Murder on North Terrace

Murder on the North Terrace is the sequel to the Death of Dora Black by Lainie Anderson. This novel is set in Adelaide in September 1917. Kate Cocks and Ethel Bromley continue to work in the Women's Police Branch of the South Australian Police Force. Their main role is to ensure the protection and well-being of local women but from time to time they also assist with general police enquiries. However when the body of a board governor of the Art Gallery is found beneath a controversial painting hanging in the gallery, Ethel Bromley is seconded to the Detective Branch as members of her family have connections to the gallery. This leaves Kate Cocks with the task of managing Women's Police Branch on her own. 

There is general unrest in the city as wounded soldiers return from overseas. Meanwhile there is a recruitment drive to find another 150 soldiers to serve overseas.  Hotels are popular locations for soldiers to congregate and, especially near closing time, many drunk soldiers can be found on the streets. This can result in increased danger to young girls passing by.

One of the cases that Kate Cocks encounters is a fifteen year old girl who has been raped by a soldier and left in the bush. Kate is determined to find the perpetrator, especially when the girl attempts to commit suicide. Another case involving the time of Kate Cocks is a man who is attempting to turn his life around after struggling with injuries he received during the Boer War. 

The attempt to solve the many crimes occurring at this time is set against the background of life in Adelaide during the First World War. This is a work of historical fiction but many of the people mentioned did exist and some of the events did occur. At the end of the book, the author provides an explanation of how she came to write the novel. I really enjoyed reading this crime novel set in an Australian historical setting with the emphasis on the role of women at the time.

The Death of Dora Black

After writing a PhD on the life of Katie Cocks, South Australia's first policewoman to be paid the same wage as a policeman, Lainie Anderson wrote the crime novel, The Death of Dora Black, as a work of historical crime fiction with Kate Cocks as the main character.

When Dora Black's body is found in the water off the pier at Glenelg beach, Kate Cocks and Constable Ethel Bromley who were employed as the Women's Police Branch in the South Australian Police Force, were told it was not their place to investigate. They had their own work to do in preventative crime, especially in regard to women. Then a friend of Dora Black also disappears so the two women are determined to investigate.

The Death of Dora Black is set in Adelaide in 1917. Many men were serving in the armed forces overseas during World War One while some had returned home injured. Then there were those who would never return. This crime novel provides background information of life in Adelaide during the war years plus  issues faced by the growing city. 

It is the first book in A Petticoat Police Mystery series.

Kate Cocks: South Australia's first policewoman. - State Library of South Australia  

Hidden women of history: Kate Cocks - The Conversation

The real Kate Cocks - Lainie Anderson  

Fanny Kate Cocks - Australian Dictionary of Biography