London 1885. Linnea Wren has spent her life defying Victorian societal norms, from masquerading as a male groundskeeper at Kew Gardens, to an expedition leader traveling the world. After a devastating and traumatic shipwreck nearly robs her of life and career, Linnea is offered the opportunity to travel to South America and re-establish herself as a naturalist.
Her journey to Chile is far from smooth sailing, especially when her colleague Matias Ward joins the expedition and scrambles her plans. Matias is intelligent, attractive, and hiding something-which only comes to light when a man dies in a grisly ritual murder aboard the ship. Linnea and Matias are charged with investigating the murder, but the culprit remains elusive. Their arrival on ChiloƩ Island brings a temporary respite to pursue their natural history studies and their burgeoning relationship, but the threats and the murderer have followed. After the killing of another innocent person, it is apparent that their lives and those of Matias's family are at risk. Will Linnea and Matias identify the murderer before one of them becomes the next victim?
Set on the high seas and the magical island of ChiloƩ, THE VOYAGE OF THE PLEIADES follows Linnea as she forges a career path outside the expectations of women in the 19th-century while navigating a relationship with a colleague that is overshadowed by the ever-present threats from a murderer.