveal.
The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper is written for the general market and published by Thomas Nelson. It’s mostly clean with only an occasional crude word in the dialogue.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was provided a copy of this ebook by the author or publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.