Buried secrets. An ancient fossil. And one woman's determination to
unravel a nineteenth-century mystery.
Australia, 1847. The last thing Mellie Vale remembers before the
fever takes her is sprinting through the bush with a monster at her
heels--but no one believes her. In a bid to curb Mellie's overactive
imagination, her benefactors send her to visit a family friend, Anthea
Winstanley. Anthea is an amateur paleontologist who is convinced she
will one day find proof that great sea dragons swam in the vast inland
sea that covered her property millions of years ago. Mellie is instantly
swept up in the dream.
Australia, 1919. Penelope Jane "PJ" Martindale arrives home from
the battlefields of World War I intent on making peace with her father
and commemorating the deaths of her two younger brothers in the
trenches. Her reception is disappointing. Desperate for a distraction,
she finds a connection between a fossil at London's Natural History
Museum and her brothers' favorite camping spot. But the gorge has a
sinister reputation: seventy years ago, several girls disappeared from
the area. When PJ uncovers some unexpected remains, she's determined to
find answers about what happened all those years ago ... and perhaps
some closure on the loss of her brothers.
Weaving together these two timelines, The Fossil Keeper offers
everything you love: history, mystery, suspense, romance, and startling
discoveries that will keep the pages turning.
Praise for The Fossil Hunter:
"This elegant dual narrative historical from Cooper follows a young
woman as she pieces together the fate of a 19th-century paleontologist
... Cooper's confident prose and deep empathy for her characters will
keep readers hooked as she unspools her intrigue-filled mystery.
Historical fans will want to dig this one up." -- Publishers
Weekly
- Tea Cooper is a USA TODAY?bestselling and Daphne du Maurier
award-winning author
- Full-length historical mystery
- Stand-alone novel
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
