Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper. I was excited to start this historical fiction book set in Australia around the turn of the 20th century. This was a dual timeline between 1880 and 1911 about the main character, Lettie, trying to find out what happened to her aunt, Evie, years ago. The beginning of the book switched between 1880 and 1911 often with many characters mentioned that were connected to Lettie. It took me a while to figure out the familial connections and get the characters straight (2 stars). The second half of the book focused on Lettie's journey to learn more about Evie and what happened to her and her disappearance and was much easier to follow the plot (4 stars). The first half of the book was difficult to get through as the setting kept switching, but the second half of the book was a page turner as I had to find out how things turned out. The other strand throughout the book is Lettie's grandfather, William's, obsession about the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt. Leichhardt was a German exploring Australia and disappeared in the outback. William lost a lot of money and time searching for Leichhardt and wanted Evie to create maps of his journey. Evie's need to draw these maps for her father lead to her disappearance. Lettie journeyed to the home of her aunt, Olivia, to search for the answers to mystery of Evie's disappearance. Overall, if you want a family saga mystery set in Australia that has nothing to do with world wars or penal colonies at the turn of the 20th century, this is a good choice.

The Book Maven’s Journal
Reviews for Word Connoisseurs

REVIEWER: J.Hunt
STAR RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Sincere Appreciation Goes to NetGalley, Author Tea Cooper, and Publisher Harper Muse for Providing this Advance Reader Copy for Review

Coming this Fall…November 2021 in Historical Fiction


"The Cartographer’s Secret” by Tea Cooper

The Unsolved Mysteries of the Missing Outback Explorers

Fiercely smart and independent women blaze trails and establish their own rules in Tea Cooper’s latest novel, “The Cartographer’s Secret.” Readers of unsolved mysteries, cold cases and intricate puzzles will find this book engaging and intriguing. It's a page-turning dual-timeline historical fiction (mixed with a wee bit of magical realism for fun) set during late-Victorian and Edwardian-era Australia.

“…What if I spoil Evie’s map?” Or worse, “What if I get the story wrong?…You won’t. Evie will guide you...” Tea Cooper, “The Cartographer’s Secret”

Evie is a teenager during Australia's cowboy wrangler 1880s. Precocious and determined, she's also a passionate researcher and a gifted artist who is anxious to follow in her Pa’s explorer footsteps.

“…the winding pearls of the brook lined with the bright green of the paddocks set her fingers flying. She took great pleasure in sketching in tiny details…”
Tea Cooper, “The Cartographer’s Secret”

Thirty-years in the future, in the turn-of-the Century 1900s, readers meet Evie’s great-niece, Lettie. Almost a palindrome reincarnation of her great-aunt, Evie; they are so alike, that even her Great Aunt, Evie’s sister, has goosebumps and does a double-take upon introduction.

“…Seeing the map, running her fingers over the delicate images, sent a ripple of anticipation down her spine. An invisible thread connecting her to Evie. More than any inheritance, more than ties of blood. It had sat for decades waiting to be discovered. The hairs on her arms prickled. She could hear the music of Evie’s whispering voice, her words as clear as if she were standing beside her, and the dream she’d had melded into reality, the night she’d woken to find the white dress draped across the chair—Evie’s dress…”
Tea Cooper, “The Cartographer’s Secret”

Lettie, like her Great Aunt Evie, is fiercely independent, self-assured and rather strong-willed; not only can she drive her brother’s Model T Ford; she can do many of the automobile repairs herself.

“…Most men were looking for a servant and a bedfellow…but there were few among the upper classes of Sydney who understood the workings of a Model T Ford or the delights of motorboat racing...” Tea Cooper, “The Cartographer’s Secret”

There are multiple puzzles and cold cases occurring throughout both timelines that offer intriguing mental quests and analysis for readers.. One truly fascinating feature of “The Cartographer’s Secret” is about Australia’s most famous unsolved mystery — the disappearance of Continental Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt — who vanished in the 1840s while in the frontier on expedition.

“…ONE THOUSAND POUNDS for the first conclusive and substantial proof of the place where Ludwig Leichhardt, the great Australian explorer, met his death…”
Tea Cooper, “The Cartographer’s Secret”

Author Tea Cooper does a terrific job painting the early evolving Australian frontier. Everything is described and told with atmospheric delivery—giving a well-rounded understanding of place, attitudes and perceptions for the times and the history; as well as how each of these change and modify over the years.

"...A Ludgrove wasn’t ever going to marry a drover.” So he was right. The old story about a man not being good enough..."
Tea Cooper, "The Cartographer's Secret"

This Title, and others that I Review, are also posted on Goodreads, Barnes and Nobel and Amazon. On Goodreads alone, you can access 300+ of my book reviews. (TheBookMavenJoy)
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I’m not usually into historical fiction but the authors writing style and ability to bring the characters to life, were great. Her descriptions of the area, transport you to Australia. You need to pre-order this book, you will not be disappointed.

With most books that have two+ points of view readers tend to get bored with one and favor the other. With this book I can gladly say that I enjoyed both points of view equally. Author created enough suspense to keep readers intrigued and wanting more. I read this book almost all in one sitting. I love Tea Coopers work and I am going to read some of her other novels to, it was a pleasure getting to read this!

I enjoyed this story, particularly the descriptive writing of the setting, but I was disappointed that the fate of Evie and Bailey was not completely resolved and there were many things like the cave, the significance of the chewed leather strap and where it was found, the characters Chapman and Parker, that were brought up but left dangling at the end. Also, the conclusion of the story seemed very rushed.

Tea Cooper’s absorbing The Cartographer’s Secret is inspired in part by the 1848 disappearance of German naturalist Ludwig Leichhardt while exploring southwestern Australia, a historical mystery that has never been solved despite investigations both governmental and private. The plot of Cooper’s novel turns on two fictional characters: Evie Ludgrove, who vanishes in 1880 while attempting to discover Leichhardt’s fate, and her niece Letitia Rawlings, who in 1911 comes across a meticulously illustrated map she surmises might hold a clue to her Ludgrove’s disappearance. Cooper writes often and beautifully about the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, and The Cartographer’s Secret is no exception; the emotional landscape of the women’s family just as elegantly charted. I particularly loved the novel’s homage to female cartographers and its insightful exploration of the trajectories of two quite different but related women’s lives. The Cartographer’s Secret will have special appeal for fans of Kate Morton and Sarah McCoy as well as lovers of dual-era novels generally.

3 stars

The Cartographer’s Secret is a historical fiction mystery romance novel. I like all of these genres, and I particularly love seeing them mixed together, so this book should be right up my alley; and indeed, I enjoyed it. However, perhaps the proportions weren’t quite right, because to me this book ‘got the job done’ but didn’t stick out to me in any particular way.

The story follows a dual timeline: Evie, in 1981, is a 17-year-old artist and amateur cartographer who hopes to win her father’s approval by making a map of a famous explorer’s final journey, and perhaps solve the mystery of his disappearance. Lettie, in 1910, is Evie’s 25-year-old niece, who hopes to solve the mystery of why Evie disappeared in 1981. The two young women are strikingly similar to those who meet them, and during her search Lettie feels closer and closer to her vanished aunt.

The story begins surprisingly slowly; Lettie does not learn about and decide to begin searching for Evie until about page 150. The buildup is beautifully written and certainly sets us in turn-of-the-century Australia, but I didn’t get the emotional connection to the characters that I would want to hang about for that long before the first big plot hook.

While I love a mystery romance, in this case I think the story would have benefitted from cutting the romance entirely from the mystery. Nathaniel and Lettie’s romance was stilted and felt more tacked-on than anything. It also contributed to a sense I had that Lettie was a rather wishy-washy character; I enjoyed her chapters significantly less than I enjoyed Evie’s, which is a problem. A multiple-perspective or dual-timeline story only works when I as a reader am equally invested in both of the perspectives/timelines.

There is plenty to enjoy about the novel. The period setting is meticulously portrayed, and the integration of details about early settlers and mid-nineteenth-century interior exploration was handled beautifully. It was in the characters, and the way that the various sub-plots were woven together and paced, that this novel failed to wow me.

I don’t typically read historical fiction books that are set in Australia, but after reading two of them fairly recently, I thought I’d take a look at this one.

In this dual timeline story, Evie in the 1880s goes missing when she sets of to determine what happened to the explorer Dr Ludwig Leichhardt (a real life historical figure). In 1911, Lettie has to delivery news of a death in the family to her great aunt Olivia. While Lettie is there, family secrets start to emerge and it looks like Lettie may finally be able to figure out what happened to Evie.

I enjoyed the setting in Australia with some historical details and the Australian landscape, different from my usual read but extremely enjoyable. Tea Cooper’s writing style was great and she created wonderful women in her story. The overall plot wasn’t particularly fast paced but it allowed me as a reader to enjoy the details.

I enjoyed this book enough that I’m definitely going to be reading more of Tea Cooper’s books.

I was reading a lot of historical fiction books lately and I picked up this book to get a bit of exposure to Australian historic fiction. This story is about a young girl who wants to get away from her home town and family to live with her Aunt and plot unfolds gradually. I felt the narration is slow and details too many. This book did not live up to my expectations. My rating is 2.5.

If you are looking for an adventure into the heart of Hunter Valley, Australia, where the lingering smell of eucalyptus hangs in the hot air. Look no further, The Cartographer's Secret is the book for you. I was completely sucked into this remarkable book from the moment I read the first page, and it was glued to my hand until my eyes grazed the last enticing word. Tea Cooper has written three amazing female characters that you will fall in love with. They tell the tale of their family's history, and the secrets that have been buried deep for thirty years. These secrets are begging to come to light in this fantastic historical fiction novel. Which dives into the depths of Australian history and exploration, mixing with fiction.

It leads back to the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, he wanted to cross Australia from the east to west. Evie Ludgrove's father, William, literally stumbled across Leichhardt when he had become lost and from that moment on, he was entranced by this man. He became part of the expedition until he had an unfortunate accident. This did not stop his obsession, he dumped money into future Leichhardt expeditions, until one day Leichhardt disappears. William still obsessively continues his search of Leichhardt and his crew. William passes this obsession onto his youngest daughter Evie.

Evie is a young talented artist, who is putting together a detailed map of her family homestead and begins to add the Leichhardt mystery to it. When her father leaves for Sydney to help her older sister become settled. William leaves Evie in charge of discovering what has happened to Leichhardt. She misses her father terribly and begins to go through his endless notes, newspapers, and other fascinating materials he has amassed looking for Leichhardt. She stumbles on what possibly could be a clue. Itching to chase down the mystery for her father. She leaves one morning and is never heard from since.

Thirty years later in 1911, Letitia Rawlings is reeling from her brother's death. She is a strong, no nonsense, fiercely independent woman. She loves to drive her brothers Model-T, not only can she drive it she can fix it as well. Lettie runs from the conforms of society. Especially the men her mother chooses for her to court. She needs an escape and Miriam, her mother, offers one up. She needs to deliver the horrible news to her Great Aunt Olivia, that her brother, the only heir has passed. Lettie leaves Sydney and heads for Yellow Rock.

When Lettie arrives her Aunt Olivia opens her arms and her home to her. Secrets begin to emerge. Why did her mother not tell her the truth about Evie? Miriam's past is hazy, and her stories do not line up with what Olivia is telling her. Lettie discovers Evie's map and is determined to discover what actually happened to Evie. What could she have unearthed about Leichhardt to make her leave that early morning. Lettie's sense of discovery about her family and her own self discovery emerges. Has she finally found a place she belongs?

Tea Coopers writing style and ability to bring the characters to life, had me falling fast and hard for this book. Her descriptions of Yellow Rock and the surrounding areas, transport you to Australia. You need to pre-order this book, you will not be disappointed. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for allowing me to read this wonderous ARC.

This was a gentle easy read but I was a bit disappointed by the plot as a whole. The blurb made it sound quite magical but I thought the mystery turned out to be quite mundane. The setting was good and the author tried to bring life to the characters but it didn't always work.

I’m drawn to hist fic written by Aussies, although I’ve never been Down Under but I certainly feel like I have after reading The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper.

The descriptions are absolutely glorious, the dual timeline narrative is gripping, there are mysteries surrounding a missing young woman searching to discover the fate of famous Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. Plus maps and family secrets, romance and more. Highly recommended!

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 16 Nov 2021
#TheCartographersSecret #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Harper Muse, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

What an interesting book! This book takes off right from the beginning. We follow Lettie the only daughter to a family divided. Lettie goes to stay with Great Aunt Olivia in the plains of Australia. There is an immediate connection for Olivia as Lettie reminds her of Olivia lost niece Evie. This book is full of mystery, family drama a little romance and will keep you guessing at the twists until the end. Thank you for granting me an ARC copy for an honest review.

The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper is an excellent dual timeline historical fiction novel that has it all: history, mystery, suspense, an excellent character cast, and a dash of romance to make for a wonderful read.

I have read several books by this author before and loved them (The Girl in the Painting and The Woman in the Green Dress) so I knew I had to read this one.

I loved the location of The Hunter Valley located in Australia. The author did a fabulous job describing the landscapes, the way of life, and societal values during this time. The timelines weave between late 1800s and 1910s. Both focus on strong, leading females: Evie and Letitia. Both are within the same family. I loved both characters equally... imperfect, realistic, intelligent, unique (for their respective time periods), and complex, I loved the parts that each contributed to the narrative.

I also loved the inclusion of the mystery involving the famous Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. The author was able to weave that bit of history flawlessly into the fictional narrative. It added an additional layer of mystery, intrigue, and complexity to an already stellar plot. I loved the few twists and turns also added for good measure, as well as the satisfying ending.

Definitely a great book for anyone that loves historical fiction, strong female characters, and a good mystery.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Harper Muse for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.