The Woman in the Green Dress (2018)

About the Book

Book: The Woman in the Green Dress

Author: Tea Cooper

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: December 17, 2018/June 16, 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction

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 tea shop 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.

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My Thoughts

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 1800’s 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.