The Scent of Lavender
Margot S. Baumann
ISBN 9781477830826
Amazon Publishing
Women’s Fiction, Romance

Swiss journalist Saskia Wagner’s life is in shambles—she’s lost her job and left her callous boyfriend. So when she learns of a summer job on a wine-growing estate in the small French village of Beaumes-de-Venise, she jumps at the chance, hoping it can provide her with the escape she needs to clear her head.
But it would seem that where wine flows, trouble follows. Jean-Luc Rougeon, the handsome-but-surly owner of the estate, appears distinctly unsettled by Saskia’s presence. And he’s not the only one: everyone in the village is behaving oddly toward her. It could just be curiosity about the new girl, but something more seems to be afoot.
Unwittingly entangled in her new community, Saskia faces charged emotions. Can this be the identity she’d come to Provence to discover?
My review: [rating=3]
Translated from French, The Scent of Lavender kept me engrossed enough to read straight through. The mystery about the reaction Saskia gets at Provence just had to be solved! Then there was the character of Philippe that had me engrossed. However, the three things that kept me from rating this book higher are the undeveloped character of Jean-Luc, the quick end of Philippe and the somewhat abrupt end to the book. It’s possible that some of this might be due to the fact that the book was translated, but I’m not sure.
Entirely readable and enjoyable too!