The Forgetting Flower by Karen Hugg

 

Renia Baranczka has come to Paris, fleeing an estrangement from her sister back in Poland.  The two had visited a plant breeder and he had given Renia's sister a unique plant that he had created by crossbreeding several others.  Although it is unique, it is also dangerous as those who smell it forget whatever has happened.  

When the sister falls in with a thuggish boyfriend who abuses her, she starts to use the plant to forget about her pains.  Renia can't convince her to leave the boyfriend so she steals the plant and moves to Paris with it.  There she works in a flower shop and hides the plant away from everyone.  

But the boyfriend shows up in Paris and wants to start dealing the flowers to his criminal associates.  Renia resists at first but when she is hit with financial trouble she gives in.  Just once she thinks but soon it is more and more frequent.  In the meantime, she also contacts a professor of botany who is fascinated by the plant and hopes to identify it and use it to create new pharmaceutical drugs to help those suffering.  Which of the two men will sway Renia and gain the plant?

Karen Hugg spent twenty years as a professional gardener.  That expertise shows through as she writes about plants, nurseries and flower shops.  Renia is not as finely drawn as it is unclear whether she will be swayed by her better nature or by her desire for money.  She is torn between pushing away the man who abused her sister or partnering with him to get the money she needs to survive.  This book is recommended for mystery readers who are looking for something a little different.