An unusual dual time line historical novel in that it's set in 1880 and 1911- only 30 years- and in Hunter Valley in the Australian bush. Lettie's brother, the heir to the family estate, has just been killed and so she heads out to inform her aunt Olivia. While there, she discovers papers and maps and all sorts of things related to Evie, who disappeared without a trace in 1880 when she was hunting for the missing explorer Ludwig Leichardt. What happened to Evie? This spools out slowly (a bit too slowly in spots) as Lettie starts her own search for Evie. It blends fact and fiction, although I was unfamiliar with most of the facts and thus greatly appreciated the afterword. The characters are good, the setting atmospheric, and no spoilers from me as to what happens. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

The Cartographer’s Secret is my first Tea Cooper read. The storyline sounded interesting and her backlist is quite large so I was hoping I would find a “new to me” author. Sadly, I had trouble getting into this story. It was very slow and quite detailed. I also had trouble connecting with the heroine. I kept waiting for the story to grab my interest, but it never did and I ended up giving up on it. While this isn’t the story for me, I’m sure many others will enjoy it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

As a fan of historical fiction I really enjoyed this novel.Tea Cooper writes very well the characters the setting really comes alive.I will be recommending this book.#netgalley #harpermuse

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This story is enjoyable but it goes very slow and at first I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. But after a few chapters I was able to get into the book and it kept me entertained.

Very slow but beautifully written. Family history set in stunning surroundings. Unfortunately the story didn't grab me and I gave up halfway.

This is an intriguing dual time-line story starting in 1880 in the Hunter Valley, NSW Australia and then continues in 1911. Readers are first introduced to Evie, an independent young lady who loves to draw the landscape she sees around her. She jumps at the chance to help her father, even though she suffers with an ailment no one understands. He’d asked her to look over the maps, letters and notes he has collected through the years to find clues to this historical puzzle he’s been obsessed with for years. Explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt and his team went out on a journey and never came back, leaving no trace or clues as to what exactly happened. Evie’s father says to her, …”Leichhardt left us with such a mystery when he and his exploration party disappeared, never to be seen again. Five men, two Aboriginal guides, seven horses, twenty mules, and fifty bullocks cannot vanish without a trace. Can your bright young mind shed some light on this conundrum?” She was up for the challenge.
Readers then met Letitia Rawlings as she has driven herself to Yellow Rock, to inform her great-aunt Olivia about her brother’s passing (the year is 1911). She is surprised that Olivia is kind and wonders why her mother, Miriam, told her she wasn’t, and why didn’t she talk to this woman for 30 years? What else was her mother keeping from her? In a quest to solve this unusual family disappearance, Letitia uncovers secrets about her family’s past that are complicated. But this strong-willed young lady is determined to dig deep for answers.
If you like a good mystery, this one has two; first what happened to Dr. Leichhardt and his team? And second, what happened to Evie who had a theory as to where this explorer and team went. She goes on her own journey and is never heard from again. These mysteries kept me turning the pages trying to figure things out before the author shared it. Full disclosure, the author had a few cuss words (dam, hell) and hints at premarital activity. I enjoyed learning about Australia along the way to solving the conundrum. There is not a lot of action, but this sweeping family drama, the setting and secrets kept my attention. This story has a wonderful blend of mystery, family challenges and tragedy, with a splash of romance creating a fun escape for you and your book club to enjoy.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

This is my second Tea Cooper title, and I just don't think she's the writer for me. Her mysteries have more romance elements than I enjoy. I know she's popular with many other readers, but she's not my cup of tea. I will try to remember not to request titles by her in the future.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Muse for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions expressed are my own.
I really liked this book! I have read other books by Tea Cooper, and I think she just keeps getting better and better. This story takes place in Australia and involves a 30 year mystery. When Lettie goes to visit her Aunt Olivia, she goes to report the death of her brother as well as get away from her overbearing mother. This journey is life changing for Lettie. She discovers she had an aunt that has been missing for 30 years. What happened to her? Also, Lettie begins to find herself and build her own life. This book was well written with lots of rich Australian details, as well as a great cast of characters!

I am a big fan of Tea Cooper's Australian-set historical fiction. I honestly don't know too much about the country's history, so I always feel like I end up learning a lot. It does generally mean that I spend the first 50-100 pages Googling everything and anything. The fact that most of Tea's stories focus on strong female characters make her books even better.

This time around we learn about Evie Ludgrove and her dissappearance while trying to figure out the life and death of explorer Ludwig Leichhart. Her story is unraveled by her own niece, Lettie, who comes up to visit the old family property to settle inheritance matters after her brother's sudden death.

At first Evie and Lettie's stories and family confused me, because the girls were so much alike. I even drew out a family tree to keep track of things. But as the book progressed, I felt more comfortable woth the two characters and could tell them apart better.

The ending was absolutely brilliant, but I did feel like there were some loose ends that I wanted tied up. I was expecting them to refer back to the site of the accident and really solve everything in the end, but that never actually happened. Maybe it was for the best, because it would have been strange for the whole mystery to be solved in the early 1900s without any records. This was more believable, but it still left me feeling wanting a bit.

The Cartographer's Secret is the first book I've read by Tea Cooper. This new-to-me author wove an intricate mystery that drew me in and made me care about the characters.

The book is told in dual-time format, but both are historical. In 1880, young Evie Ludgrove loves nothing more than creating maps of her surroundings. She is an artist, who captures the world around her in stunning detail. She was raised on her father's stories of traveling with the famous Australian explorer, Ludwig Leichhardt, a man who went missing on one of his adventures and has never been found. After her mother's death, Evie's father takes her sister, Miriam, to Sidney to be married, and leaves Evie with a task. Go through his papers, and map the final route Leichhardt could have taken using the information she finds. When Evie's research uncovers a new place to search, she takes matters into her own hands and sets off to find answers. Will she find the answers she seeks, or create more riddles for her family to solve?

Letitia Rawlings arrives on her great-aunt's doorstep to tell her of a death in the family. She finds a completely different life from her privileged upbringing in Sidney, but it's a life that fits her. When she begins questioning the story she was told about her aunt Evie's death, she, too, begins searching for answers with her great-aunt's blessing. She learns that Evie didn't die as a child. She was in her late teens, old enough to know her own mind. Lettie begins reading journals that uncover some uncomfortable truths. Can Lettie step free from her mother's schemes to find the life she's meant to live, with the man she's meant to love?

The twists and turns in this story kept me engrossed in long-ago Australia. Lettie and Evie are kindred spirits with adventure in their souls, who had the misfortune of being born female in a world where women were confined to their homes. I loved how each pursued their dreams and didn't let society's expectations dictate what they enjoyed. The story had a very Gothic romance feel, complete with the closed-up mansion full of secrets. I can definitely recommend this!

The Cartographer's Secret was such a pleasure to read! This dual timeline book is set in Australia, a country I confess to knowing comparatively little about. Tea Cooper's description of Hunter Valley is so breathtakingly real I could practically see the vibrant colours and feel the sun's warm breath. And the story! Its refreshing unique writing style really shines, fact blended with fiction, gorgeously written with characters I really cared about. The story carried me away completely. How lovely to get so lost in it I lost all track of time.

Young woman Evie Ludgrove is passionate about nature and tracking facts. She takes after her beloved father who charts findings in journals. His particular obsession is with real life Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt's explorations and feels there is much more to his disappearance. Before traveling with Evie's sister Miriam to meet her betrothed, Pa tasks Evie with a charting job. But shortly after he leaves things fall apart. Secrets arise at every turn and Evie searches for answers.

Thirty years later, Lettie also does some searching of her own but rather uses a different kind of horse power. She ends up at her great aunt Olivia's house and feels like everything she does evokes emotional responses from her relative. More secrets than you can throw a stick at. She meets Nathaniel who has is connected. So many family secrets, so much hiding...but beautifully tied together. It appears seamless but I cannot imagine the sort of creative genius required. I love that the book is about more than sunshine and roses. It also contains heartache.

My favourite aspects (other than the setting and story telling) are the family relationships, Evie's passion for nature and cartography (which I share) and the special little somethings at the beginning of the book.

My sincere thank you to Harper Muse and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this incredible book. I am thrilled to have discovered a fabulous new-to-me author with whose writing I connect with.

I'd recommend this book to fans of historical fiction who really like to delve into one family in/and a sweeping epic. It's not a quick read, and is a good one to get lost in for several hours at a go.

I personally got bogged down at times by the level of detail, and I struggled to really "get into" the characters or feel a genuine concern/interest in what was going to happen to them. There wasn't a ton of action to keep the story moving forward.

But, I did enjoy the Australian setting and learning more about its history and a geography I was entirely unfamiliar with!

Note: some language, and (mild) references to premarital activity.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper is a wonderful historical fiction story. It is the story of two families, a family feud, a missing young woman, a map, an obsession and a disputed family inheritance. All of these attributes combined give the reader a compelling read.

This is a dual timeline story. The years are 1880 and 1911. Ms. Cooper travels back and forth in these timelines seamlessly. The setting is Australia in the Hunter Valley. Ms. Cooper’s landscape and setting descriptions are awesome. She has a gift of using words to paint a beautiful and scenic Australia. It was so vivid, I could feel the sun on my face and picture the sweeping expanse of Yellow Rock. The Cartographer’s Secret encompasses some little known Australian history and leaves the reader wanting more. Ms Cooper’s extensive research showed thoroughly especially after reading the author’s notes at the end.

The main female character’s are very likable. The women in this story are strong and ahead of their time. They are also smart, curious, passionate and determined. All the characters are rich and deep. There is something very attractive about their adventures and lives. The supporting characters add to the story and bring it further richness and color.

The puzzle of several disappearances are what kept me turning each page. With many different avenues to explore and hypothesize I found myself unable to put the book down. The ending was still surprising. Extremely well written and totally enjoyable I recommend this book without reservations. I can’t wait to see what Tea Cooper has in store for us next!
Well done.

I would like to thank Tea Cooper, Harper Muse and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book started out slow, it took me several chapters to figure out what was going on. It does have dual timelines for part the book. It has a bit of a mystery to it.
It’s a good family saga type book and I found myself really liking Lettie. She has an independent modern outlook.
I enjoyed the book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
This was a sweeping epic of a story. I enjoyed the dual time-line, and even more than normal because both were "historical" in their own right. I love the vast history of Australia, and the rugged, vivid descriptions Cooper uses to paint a mental picture of the terrain were lush and beautiful. This was a story that had hallmarks of a Kate Morton story, of family history and dark secrets and potential futures full of trepidation. Some parts of this story wrapped up too neatly for me-characters can't just suddenly acquiesce and be complacent when they have been thunderstorms an entire novel. Overall, this was a fun read full of great characters, rich history and a great level of intrigue to draw readers in.

Set against the backdrop of the Australian frontier, The Cartographer’s Secret is a compelling historical mystery, family saga and adventure all rolled into one fantastic story. Tea Cooper’s Hunter Valley tale was inspired by the disappearance of the German naturalist and explorer, Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt in 1848 while he was exploring Southwestern Australia.

Tea’s tale features two feuding families, the Ludgroves and the Maynards, a multi-generational obsession with the disappearance of an explorer and a family inheritance in question.

In the 1880 timeline, Evie Ludgrove is a precocious teen who has a gift for illustrating and mapping landscapes. She shares the passion with her father, William, a surveyor who has devoted many years to searching for Leichhardt. With an aim to use the reward money to help the family farm, Evie sets out to provide proof and claim the prize. When she meets the same fate as her hero, it taints the family history for decades.

In the 1911 timeline, 25 year old and fiercely independent Letitia Rawlings sets out from Sydney for the Yellow Rock Estate to ingratiate herself with her great aunt Olivia Maynard and inform her of Thorne’s sudden death due to a boating accident. Letitia’s brother was the heir to the horse-breeding estate which will now be passed along to Olivia. Letitia’s secret motive for coming alone is to heal a family rift and search for her missing aunt.

Readers will love Letitia! She is a strong woman for her time who believes that “a lady should never rely on a man to see her out of trouble.” She confidently drives alone in her “shiny green custom built Model T Ford with a distinctive khaki roof” and confidently initiates family healing. In addition to remarkable character development, Cooper’s sense of place is one of the best I’ve read. I could easily imagine Hunter Valley and almost hear the haunting cry of the Koel. The absorbing almost 400 page story flies by and this is testament to Cooper’s powerful writing.

Cooper’s works in progress include The Butterfly Collector to be published in 2022 and Mrs. Greenway to be published in 2023.

To be published November 16, 2021, this story begs to be adapted for the silver screen.

I was gifted this advance copy by Tea Cooper, Harper Muse, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

The Cartographer’s Secret is a ‘mystery, history, adventure, romance’ reader’s dream come true! Tea Cooper sets her newest historical fiction novel in the Hunter Valley of Australia,1880 and in Sydney at the turn of the century,1911. William Ludgrove’s search for lost explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichardt, the mystery of William’s daughter, Evie Ludgrove’s disappearance, and the estrangement of the Ludgrove & Maynard families for over thirty years will keep readers exploring all the possibilities. Letitia Rawlings is the headstrong, independent young woman who, in 1911 driving her brother’s “motor,” to Yellow Rock, is determined to find answers to the mystery and a new life in the process. Tea Cooper’s descriptions of the sprawling continent of Australia and her intricate details of the landscapes and figures in Evie’s map will have readers wanting to pack a sketch pad and climb Yellow Rock to search for themselves! In this dual timeline family saga themes of trust, forgiveness, loyalty, and grief are explored. This adventure is a solid trek to the very end of the trail as The Cartographer’s Secret is uncovered in a grand historical puzzle.

Soooo many secrets with this one! The story takes a bit to build up but it does take off into a riveting adventure. One daughters seeks to finish the quest started by her father. Another daughter seeks to find solace through unravelling family secrets. Both women grapple to find ways to cope with grief and loss. Cooper brings to light a long forgotten mystery surrounding the disappearance of Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichardt. Spunky characters, intriguing plot dynamics, and a richly described country all equal an entertaining and enjoyable read.

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

This novel began as a slow build with beautiful language and descriptions. I very much enjoyed the Yellow Rock setting. Once the mystery fully came to light, I found myself turning the pages more quickly, drawn to discover the outcome and the fates of those involved. The Cartographer's Secret was a lush with historical details. I especially liked how Aunt Olivia (and Oxley, if only by name) was a constant throughout the novel, grounding both timelines. Recommended for historical fiction lovers!

I am always deeply fascinated by the mystery surrounding lost explorers, which is what got me interested in this book. I have to admit, I loved Evie's parts more than Lettie's, and unfortunately, Evie's point of view ends early in the story. Lettie's character seemed all over the place and overly dramatic. There was a decent mystery (although a lot of loose ends were left dangling), some romance, but mostly family drama that crossed generations. Overall I enjoyed the book with just a few minor annoyances.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for access to this arc.