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  • Published: 15 November 2013
  • ISBN: 9780307949813
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $36.00

Scent of Darkness

A Novel




The author of Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire returns with a magical, seductive story about the power of scent--and about what happens when a special perfume renders a young woman irresistible.

Deep in the bayous of Louisiana exists a world of fortune-tellers, soothsayers, and makers of potent elixirs. Among them is Evangeline’s grandmother, Louise, a master of scent-making and perfume. And when Eva is eighteen, Louise leaves her the ultimate gift—a scent created just for her. However, the bottle comes with a warning: do not remove the crystal stopper unless you want everything in your life to change. 
 
From the moment she places a drop on her neck, Eva is the object of intense desire to everyone around her. Strangers follow her down the street, a young boy appears at her door asking for a favor, and two men—one kind and good, the other dark and exciting—fall madly in love with her. As her greatest gift becomes an unbearable curse, Eva will be forced to wonder if it is possible to truly love someone evil and to question the true nature of her grandmother’s legacy.

  • Published: 15 November 2013
  • ISBN: 9780307949813
  • Imprint: Knopf US
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $36.00

About the author

Margot Berwin

Margot Berwin earned her MFA from the New School in 2005. Her stories have appeared on Nerve.com, in New York Press, and in the anthology, The Future of Misbehavior, published by Chronicle Books. Margot spent years working in advertising, lives in New York City's Union Square, and has a killer collection of plants.

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Praise for Scent of Darkness

  • "Berwin captures New Orleans's mystical juju perfectly." --Entertainment Weekly
  • "Thoroughly engrossing." --New York Journal of Books
  • "Berwin's prose is poetic and measured, and her enchanting novel will leave readers searching for a scent of their own." --Booklist