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326 pages ; 23 cm
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"A young woman's extraordinary sense of taste pulls her into the world of the nobility, where secrets and murder plots threaten everything she holds dear. Minha is born into the world of late-nineteenth-century Britain, daughter of an Indian aristocrat and an English prostitute. She has a remarkable gift -- an incredible sense of taste. She can taste the earth in which potatoes are grown, or the tree on which fruits are ripened. She can smell each ingredient -- and identify when one doesn't belong. But Minha's gift and her mixed-race heritage provoke mistrust and rejection, even within her own family. Escaping alone to France, Minha chances upon work in a chateau, where for the first time her strange abilities are lauded. As official poison-taster for Duc Nicholas, Minha must taste every morsel of food that will pass his lips. Others in the household are hostile to her, and when she discovers a man hiding in the stables, their unexpected meeting turns into the first true connection she's felt since arriving in France. But mysteries continue to swirl around the chateau, with the Duc's poisoner unidentified, and when household items start to go missing, antagonism toward Minha grows. She knows it's only a matter of time before fingers begin pointing her way. Will she run again, or is this the time to stand and fight? A thoroughly addictive novel about food, murder, race, love, and the young woman fighting to build a fulfilling life against all odds, in this gorgeously written debut by author Catherine Kurtz"--