Publisher: Harper Muse
Published: November 16, 2021
Source: ARC Paperback via TLC Booktours
Summary:
A map into the past. A long-lost young woman. And a thirty-year family mystery.
The Hunter Valley, 1880. Evie Ludgrove loves to chart the landscape around her home—hardly surprising since she grew up in the shadow of her father’s obsession with the great Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. So when an advertisement appears in The Bulletin magazine offering a thousand-pound reward for proof of where Leichhardt met his fate, Evie is determined to use her father’s papers to unravel the secret. But when Evie sets out to prove her theory, she vanishes without a trace, leaving behind a mystery that haunts her family for thirty years.
Letitia Rawlings arrives at the family estate in her Ford Model T to inform her great-aunt Olivia of a loss in their family. But Letitia is also escaping her own problems—her brother’s sudden death, her mother’s scheming, and her dissatisfaction with the life planned out for her. So when Letitia discovers a beautifully illustrated map that might hold a clue to the fate of her missing aunt, Evie Ludgrove, she sets out to discover the truth. But all is not as it seems, and Letitia begins to realize that solving the mystery of her family’s past could offer as much peril as redemption.
A gripping historical mystery for fans of Kate Morton and Natasha Lester’s The Paris Seamstress, The Cartographer’s Secret follows a young woman’s quest to heal a family rift as she becomes entangled in one of Australia’s greatest historical puzzles.
My thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read by Tea Cooper but it certainly will not be the last. I love finding new authors, especially when they have a backlist that I can then add to my ever-growing tbr!
I have not read too many books set in Australia, so as soon as I heard about this one, I knew I had to read it. I love reading stories that are inspired by real events, especially ones that I don’t know anything about. The author does such a great job blending fact and fiction and I found myself completely engaged in this story the entire time. The use of the dual time drew me in and I was equally drawn to both timelines.
I loved that not only do the maps drive this story, but that a map is included in the front of the book. This was much needed and something that I frequently referred to as I was reading. I also loved the two main female characters from each of the two timelines – Evie and Letitia. Both were so strong and determined in their own way.
I also loved the mystery that Letitia finds herself involved in, trying to find out what happened to Evie all those years ago. As she delves into this, family secrets are revealed and she finds out more about herself in the process.
I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to pick up another of Tea Cooper’s books. The question is, which one do I read next?
