JSD July Book Review: The Woman in the Green Dress

July Book: The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper

If you read and liked The Huntress or The Nightingale or are a fan of historical fiction, you may enjoy this book!

Jet Set Darlings Book Review:

As you know, I’m a big fan of historical fiction and the reviews for this book had me super excited but I had a difficult time getting into it. Partly, I think, because it takes place in Australia, a place I’ve never visited and honestly don’t know too much about. I found parts of the storyline difficult to follow because I am not familiar with the geographical regions or slang terms commonly used there.

That aside, I also struggled with the plot and mystery they were working to uncover. The book is written in the past and present tense from different perspectives but I found it pretty easy to put all the puzzle pieces together from the beginning. I would have liked to see a few more plot twists in the storyline and stronger character development. I will say that I found it fascinating to read about Australia as an early settlement.

Book Synopsis (from Amazon):

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.