For fans of women’s fiction about difficult ethical choices, The Perfumer’s Secret is a mesmerizing novel set in France in which a passionate documentary maker must choose whether to tell the truth—even if it could ruin the lives around her.

Zandy Watson, a thirty-year-old documentary maker from New York with a scumbag father and a broken past, is a social justice warrior, hell-bent on making movies that will expose important truths. Except she has to pay the bills, and her boss insists she go to the South of France to make some puff piece about a 300-year-old perfume house.

In Grasse—the perfume capital of the world, a heavenly garden rich in delicate flowers—Zandy is seduced by the perfumer’s art. And by Dominique Severin, a secretive, debonair heir who is battling to preserve his honor by keeping his family business alive. But behind the glamorous façade, Zandy discovers a shameful secret. Holding a glittering chance to do what’s right by telling the truth, she faces a heartbreaking choice. Will she betray the lover who has trusted her with his secrets? And will she destroy thousands of innocent lives along the way?

The Perfumer’s Secret is an enchanting journey through the captivating world of perfume with an indomitable young woman who in her darkest moment discovers the wisdom and courage to improve countless lives—and change her own life forever.

Neroli Lacey has been training to write delicious fiction for clever women her whole life. As a journalist, she wrote for all the great British newspapers: The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Evening Standard and for Vogue, Tatler, and The New Statesman. She’s also been an investment banker and commodity futures trader. She’s traveled all through Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. She’s the proud mother of two wildly spirited daughters and an adventurous stepson. She and her husband divide their time between New York City and a medieval village in the South of France.