Lavender Lies — Susan Wittig Albert

In the eighth book in Susan Wittig Albert's award-nominated series, ex-lawyer and herbalist China Bayles must put her upcoming nuptials on the back burner when a murder investigation entangles her friends and neighbors...

"Good riddance," is the response of every Pecan Springs resident to the murder of local real estate shark Edgar Coleman. It doesn't take long for China to learn that Coleman was having numerous affairs -- and was blackmailing City Council members for their votes on a bad land development deal. With her fiance immersed in the murder investigation -- and the suspect list growing longer by the minute -- China can forget about a honeymoon, unless she can find the killer...

There are twenty to thirty different species of lavender and lots of different varieties. Lavender has long been used to scent soaps, cosmetics, and potpourris, and its healing properties have been known and exploited for centuries.