After her longtime boyfriend is arrested for white collar crime in a corrupt company, Persia Vanderbilt leaves Seattle and moves back to Gull Harbor, Washington, to live in her childhood home with her Aunt Florence. She applies her natural talent for scents to mixing essential oils and blending personal perfumes and scented bath products in her aunt's spa. She also teaches martial arts classes and stays in peak physical condition. Her idyllic life is disrupted when she finds a local aspiring model dead on the floor of the spa, her dried blood splattered on the merchandise.

Beautiful young Lydia Wang had angered or hurt almost everyone on the island in the last few years and was known for vicious scheming to further her modeling career. Unfortunately, the day before her murder, the spa's herbal gardener threatened Lydia after a confrontation in the shop. Since the young gardener, Trevor, is also Lydia's ex- boyfriend, everyone is suspicious. Persia can't convince the police chief that Trevor is incapable of murder, so she and Aunt Florence continue to investigate even though Trevor is in jail as the prime (and only) suspect.

Just when things couldn't get any worse, Persia's ex- boyfriend shows up in town, drunk and belligerent. When another person associated with the shop ends up dead, Persia has to work fast to follow the criminal's scent and gain the cooperation of the police chief, so that she can save Trevor and her aunt's business.

As you might expect, the first quarter of the book is spent introducing the characters and setting up many possible motives for murdering Lydia Wang. Persia's eclectic career background blends to create a well-qualified amateur sleuth. I was initially turned off by the flurry of introductions to a large cast of characters, but Persia's family history and the history of the town combine to give the characters some depth. A few pages from Persia's business journal are included to share her recipes for her specialty bath oils and salts. While the scents in the shop were overpowering, the writing in this new mystery series by India Ink (who also writes as Yasmine Galenorn) smells fresh and clean.