From a New York Times–bestselling author: A young woman’s search for her biological parents uncovers a secret history of murder and conspiracy.
When her adoptive parents die in a train crash in Italy, writer Courtney Marsh becomes more determined than ever to find her roots. She was mysteriously abandoned when she was just an infant, and she never knew the truth about her biological parents. The only clues to her past are a golden unicorn pendant she’s had all her life and a tattered newspaper clipping about an artist who hailed from one of the most prominent yet reclusive East Hampton families.
Now, under the guise of a reporter, Courtney has arrived at the Rhodes’s mansion on the dunes. She may be uncertain of her heritage, but she’s as sure as the bracing ocean winds that this family is hiding something. Only the handsome son-in-law of the Rhodes clan, whose marriage is on the rocks, is particularly forthcoming—especially as he grows more intimately fond of the lovely and inquisitive young guest. But the more Courtney discovers, the more she has to fear—because hers is a legacy of murder that has yet to play its final hand.
The Golden Unicorn is a novel of buried family secrets in the New York art world from “a superb and gifted storyteller” (Mary Higgins Clark).
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Phyllis A. Whitney including rare images from the author’s estate.
Born in Yokohama, Japan, on September 9, 1903, Phyllis A. Whitney was a prolific author of award-winning adult and children’s fiction. Her sixty-year writing career and the publication of seventy-six books, which together sold over fifty million copies worldwide, established her as one of the most successful mystery and romantic suspense writers of the twentieth century and earned her the title “The Queen of the American Gothics.”
Whitney resided in several places, including New Jersey. She traveled to every location mentioned in her books in order to better depict the settings of her stories. She earned the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master award in 1988, the Agatha in 1990, and the lifetime achievement award from the Society of Midland Authors in 1995. Whitney was working on her autobiography at the time of her passing at the age of 104.