The Spice King

Camden (The Lady of Bolton Hill) launches her Hope and Glory series with this enthralling tale that weds a surprising romance with the real-life political intrigue surrounding the early 20th-century American spice trade. In 1900, the Smithsonian Institution is working to catalogue plant species and requests samples of the world-famous plant collection of Gray Delacroix, owner of Delacroix Global Spice. Delacroix, denies the request in order to protect his closely guarded (and lucrative) spice plants—particularly a rare vanilla orchid. Annabelle Larkin, a junior botanist at the Smithsonian, decides to take matters into her own hands and sets a meeting with Delacroix to change the spice tycoon’s mind. Delacroix, meanwhile, is attracted to Larkin’s love for nature and plants. But when a government official asks her to spy on Delacroix, who is suspected of supporting Cuban insurgents in a rebellion against the occupying American army, Larkin must try to squelch her feelings. As Delacroix and Larkin continue to work together cataloguing his plants, she also helps him expose the plan of a rival to bring cheap, adulterated vanilla to the market. Camden spices up the story with historical details of the era and of the race to provide convenient food for the masses. While faith elements are very light, fans of Jody Hedlund will love this. [em]Agent: Steve Laube, the Steve Laube Agency. (Sept.) [/em]