Armistice Day should have been full of joy for Fleur Richards; however, her day turns to despair as she receives a letter that her husband Hugh has become a casualty of war.  With the notice, Fleur also discovers that she has been named next of kin for Hugh's inheritance in Australia.  Now, Fleur ventures to Australia alone and must unravel the mystery of her husband's estate. 

Sixty-six years earlier Della Atterton lives a quiet life practicing her craft of taxidermy on the remote Mogo Creek in New South Wales until Captain Stefan von Richter comes crashing into her life.  Stefan is tracking down what he believes to be Australia's first opal.  The quest for the opal will bring both fortune and turmoil into his life as well as the life of his family.

Told from dual timelines, this haunting mystery pulled me into the wonders of Australia.  The story did take me a little time to get into as I figured out how the two storylines were connected.  I was more drawn towards Fleur's story and her daring, courageous and caring nature.  Her strength shone as she set out across the world alone to learn about Hugh.  Fleur's drive to figure out Hugh's origins and the mystery of the Curio Shop she inherited were fueled with passion.  In the earlier timeline, Della's character echoed Fleur's sentiments; however, I was drawn into Stefan and Bert's quest and relationship even more.    Cordelia's character heightened the mystery as I tried to figure out her angle and motivations.  Most of all, I enjoyed the descriptions of Australia.  I was surprised at the dark history of the rampant attacks and racism on the native people of Australia; however, it is always good to learn about. The ending expertly wrapped  the two timelines together and satisfied the mystery.  
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

I did not finish this book at 10 percent. Sorry, the changing perspectives and formatting was too much for me to overcome. I really liked the synopsis which is why I chose this book and just felt let down in the end. I noticed a lot of reviewers mentioned the slowly moving story and honestly I just kept going this is boring, this is boring, who is this, and this is boring. 

"The Woman in the Green Dress" follows Fleur Richards. Fleur is waiting for her husband Hugh to return from The Great War (World War I) when she receives news of his death on Armistice Day. She supposedly leaves England for Australia (I didn't get that far).

What didn't help me while reading though is that we follow so many characters in this (and I only got to 10 percent). We are introduced to a character named Della. I still don't know what she was about since the formatting made it hard to "see" who was speaking. And then we followed Fleur and there was a male character whose name is eluding me right now. 

I just have to say my first impression of Fleur was she was weak as anything. She literally hides and doesn't speak to anyone and the book jumps to a character in Australia who I assume is important later. I think Cooper didn't set up enough time for readers to even care about Fleur's predicament. She throws us right into Armistice Day and then Fleur sees the Queen of England and then runs home to bad news. The book would have been better to show Fleur and Hugh in love so that you at least care when she receives news of his death. 

I think the writing wasn't doing a lot for me. The dialogue that I managed to get through felt stiff and forced. The book felt slow and also at the same time not as developed as it should have been. I know this is an ARC, but it was hard to get through this with the formatting being all over the place too. 

DNF at 10 percent. This book is confusing and the poor formatting doesn’t help. I can’t tell who is speaking and I’ve been introduced so far to 4 (I think) characters. I still can’t tell you what is going on besides this is taking place directly after WWII I believe. 

Finishing up the following book:

During the critical summer months of 1943, Noor Inayat Khan was the only wireless operator transmitting secret messages from Nazi-occupied France to the Special Operations Executive in England. She was a most unlikely spy. As the daughter of an Indian mystic, raised in a household devoted to peaceful reflection on the outskirts of Paris, Khan did not seem destined for wartime heroism. Yet, faced with the evils of Nazism, she could not look away. She volunteered to help the British; was trained in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance; and returned to France under cover of night with a new identity and a code name: Madeleine.

and starting this one:

Ellie and Neil Patterson are eager to settle in to some quality time at their new cottage. It’s the first time in ten years they’ve been alone … or are they?

When a friendly encounter with their new neighbour leads to their violent kidnapping, they awake to a living nightmare. Insisting he is Ellie’s soulmate, the stranger gives her three chances to say his name. If she guesses wrong, it’s Neil who will suffer the consequences. This propels Ellie on a desperate trip down memory lane to dredge up the dubious men of her past.

and this one:

After a whirlwind romance, London teashop waitress Fleur Richards can’t wait for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War. But when word of his death arrives on Armistice Day, Fleur learns he has left her a sizable family fortune. Refusing to accept the inheritance, she heads to his beloved home country of Australia in search of the relatives who deserve it more.

In spite of her reluctance, she soon finds herself the sole owner of a remote farm and a dilapidated curio shop full of long-forgotten artifacts, remarkable preserved creatures, and a mystery that began more than sixty-five years ago. With the help of Kip, a repatriated soldier dealing with the sobering aftereffects of war, Fleur finds herself unable to resist pulling on the threads of the past. What she finds is a shocking story surrounding an opal and a woman in a green dress. . . a story that, nevertheless, offers hope and healing for the future.