Dangerous Women by Hope Adams, Penguin

It’s 1841 and the Rajah is sailing from London for Van Diemen’s Land with 200 female convicts sentenced with transportation aboard. Kezia Hayter is the 23-year-old matron of the prisoners and holds lofty ideals of building a community as together her charges stitch a quilt to present to the governor on arrival. Conditions are cramped and grim and everyone has a harsh story of misfortune. But one among them is not a petty criminal at all, but cheated her way onto the ship to escape the gallows. Then Hattie Matthews is stabbed and a search begins to find the culprit. Brilliantly atmospheric.