Besides The Girl in the Painting, The Girl in the Green Dress was the other. This year, however, I came across two such books, both by the same author. I listen to hundreds of audiobooks each year, and so rarely do I wish I could award six stars to a book that some years I never do.

The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper is one of the most hauntingly striking audiobooks I have ever listened to. Includes discussion questions for book clubs.Full-length historical story with both romance and mystery.This magical tale weaves together two storylines with a heart-pounding finish that is drop-dead gorgeous.” (J’nell Ciesielski, author of The Socialite) “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. 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) 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. 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. The Woman in the Green Dress spins readers into an evocative world of mystery and romance in this deeply researched book by Tea Cooper. “Readers of Kate Morton and Beatriz Williams will be dazzled. This romantic mystery from award-winning Australian novelist Tea Cooper will keep readers guessing until the astonishing conclusion. 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. 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.

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. Refusing to accept the inheritance, she heads to his beloved home country of Australia in search of the relatives who deserve it more. But when word of his death arrives on Armistice Day, Fleur learns he has left her a sizable family fortune. A cursed opal, a gnarled family tree, and a sinister woman in a green dress emerge in the aftermath of World War I.Īfter a whirlwind romance, London teashop waitress Fleur Richards can’t wait for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War.

Tree Change by Tea Cooper