National Geographic Traveller (UK)

INDIAN OCEAN

A few years ago, I decided to write a murder mystery novel set on a boat in 1634. I like boats, and I like history, and I thought it’d be fun. That’s as far as my thinking took me. I had no idea that researching the story would drag me from Australia to Indonesia and Europe.

The book is called , and takes place on a merchant galleon transporting spices from Batavia to Amsterdam on behalf of the Dutch East India was wrecked off the west coast of Australia in 1629. Most of the passengers survived the wreck only to find themselves trapped on a tiny island with a psychopath, who proceeded to butcher the majority of them.

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IMAGES: ANDREW REINER; AWL IMAGES ■

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