The Forgetting Flower
The Forgetting Flower - Available April 1!
Secrets and half-truths. These litter Renia Baranczka's past, but the city of Paris had offered an escape and the refuge of her dream job. The specialty plant shop kept her busy, but also had brought her to a new friend, Alain. His presence buffered the guilt that kept her up at night, dwelling on the endless replays of what happened to her sister. All too suddenly, the City of Light seems more sinister when Alain turns up dead. His demise threatens every secret Renia holds dear, including the rare plant hidden in the shop's tiny nook. It emits a special fragrance that can erase a person's memory - and perhaps much more than that. As Renia races to figure out the extent of the plant's powers, she's confronted by figures from her past who offer a proposal she can't outright refuse. Bit by bit, she descends into a menacing underworld of black market mobsters, navigating threats and fending off abuse to protect the safe peaceful life she's worked so hard for in Paris. Desperate to outwit her enemies, Renia maneuvers carefully, knowing one wrong move will destroy not only the plant, but the lives of her and her sister.
"Superb characters and alluring prose make for a truly exceptional read." —Kirkus Reviews "A lush mystery with the underpinnings of a fairy tale shot through with magic and tragedy. Karen Hugg is the rare author who can blend wonder and suspense." —Emily Carpenter, Author of Until the Day I Die, Every Single Secret, and Burying the Honeysuckle Girls "The delight and grit of Paris, the desperation of poverty, the love of plants and family -- all beautifully and authentically told. The literary side of the novel brings sensitivity and texture to the struggling characters and their surroundings, and the thriller side kept me up late, anxious to find out what happens next." - Sue Burke, Author of Semiosis (Semiosis Duology) "Intriguing and atmospheric, The Forgetting Flower has a fairytale quality, a journey into the sensuous magic of plants. The florescent beauty at the heart of this eerie story of sisterly love and redemption is the extraordinary mountain hybrid Violet Smoke with its scent of burnt apricot, as dangerously potent in Paris as it was in its beginnings in Poland." —Deborah Lawrenson, Author of The Lantern, 300 Days of Sun, and The Sea Garden "Karen Hugg's The Forgetting Flower instantly captures a reader's imagination. A book for those who love not only Paris and flowers, but also intrigue and danger." — Marty Wingate, Author of A Potting Shed Mystery Series