The Forgetting Flower

by Karen Hugg

Overview

"Superb characters and alluring prose make for a truly exceptional read."

—Kirkus Reviews

Secrets and half-truths litter Renia Baranczka's past, but the city of Paris had offered 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 had buffered the guilt of what happened to her sister but, all too suddenly, 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 an underworld of black market mobsters, navigating threats and fending off abuse to protect the 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949116342
Publisher:	Woodhall Press
Publication date:	04/01/2020
Series:	Botanique Noire
Edition description:	First edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Karen Hugg writes literary mysteries and thrillers inspired by plants. Her stories are set in worlds where plants, real or imagined, affect people in strange new ways. A certified ornamental horticulturalist and Master Pruner, her passion is living green things and her aim is to entertain and inspire readers, to get them thinking while their hearts are pounding. Karen has her MFA from Goddard College and lives in the Seattle area with her husband, three children, and four pets. When she's not digging or writing or all else, she sits outside and stares at the sky. Learn more at https://karenhugg.com/

Editorial Reviews

"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 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

"Intriguing and atmospheric, The Forgetting Flower has a fairytale quality, a journey into the sensuous magic of plants." —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

From the Publisher

2019-07-24
In Hugg's (Song of the Tree Hollow, 2018) novel, a Polish-born Parisian in financial distress sells an unusual plant's blooms to very dangerous people.The death of Alain Tolbert, a possible suicide, greatly saddens his neighbor Renia Baranczka, as he'd been her only friend in Paris. He was also the best customer at Le Sanctuaire, the flower shop that Renia manages. Its owner, Valentina Palomer, regularly dips into the shop's emergency funds, and the business is perpetually in debt. To solve her problems, Renia turns to an enigmatic plant that her twin sister, Estera, calls "Violet Smoke." Inhaling the fragrance from its flowers can make a person forget certain events; Estera calls it a "memory trim." Indeed, the Violet Smoke may be the reason for the siblings' current estrangement. The plant can be addictive, and Renia fears that it may somehow have led to Alain's death. But Estera's unsavory ex-boyfriend, Zbigniew "Zbiggy" Wójcik, is willing to pay handsomely for the flowers. This affords Renia some much-needed funds, but it becomes clear that Zbiggy wants the entire plant for himself. Hugg's absorbing tale features understated traits from multiple genres. A mystery, for example, plays in the background as periodic flashbacks involving Renia and Estera, who's not in Paris, gradually explain the twins' falling-out. In similar fashion, Renia's increasing involvement with Zbiggy's unnerving comrades slowly escalates the suspense. The characters are as bold as the flowers adorning Le Sanctuaire; police officer Kateb is oddly elusive on specifics regarding Alain's death while Valentina's impudence is almost comical. The author's sublime descriptions further enrich the story: Despite the supernatural Violet Smoke's apparent unattractiveness, Hugg endearingly notes its "velvety petals" and how its leaves make the mature plant "seem newly born"; at another point, she equates its twisty branches with "a lanky teenager dancing, bending its arms this way and that."

Superb characters and alluring prose make for a truly exceptional read.

Kirkus Reviews