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Imagine a massive luxury liner so hauntingly similar to the Titanic that it featured the exact same "unsinkable" design, yet vanished without a single trace three years before the famous disaster even happened. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness chart a course back to 1909 to unpack the baffling disappearance of the SS Waratah and discuss how Australia’s premier steamship completely disappeared into the ocean along with everyone on board.

Listen in as we trace the liner's final steps through the eyes of the last sailors to see her alive, exploring a chaotic mix of hurricane-force waves, chilling unconfirmed accounts of mid-ocean explosions and a mysterious final lamp signal cut short by the dark. Then, we head into our Mystery Book Club segment to chat about the best mystery novels this eerie cold case brings to mind!

Do you think the Waratah was swallowed by a freak wave, or did fatal engineering flaws doom her to the deep? We want to hear your theories. Make sure you share your current mystery reading list!

Book Links:

Wake by Shelley Burr

Vanish by Shelley Burr

Deep Six by Clive Cussler

Scend of the Sea by Geoffrey Jenkins

Brewing Up a Storm by Amanda M. Lee

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Lady Clues and the Mystery of the Vanishing Valet by Ava Ness

The Lost Ship SS Waratah: Searching for the Titanic of the South by PJ Smith

S.S. Waratah – a Maritime Mystery (facebook group)

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For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast