Great thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you are reading it. Loved it from start to finish.

Thrilling and twisty. Read it while on vacation in Provenance, so it was perfect to have the lavender fields, town square with a fountain and narrow streets and tall buildings to help with the ambiance.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

This was an intriguing read because the protagonist isn’t cocky or full of passive-aggressive comebacks. She’s unique in that she’s written as human, flawed, but with a good heart. There are aspects of her that are real, which make her endearing, and this made me root for her when I would’ve ran away from some of the dangers she faced.

If you like a good mystery but aren’t looking for the bright lights and big city action-packed, who dunnits, this is a great find.

This is my first book from this author.
Being a French national living in the UK with a house in Provence unable to travel there for COVID reasons, the cover appealed to me immediately! The content is just as enjoyable, the scenery beautifully described and I got immense pleasure from the vast horticultural knowledge of the author.
The mystery kept the story interesting and intriguing.
I really enjoyed the experience and it made me even more home sick!!! :)

Well done Karen Hugg, will keep an eye for future books….

A very well done mystery novel set in a very small town in Provence. We follow April a photographer to this small town where there is more going on than meets the eye. An eccentric bevy of side characters only adds to the story and keeps you intrigued until the end. Unfortunately I did predict the ending but it took some twist to get there so I did enjoy it. I look forward to trying more from Karen Hugg in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Thank you Karen Hugg and NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WHAT I LIKED:
I really enjoyed April's character, Even though there were times where I thought she was a little too meek. The connection she had right off the beginning with Cedric was perfect! I wish there was more of that written in the book other than just at the beginning and end. Ivo is probably the best character written in this book. Even though he has a condition, he is energetic, doesn't hold grudges, I just overall enjoyed everything about him.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I didn't like how long this took for all of the pieces to start falling together. It was obvious she was being watched as she was about taking photos. But you really have no idea what is happening, Aside from her taking photos of different things, until the last few chapters. A few extra bits and pieces from the locals about the situation would have made this so much better.

OVERALL/RECOMMENDATIONS:
It was a slow but decent read. The cover of it is what drew me in, it looks ominous and daring. By reading the preview, April capturing a photo of a young boy in blood, I expected more of a gruesome storyline. However, it is a good read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a slow building thriller/mystery.

I really enjoyed this read. It was well written with an emotive and dark storyline and well developed characters. twisty and sinister, I was gripped, I couldn't put it down . Highly recommended.

I am such a cover snob...

I looked at this cover and I knew I had to have it. This cover is absolutely stunning and incredibly mysterious. It left me wondering what was inside..... I mean, you cant judge a book solely on it's cover, you need to obviously see its content. So, there I was, instantly captivated with the "drop everything and read the book" kind of feeling.

Everything about this book gives you the feels.

Everything was so incredibly vibrant, I could picture the surroundings around me but all the while I kept thinking "this is too good to be true, what is going to jump out at me?"

Something sinister is behind all of this beauty....

When American, April Pearce is traveling abroad on a photography assignment, she accidentally captures a teenager running through a field bloodied and beaten. April, feeling the need to help tries to uncover what has happened but no one in this small town wants to help her and some long buried secrets are pushed to light that aggravates those who meant to keep them hidden.

What happened to the teenager? What is going on in this beautiful but dark community?

You will need to purchase The Dark Petals of Provence, to find out!

This is my first novel by Karen Hugg, but I am sure it will not be my last. I am curious to see what she will come out with next.

Newly divorced nature photographer, April Pearce arrives in Provence for an assignment for a travel magazine. On the first evening, April goes to a local lavender field to take some photos & sees a teenager running away from someone, covered in blood. April tries to find out what happened but no-one in Saint Lazare wants to talk to her about it. Her hotel room is ransacked, & her camera vandalised, & the locals grow more & more unfriendly, except for local Mayor, Cedric, & a group of rich, young people on holiday there. What is the village hiding?

The descriptions of the countryside are wonderful; rich, detailed, & evoking a real sense of the reader being there. The actual plot is a bit muddled, & characters are introduced, have some vague relevance to the plot, & then disappear again, without the reader knowing what happened to them. It was also rather slow & the main character took ages to actually do anything.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Woodhall Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Karen Hugg is a lovely, visual writer. Her descriptions are vivid and immersive. I could "see" everything she described and longed to live amongst the trees and flowers she detailed. It is clear she understands horticulture well, and her knowledge was both compelling and accessible.

From the book cover and the description, I was excited to read a thriller about the dark underbelly of one of France's most beautiful regions: Provence. Unfortunately, "The Dark Petals of Provence" did not meet these expectations. The plot was slow-placed and oftentimes confusing, and the characters' personalitiies seemed to vaciliate. More than a couple of times, I had to re-read passages to rework the logistics of the scene.

With time, I am certain Karen Hugg will blossom into a writer as lovely as her flowers.

April has the chance to make her career as a photographer with an assignment to photograph the beautiful area in Saint Lazare, France. Growing up with a Father whom she learned much about plants, April is determined to find unusual or unique plant life in the lavender hills of Provence. Little did she know that her camera would capture the secrets that some in Saint Lazare want to keep secret. She befriends Ivo, a teenage boy with disabilities and tries to help free him from abuse at the hands of the man who owns much of the land surrounding the town. Meanwhile Ivo shows her the beauty of Provence and a secret garden that leads to some perilous situations. Someone does not want her there.
It was a little slow to start but eventually drew me in to the finish. Also made me want to go to France!

What a gorgeous setting: Provence, with its colorful lavender fields, vineyards and the life-giving sun of a French summer. But that cover and title suggest a sinister force beneath the beauty.

And that's what April Pearce, an American travel photographer, finds while assigned to do a story on rural French life. When out with her camera the first night, she finds her photos have captured a bloodied teen racing through the fields. When she tries to locate the teen and uncover what's happened, she's met with resistance and worse from the small town with dark secrets.

Author Karen Hugg is an expert in horticulture, and her descriptions of place and flora are spectacular. However, the core mystery is hampered by a too slow pace, lessening suspense and drive. I'd like to read another Hugg mystery after the author has had a chance to hone her narrative skills; what a treat we're in for!

Thanks to the author, Woodhall Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#darkpetals #NetGalley

I was looking forward to this one. A thriller/mystery set in de beautiful Provence. But this wasn't the one for me. Partly because the digital arc i got felt like an uncorrected proof. In words like 'the' and 'they' the letters t en h were missing and in some of the sentences punctuation marks were missing. So it wasn't smooth reading. Also the story moved forward a bit too slow for me and i kinda guessed what the mystery was about pretty soon

I got this arc in exhange for an honest review.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review.
So I'll start by saying that this book is a change of pace for me, I enjoyed the atmospheric descriptions, I felt like I was there watching the events unfold.

This book was like taking a trip to the French countryside and even though it's mysterious and eerie and strange, it really makes you never want to leave. With breathtaking imagery, perfect pacing and an electric protagonist this book gets you very very interested in everything going on and leaves you hungry for more. With each mystery uncovered there are more to figure out keeping you at the edge of your seat the whole time. Offsetting all that mystery with the coziness of the town and the beautiful landscape was such an amazing artistic choice and I particularly enjoyed being in the main characters head during her many photography missions. The author captured what it feels like to be a visual creative so very well and made the story that more immersive!

This is a unique read! Author Karen Hugg is a certified ornamental horticulturist and Master Pruner with 20 years in gardening. She entices readers with magic and the allure of plants.

April Pearce, an American photographer for Travel Life, is on assignment to a small French village, to capture the essence of rural France. Aiming to photograph the immense lavender fields, April heads out the first night with her camera. Instead of capturing images of the lavender, though, she finds she’s documented a teenager running through the fields covered in blood. When she starts to investigate, April discovers that the townspeople start to freeze her out. Nobody wants to listen to an outsider nor offer to help locate the boy. Then weird things start happening, making her feel uncomfortable, unwelcome and unable to send her work remotely to her boss. She has to decide if acting on the evidence and being willing to accept the repercussions is worth it.

The author expertly captures the danger and tension of accidentally stumbling across a local community’s dirty deeds and leaves us with some dark questions. I loved the rich atmosphere and the way Hugg was able to bring the beauty of rural France alive for me. The cognitively delayed teen with a green thumb won my heart!

This literary horticultural mystery with a touch of magic was a unique read and has me searching for the author’s backlist!

I was gifted this advance copy by Karen Hugg, Woodhall Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Being sent on assignment to Saint Lazare was supposed to be the career boosting getaway April needed for growth in her photography career and getting over her divorce. But on the first day there when April accidentally snaps photos of an injured child running in fear and covered in blood, you can tell she has bit off more than she can chew. When the town folk seems to want nothing to do with helping the situation April gets in over her head to solve the dark mystery of what is going on in Saint Lazare.

I was immediately drawn into this book by the cover, it was dark and beautiful and just pulsed intrigue. This book was for sure creepy with characters who just acted weird down to the bone signaling right away that something was seriously up. The detail in this book as well really set the scene and captured the beauty the way April would be with her camera. I felt transported to France with the characters! All around this was a nice read, it took me a little longer than I would have liked to get through and found myself losing interest at certain points and needing to refocus myself. It definitely read like a slow burn thriller and I’m glad I got the chance to read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Woodhall Press for the advance copy in turn for my honest review. The Dark Petals of Provence is set for publication on March 1st!

Sweeping lavender fields, acres of vineyards, summertime sunlight, outdoor cafes, French food, the excitement of travel, maybe even a hot French man, and a secret an entire town is keeping.... Those are a few of the thoughts and visions that I went to bed thinking about while reading this book. Which was wonderful for sleep hygiene these days--positive thoughts and mental images. Perfect for pandemic times--or just modern-day stress-filled life--I thought this was a fun and engaging read. It's got likable (and unlikeable) characters, amazing scenery, intrigue, and a compelling mystery. It's not excessively dark, violent, sad, creepy, or "hard to look at," and refreshingly harkens to pre-pandemic life--international travel! hotels! restaurants! meals with friends! meeting new people! Overall, an enjoyable read.

This was a DNF for me not engaging and slow plot.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book