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A review by books_and_tea_make_katy_happy
Dangerous Women by Hope Adams
3.0
This was an enjoyable historical fiction murder mystery set in 1841 and what tempted me to request it from Netgalley was the 'locked room' element of the story taking place on a ship in the middle of the ocean! The 'dangerous women' of the title are all convicts from prisons in England, who have been sentenced to transportation to Australia for their crimes. Adams makes it clear that the women's crimes are relatively minor, e.g. stealing fabric, however they are being punished almost in the extreme by sending them to another country for reacting to events largely out of their control (and it's hard to think that in 2021 we are still having conversations about supporting women in the justice system to escape abuse etc.).
There are three female voices that tell the story of this voyage: Kezia, who is leading a project for the women to sew a quilt to teach them skills and pass the time onboard; Clara, who is escaping the hangman's noose and hoping for a fresh start, and Hattie, who is being transported with her young son for the theft of children's clothes and who will meet her fate on board.
There were some scenes that were well written and atmospheric, I particularly enjoyed the scene where Clara swaps her identity for another convicts' in order to escape being hanged as you could really picture the squalor of the prison and Clara's fear was tangible. Overall though, I struggled to "hear" the voices of the women as they all came across a bit samey to me, on several occasions I had to double check whose perspective I was reading from. The wider cast, e.g. the sewing group, also felt a bit generic which meant that I couldn't really bond with any of them.
I think that the title "Dangerous Women" makes the novel sound like it will be more of a thriller style murder mystery and it really wasn't that for me (and I feel it's meant to be an ironic title as the women on board aren't dangerous, only their contemporary society views them in that way as they have transgressed from the patriarchal notion of femininity!). A good debut, I will keep an eye out for any future novels by Adams. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it.
There are three female voices that tell the story of this voyage: Kezia, who is leading a project for the women to sew a quilt to teach them skills and pass the time onboard; Clara, who is escaping the hangman's noose and hoping for a fresh start, and Hattie, who is being transported with her young son for the theft of children's clothes and who will meet her fate on board.
There were some scenes that were well written and atmospheric, I particularly enjoyed the scene where Clara swaps her identity for another convicts' in order to escape being hanged as you could really picture the squalor of the prison and Clara's fear was tangible. Overall though, I struggled to "hear" the voices of the women as they all came across a bit samey to me, on several occasions I had to double check whose perspective I was reading from. The wider cast, e.g. the sewing group, also felt a bit generic which meant that I couldn't really bond with any of them.
I think that the title "Dangerous Women" makes the novel sound like it will be more of a thriller style murder mystery and it really wasn't that for me (and I feel it's meant to be an ironic title as the women on board aren't dangerous, only their contemporary society views them in that way as they have transgressed from the patriarchal notion of femininity!). A good debut, I will keep an eye out for any future novels by Adams. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it.