Leaf and Scale

Magic is fading. Dragons are vanishing. And Fern Oakby may be the only plantswoman stubborn enough to uncover why. Fern has little patience for society’s expectations. She would far rather be elbow-deep in soil than trapped in a ballroom, and her quiet life in Drake’s Bend suits her...

In a corner of rural England, Fern Oakby makes a living through her knowledge of botany. An unusual case erupts during a storm when a Boston ivy turns monstrous and…carnivorous. However, the solution is not as simple as hacking down the exceedingly rare and hungry plant. The storm also gave life to an origami dragon and bound it to the vine. When a lonely woman pleads with Fern to save the tiny dragon, she is forced to confront a profound question: what defines the value of a life?

The village of Drake’s Bend has long been guardian of a sacred grove where ancient trees offer gentle counsel to those who dare share their secrets. For centuries, this delicate balance between confession and wisdom has been maintained. Until now. The whisperwoods have turned venomous. The trees sharpen sacred confidences into devastating weapons of betrayal, threatening to tear the local community apart. Old friendships are being torn apart, and villagers fall ill with a mysterious sickness.

In the cemetery of Drake’s Bend, a most unusual flower unfurls its bloom. The spectral orchid signals that a restless soul has returned—and it has unfinished business. Fern must piece together clues to settle a soul who lived an unremarkable life, before villagers are gathered in spectral arms to join it in death. But as Fern unravels the spirit’s final days, she discovers that person’s fate was bound to a far greater secret—one tied to her father’s murder. When another orchid flowers, the truth she has tried to discover for five years might finally be within her grasp…