Dangerous Women

I have just finished reading the historical note at the end of this book and I am astonished that this book is loosely based on a real voyage.

This story follows the journey of the Rajah,a Ship that sailed in the 1810s carrying hundreds of English female convicts to their new life in Tasmania. A group of 18 of those convicts selected by the Matron Kezia Hayter are invited to work on a coverlet that they will present to royalty when they dock in Tasmania. However when one of the lucky 18 is stabbed, the journey takes a sickening and dark turn.

This is historical fiction at its best. It's rooted in an actual factual voyage and some of the names of the characters are the same. But it also transcends the historical fiction genre with the who dunnit and why dunnit elements.

This novel is rich and expansive but not unnecessarily lengthy or stilted. I felt like this book gave me a lot as a reader and made me feel like I was viscerally in the story. The claustrophobia of the cabin, the smell of the lower decks, the tempestuous weather of the storms. I would highly recommend giving this book a go if your looking to pick up more historical fiction.

Thanks to the author Hope Adams, Penguin UK and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.