Autorentext

Lainie Anderson OAM has worked with Adelaide's Sunday Mail, Melbourne's Herald Sun and London's The Times. After being awarded a Churchill Fellowship, Lainie published her debut novel Long Flight Home in 2019. In 2024, Lainie completed a PhD on Kate Cocks - the inspiration behind the Petticoat Police Mysteries. Lainie is a board member of the History Trust of South Australia, the vice-president of the History Council of South Australia and sits on the SA selection committee for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. She was SA's 2023 Emerging Historian of the Year and in 2026 was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to community history. The Secrets of Montgomery Manor is the third novel in the Petticoat Police Mystery series, following bestsellers Murder on North Terrace and The Death of Dora Black, which was longlisted for the 2025 Indie Book Awards for Debut Fiction and the 2025 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award. Lainie lives in Adelaide with her husband Max.

Klappentext

The unflappable women police of Adelaide are back on the case for the next instalment in the bestselling Petticoat Police Mystery Series

Adelaide, November 1917. Australia is at war, and a nasty conscription campaign is dividing the nation. With Miss Cocks away on a remote assignment, Junior Constable Ethel Bromley is called to investigate the death of young Aboriginal maid Tuppence Kareem at the opulent Montgomery Manor.

There's backslapping galore when a quick arrest is made, but Ethel can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong. She suspects her detective colleague of forcing a confession, and the Montgomerys are ghouls - they kept the girl in a potting shed. Miss Cocks is on the windswept shores of Port Lincoln when she receives a three-word telegram for help: Hurry home, comrade.

Inspired by the true story of Australia's pioneering policewoman, Kate Cocks.

Praise for the Petticoat Police Mystery series:

'Outstanding - funny, poignant, historically fascinating, and an absorbingly good crime read' PIP WILLIAMS

'Immersive, well-researched period detective fiction with a pioneering crime-fighting duo' THE AGE

'Compelling . . . Anderson skilfully blends truth and fiction. It touches the heart as well as the mind - while inspiring a desire to play history detective' THE CONVERSATION

'A really engaging read. Quite extraordinary' ABC THE BOOKSHELF

'The perfect cosy read. How refreshing to read historical crime fiction set in Adelaide during the Great War and focused on women' ANGELA SAVAGE

'Armchair detectives will love this novel' WOMAN'S DAY