Golden Unicorn

by Phyllis A. Whitney

Paperback, 1981

Status

Available

Call number

Fic Romance WhitneyP

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Fawcett (1981), Mass Market Paperback, 316 pages

Description

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. … (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member auntieknickers

See my review of Whitney's [book: Daughter of the Stars] for more on Whitney and the genre. This book's protagonist, Courtney Marsh, is a success at a very young age but there is something missing in her life because she is an adoptee. Her adoptive parents have recently died and this makes her even

more determined to find her biological ones. The only clues she has are a golden unicorn necklace that was with her when she was adopted, a brief mention of East Hampton in an old letter, and a note on a newspaper clipping showing a painting by an East Hampton artist. As she makes her living by interviewing accomplished women and writing about them, it is not too hard for her to arrange a visit to East Hampton and meet the family which might be hers. She quickly realizes that they probably are, and she wishes they weren't -- dysfunctional is too tame a word. But, there's a handsome son-in-law whose marriage is obviously on the rocks....
This book obviously follows a formula. But then, so do boeuf bourguignon and buche de Noel. It's the details, the ingredients and how the formula is prepared, that make the difference both in food and fiction. Whitney was certainly a master chef of this souffle-like type of fiction.

Show Less