Scent Keeper

The national bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients presents a captivating coming-of-age novel about how fragrances conjure memories capable of shaping the course of our lives.

Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in the drawers that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world — a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination.

Lyrical and immersive, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home.

"Bauermeister's heroine Emmeline might also be kin to Jane Eyre. Heartbreaking, thrilling, and wonderfully instructive, this sensual novel is pure pleasure reading." Adrianne Harun, bestselling author of A Man Came Out of A Door in the Mountain

“One of the most enchanting, unique books I’ve ever read.” Anna Quinn, author of The Night Child and owner The Writers’ Workshop and Imprint Bookstore

Erica Bauermeister is the author of three bestselling novels — The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, and The Lost Art of Mixing. She is also the co-author of two non-fiction works, 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader’s Guide and Let’s Hear It For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. She has a PhD in literature from the University of Washington, and has taught there and at Antioch University. She is a founding member of the Seattle7Writers and currently lives in Port Townsend, Washington.