The Fossil Hunter - by Tea Cooper (Paperback)

About the Book

From USA TODAY bestselling author Tea Cooper comes the story of how a fossil discovered at London's Natural History Museum leads one woman back in time to nineteenth-century Australia and a world of scientific discovery and buried secrets.

Book Synopsis

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

Review Quotes

Cooper is an accomplished storyteller, employing the dual-timeline device to foster tension and suspense about the fate of Anthea and the girls. The result is an absorbing tale with a strong mystery element and feminist bent, with special appeal for those interested in the history of dinosaur hunters.--Historical Novel Society

'Beautiful writing makes way for a beautiful story in The Fossil Hunter by Tea Cooper. With the same care a paleontologist unearths a fossil, Cooper has crafted a historical mystery that reveals itself layer by layer, piece by piece, and secret by secret. Highly entertaining and much recommended!'--Jenni L. Walsh, author of Becoming Bonnie and The Call of the Wrens

'Inspired by real Victorian female fossil hunters, Cooper fills the page with strong and intriguing female characters. There's a soupand ccedil;on of romance, but the real focus is on these trailblazing women. Highly recommended for all libraries.'--Booklist

'This elegant dual narrative historical from Cooper (The Cartographer's Secret) 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