The Sleuth Down-Under

Henrietta Copeland accompanied by Compass, her chocolate brown Labrador, begin this fictitious crime tetralogy.

On losing her sight in an industrial accident just before she turns 50, she throws away her palette of paints and brushes and picks up a pen to write of the sounds and scents from the river at Goolwa.

Proud of being dabbed with the title Sleuth Down-Under, Henrietta becomes the owner of a paddle wheeler she names Laurel Wreath. She and her co-poets, the Cruising Poets, provide the venue for other artists on daily cruises along the mighty River Murray at Goolwa, South Australia.

Unforeseen chaos on one of the cruises has Henrietta fearing the parting of ways with her career onboard Laurel Wreath. But along comes an invitation for Laurel Wreath and Cruising Poets to paddle to Milang and co-host a nostalgia party where the undercurrent causes turbulence and has Henrietta putting all her sleuthing skills to the test.

Rosemary Ayles lives on a five-acre property on the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia with her husband, Don, where Eucalypt Gum Trees grow on the fringe. When her two sons arrive with her three grandsons, they race out to the trees, competing to climb the highest branch. Rosemary spends a great deal of time walking the beaches on both sides of the Peninsula, Normanville to Carrickalinga where the ocean is emerald, sand pink and rainbows orange; Middleton to Victor Harbor where dolphins and whales often frolic in the bay. After those walks, she returns to her desk and writes whatever has inspired her.