The Heart Note

A mysterious confession leads one woman to Grasse, France, the perfume capital of the world, where she uncovers a deep-rooted secret that reverberates across centuries.

A perfume is made of three layers: the top note, the base note and the heart note.

In 2022, Eva is adrift: her sense of smell has vanished after illness, her marriage is fraying, and her mother Lily is slipping deeper into dementia. But when Lily, in a moment of fractured clarity, speaks of something she did in Grasse twenty years earlier, Eva is compelled to follow the trail.

In 2001, Lily arrives in Grasse constrained by the roles of wife and mother, only to find herself altered by the beauty of the town, its perfumers, and the possibility of another life.

In 1532, Heli, the daughter of a glove maker, dreams of escaping the stench of her father's trade to learn the art of her mother's fragrant tinctures. When her mother falls ill, Heli's experiments lead to a discovery that will leave its trace on history.

Moving between centuries, with the lingering power of scent, The Heart Note is an evocative novel about inheritance, longing and the stories that endure, perfect for readers of Pip Williams, Holly Ringland and Kate Morton.

'McCausland's elegant, petal-light prose evokes a compelling, sensuous tale of three women in three different times. A fragrant love letter - or should I say heart note? - to France, as well as to mothers and daughters, this book is rich with notes of history, creativity and femininity; its scent stayed with me long after I turned the final page.' Kell Woods, Sunday Times bestselling author of After the Forest

'Vanessa McCausland beautifully weaves together three women, three time periods, and three mysteries in an immersive novel that kept me turning pages until the very end. She takes readers on a fascinating and compelling trip to a gorgeous French countryside village with a dark secret at its heart' Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost

'Memorable, fragrance-infused ... [and] powerful' Kirkus

'Readers will be tantalized' Publishers Weekly