Thanks in advance for any help you can give. This is a science fiction book that takes place on a privately-owned planet where sentient bugs (like praying mantises, I think) help humans to raise roses for commercial purposes. The heroine is a woman who helps to run the business for the owners in what appears to be a glorified secretarial capacity. Her mother is a famous courtesan, and she was expected to follow in her mother's footsteps but chose not to.
A murder takes place, and an investigator is sent to the planet. He has special skills that allow him to tell if people are lying, but the heroine has some sort of a quirk that won't let him "read" her. In their particular culture, this makes her a questionable person.
While the investigator is on the planet, the bugs stage some kind of revolt related to the murder and the roses, and the secretary stays in the bugs' underground nest until it's over. It turns out that the head bug gardener is the murderer (I think he did it for the roses although otherwise he's a nice guy/bug) and in the end, the head bug gardener's daughter bug and the heroine leave the planet...the latter with the investigator in a romantic liason.
Does anyone know the name and/or author of this book? Thanks.
A murder takes place, and an investigator is sent to the planet. He has special skills that allow him to tell if people are lying, but the heroine has some sort of a quirk that won't let him "read" her. In their particular culture, this makes her a questionable person.
While the investigator is on the planet, the bugs stage some kind of revolt related to the murder and the roses, and the secretary stays in the bugs' underground nest until it's over. It turns out that the head bug gardener is the murderer (I think he did it for the roses although otherwise he's a nice guy/bug) and in the end, the head bug gardener's daughter bug and the heroine leave the planet...the latter with the investigator in a romantic liason.
Does anyone know the name and/or author of this book? Thanks.