I received this book to read and give an honey review of from NetGalley.
If you enjoy historical timelines with overlapping stories, this is the book for you. A motley cast of characters wrapped up in a mystery and add a little romance. This story has a little of everything!

This story took me a few chapters to really get into, but once I did, I was hooked. Readers are introduced to three POVs:

Fleur, 1918-1920. She is a young woman who finds out her husband died in WWI, though she is in denial. Fleur is left with his inheritance, which she doesn't feel she deserves, as their romance as a whirlwind one and they had little time together. Instead of selling and collecting the money, she travels to Australia, the land her late husband, Hugh, loved. There, she is caught up in the mystery of an abandoned shop she inherited through Hugh as well as a family heirloom.
Stefan, 1853. Stefan is an Austrian citizen and the aide-de-camp to a baron. He has traveled to Australia to complete the baron's journals and to track down what could be the first opal mined in Australia.
Della, 1853. Della is a young woman who has grown up in Australia. Her parents died, leaving her as the heir to the taxidermy shop they ran. Della's aunt runs it for her while she lives in the countryside.

The tale slowly unravels and all of the multifaceted pieces come together. We are first introduced to Fleur, and then Stefan, but it is Della's voice that initially pulled me in. Della is a young woman whose family came to Australia to follow her aunt, a former convict. Della is a taxidermist, and she is passionate about the land where she lives and the people and animals who inhabit it. She even has a pet kangaroo of sorts, a charming side character. Della is particularly concerned about the treatment of the Darkinjung people, the local Aboriginal people whom the settlers are extremely racist towards.

In Stefan's mission, he comes across Della, and the two form an attraction. Their romance is a soft relief against the mystery and intrigue of the main plot. When Stefan witnesses a raid against the Darkinjung people, he is appalled, and travels to Sydney with Della to seek justice. Della has not been to Sydney in a while, and she sees that the taxidermy shop she has inherited, now run by her aunt Cordelia, is not what it once was. From there, a mystery unravels that is closely linked to Stefan's search for the opal.

In 1919, we see Fleur, who has inherited the shop. She seeks to find out how it is tied to her husband, Hugh. We see Fleur deal with so many stages of grief, first and foremost an adamant denial that her husband is dead. Fleur has lost so much in the war - first her parents in a zeppelin raid, and now her husband. In Australia, she really comes into her own.

I would be remiss not to mention the excellent side characters in this book. Bert, a young boy who winds up working for Stefan, is perhaps the most notable - in fact, he may be the most memorable character in this book.

Overall, this was a 4 star read for me. My thanks to HF Virtual Book Tours, NetGalley, Tea Cooper, and Thomas Nelson for hooking me up with a copy in exchange for my review.

Author Tea Cooper’s latest historical fiction novel spans two time periods and tells a story full of feeling and description.

It is WWI and Fleur, has married Hugh right before he heads off to the war. Before he leaves, he tells her of his blue skied home of Australia, and promises her that they will make their lift their together after the war. Just after the war ends, Fleur learns of Hugh’s needless death just a few days before the war’s end. Then, to shock Fleur even more, she has inherited wealth and property from Hugh’s estate. In complete and utter denial of Hugh’s death, she travels to Hugh’s home, Australia to set things straight and find out all she can about Hugh and his family. Once there Fleur begins to unravel the family secrets Hugh left behind along with the mysterious and unusual curio shop with the help of Kip, a former military man.

Flash back to 1853 and Della is working for her Aunt Cordelia as a taxidermist. Unannounced Austrian Captain Stefan von Richter and his loyal aid, Bert (you will love this kid's spirit), show up on Della’s doorstep looking for the whereabouts of the very first opal discovered in Australia. Upset by this, Della, von Richter and Bert travel to Sydney and danger.
I was so happy to receive this book as the synopsis truly intrigued me, and I was not disappointed. The storyline was fast paced, and the mystery and intrigue kept my attention. There were twists and turns along with humor to keep a lighter side to the plot.

Also, I really enjoyed Tea Cooper’s descriptive language throughout the novel. You can tell she threw herself into her research in order to stay as true to the times and characters as possible. Cooper’s writing is atmospherically eloquent and you find yourself living with the characters in each time period. You will celebrate the end of the war in London and then find yourself swept away as they trapeze through the Australian wilderness.

Most of all, I love the powerful central female characters of Della, Cordelia and Fleur. Della was an amazing hard working woman of her time and made great strides in her life along with her Aunt Cordelia. Fleur was my personal favorite, and I found myself grow with her as the plot progressed.

This is my first Tea Cooper novel and I have a feeling it won’t be my last. I’m so glad this novel is making it’s way stateside for more readers to enjoy!

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for the opportunity to review The Woman in the Green Dress.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Set in Australia and told in split time, The Woman in the Green Dress is the intriguing story of a cursed opal, murder, and betrayal. While the events clipped along at a pace brisk enough to keep me turning the pages, I found myself wishing for just a bit more depth and connection when it came to the characters. Cooper’s skillful interweaving of historical facts and details kept the novel afloat. An interesting and clean—though not particularly faith-based—read.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper | review.

Genre: Historical Fiction.

Rating: Three stars.

The Woman in the Green Dress tells the story of two woman- Della & Fleur and their separate quests to uncover family secrets and a cursed Opal. After a whirlwind romance, Fleur is excited for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War. Unfortunately, she instead learns that he died during the war and left her a sizable fortune that Fleur doesn’t want. Instead, she decides to travel to Australia to search for Hugh’s relations who are surely more entitled to his money.

What I enjoyed about this novel:
The setting. It wasn’t another World War II historical fiction. Australia was way more interesting.
The mystery element. This book felt almost like a thriller. I was so intrigued by Hugh’s family secrets and wanted to know what would happen with Della.

What I didn’t like:
The chapters were super short and the jumps in time seemed too abrupt. I would barely get into the story and it would be changing time periods again. It made the book feel disjointed.
I felt the characters could be a little better developed… especially in the first half. Everything felt too murky and slow for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson-Fiction for this advanced reader copy in return for an honest review.

When I requested this title, I was hoping it would read like a historical mystery, a genre I love. Unfortunately, it is much more a historical romance, a genre I don't like at all. This is a matter of genre preference and other will have their own opinions, but this isn't a book I feel enthusiastic about.

"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 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."

Cursed gems!?! YAS!

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson-FICTION for the chance to read and review this book. I really liked this story. It takes place in Australia right after WWI. This is the story of two different women who lived in two different eras. Fleur is a young woman who met and married a soldier during WWI. She didn't really know too much about him. When she receives news that he has died in the war, she goes to his homeland to learn more about him and his life. Along the way she discovers a curio shop and a mystery that began more then 65 years ago. This was a good story and I liked the Australian setting.

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 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 is the first book I have read by Ms. Cooper. I found the story line to be quite good. At first I was a little confused when it kept bouncing from 1919 to 1853. As I kept reading, it started to make more since to me. When the book first starts Fleur doesn't want to acknowledge that Hugh is actually dead. She hopes he is waiting for her on his farm in Australia. She doesn't want his money so she goes looking any next of kin that she can find. What she finds is a mystery. With the help of an old man she goes on a hunt for Hugh's belongings.

The only negative I found with this book was the swearing that took place here and there. I was disappointed to see it from a Christian publisher like Thomas Nelson. I would give it a four star rating if it wasn't for that.

I was given this book by Thomas Nelson Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

I haven’t read much historical fiction set in Australia, so I really enjoyed this latest novel by Tea Cooper. Told in two timelines, 1853 and 1919, Cooper shows a side of Australia that many are unfamiliar with, and one that has quite a few similarities with the early days of the United States.

Young newlywed, Fleur Richards is working in a London tea shop while her husband Hugh is off fighting in the war. On Armistice day, she learns that he has died, but she refuses to believe it, even after her husband’s lawyer contacts her regarding his estate in Australia.

Because she was so newly married, Fleur believes she isn’t entitled to his estate and that she must go to Australia to make certain that it was Hugh who had died and to find any of his other next of kin.

Once in Australia, Fleur unwittingly begins to unravel the mystery of who her husband really was and of the family secrets and curses that are hidden in the inheritance.

I felt like the novel had a bit of a slow and murky start, but by the end everything tied together and it was a tale I really enjoyed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson-Fiction for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas-Nelson Fiction and Tea Cooper for my copy of The Woman in the Green Dress.

1918, London waitress Fleur Richards can't wait for her husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War and move to Australia with him. As the crowds are cheering for the King, celebrating the end of WW I she is swept up in the excitement and can’t wait to hear from Hugh. But, instead receives word of his death, not by telegram, a solicitor contacts her from Archer Waterston and informs her of her husband’s demise. Hugh has left her an inheritance; she doesn’t believe he's dead and she decides to travel to Australia to find out what’s really going on?

1919, Fleur arrives in Sydney, she discovers she is the rightful owner of farmland in Mogo Creek and a boarded up derelict taxidermy shop called the curio shop of wonders. All left to her by her deceased husband Hugh, she’s shocked and why didn’t Hugh tell her he was wealthy? I must admit I find the whole subject of taxidermy rather creepy; I had doubts about if I would I like this story and I’m happy that I continued reading the dual timeline book and it’s an interesting historical fiction tale.

1853, Della Atterton lives on a farm in Mogo Creek near the Hawkesbury river, she works as a taxidermist and her father taught her this very unique trade. Her parent’s tragically passed away, her Aunt Cordelia runs her father’s shop in Sydney and she assumes everything is fine? But when Captain Stefan von Richter arrives to inform her of what’s going on and she discovers her Aunt is up to no good. Not only is her Aunt selling special tonics to the ladies of Sydney, odd feathered creations, she’s selling traditional aboriginal items and where did she get them from?

Both Fleur and Della’s stories are connected, as you read The Woman in the Green Dress, the story keeps you guessing, as it unfolds and it all makes perfect sense at the end. It’s a story about greed, deceit, intrigue, murder, secrets, a very complicated family tree, stuffed animals, stolen aboriginal treasure and a cursed Australian gem stone. I enjoyed the book, four stars from me and Tea Coopers books are never boring.

The stories of two women in two different eras converge in a curio shop after WW1 in Australia. As the young widow learns more about her husband and his life before their short romance and marriage, she will find many clues leading her to reveal the mystery set in place 60+ years before. A well defined, well told story that stays true to the eras, you'll have to resist turning ahead to find the answers to Fleur's quest for the truth.

Whenever I start reading a novel that was written by an Aussie author I always have trouble finding my way and getting used to the language. I had to read some passages in the beginning twice to really grasp the meaning and be able to continue reading.

The story in The Woman in the Green Dress is mostly about Fleur who lives in London during the First World War. She married the Australian Hugh just five days before he was sent tot he front, and learns just after the war that he has sadly not survived. However, Fleur is his next of kin and inherits all of his possessions, including his properties in Australia. Fleur doesn’t believe Hugh is really dead, and she feels she doesn’t deserve the inheritance, so she travels to Australia to learn about Hugh’s history and possible relatives. What she finds there is quite shocking.

I truly considered DNF’ing this book at around 20% because it was so incredibly slow. In the beginning the emphasis was not as much on Fleur’s storyline, but on that of Stefan van Richter and I didn’t enjoy that too much. I pulled through, though, and I have to admit that it did get better when I started seeing the relationship between the two storylines and they started merging together more.

I wish the emphasis of the book would have been more on the ending as opposed tot he start. I feel that the ending was not explored very thorougly, and I would have liked to know what happened after all the revelations that Fleur experienced. The story felt kind of cut off instead of wrapped up nicely.

I truly enjoy historical fiction, especially when it is woven with historical fact. Author Tea Cooper’s “Woman in the Green Dress” is so intricately devised and steeped in historical and scientific facts as to make this wonderful work of fiction a delight to read.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy a bit of history with their romance novel.

This was a very interesting book. The author led the reader through many escapades in different continents. It was a mystery with twists and turns not always seen coming. It made me want to read more by Tea Cooper. I recommend this book to everyone.

Interesting story told between 2 time periods: during the late 1800s and after WW1. It's basically set in Australia, and tells of a family curio shop and how it got its goods, and then later how a woman finds that her husband, killed in the war, left her an inheritance. She travels to Australia and finds more than she bargained for...

A wonderful novel for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kate Morton. Absorbing, atmospheric and evocative. The characters were well drawn and fascinating.

Received this from Net Gallery to review! This "Woman in the Green Dress" by "Tea Cooper"is a new author for me to read! I will read more of her works. This story has so much action going on,as there are two different stories going on,one during 1800's and then 1900's this during the war. One you figure out there are two stories going on,you will settle right into the story. You have action,mystery,adventure and romance in this story! The different characters that you met,you will get to know and feel what they are going through. World's apart but yet so close! Very well researched and you will fall in love with the characters! Get some tissues!! A very much read!

This is a well written book that holds your attention. It has murder, mystery and a touch of romance. This is the first book I've read by Tea Cooper, but it won't be the last. She did an excellent job of the time split story, you get two stories in one book. Her writing is so vivid you felt like you were there. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Thank you Thomas Nelson--FICTION via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The author takes us on a fascinating foray into Australian historical fiction with strong female characters, with quite a bit of murder and intrigue thrown in. This novel not only depicts the British/aboriginal conflicts but also deals with forming a life after British post-conviction transportation and class issues. Ripe with lots of interesting topics to discuss, this is definitely a book that book clubs should consider!