Corpse Flower — Gloria Ferris

2010 Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel -- Winner

Bliss's life becomes anything but blissful when she encounters the world of rural pot cultivation.

From country club to trailer park …

Swindled out of a fair divorce settlement, former socialite Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall works a number of part-time jobs to pay the rent on a rundown trailer and keep her motorcycle on the road. House cleaner, yoga teacher, library assistant, cemetery groundskeeper, drudge for her agoraphobic cousin â€" the work never ends. But Bliss still can't save enough money for another day in court. So, when her cousin offers her a generous fee to find a pollinating mate for his giant jungle plant, she agrees to help. How hard can it be?

That's when she discovers that her neighbours, employers, and even her cousin are involved in a string of illegal activities â€" including grow-ops and suspicious deaths. Police Chief Neil Redfern's persistent scrutiny is interfering with her goal, and Bliss suspects he himself may be up to his badge in the crimes he's "investigating." With no one to back her up, Bliss must make a decision: she can give up on her dream, or she can start fighting dirty. Either way, she risks becoming another murder victim.