National Network for Equitable Library Service

A bookseller reunites with her estranged, enigmatic father in Key West in this suspenseful novel by a New York Times-bestselling author. Twenty-five years ago, Long Island bookstore owner Laurel York was abandoned by her father, author Clifton York. Ever since, she's followed his life and career with morbid resentment. When Clifton's collaborator shows up in her shop with the gift of an orchid, she reluctantly agrees to accompany him back to Key West to help her and her father come to terms with the past-even in light of her late mother's warning: "There is something terribly wrong in that house ..." Laurel arrives at her father's estate in the historic district of Old Town expecting past wounds to show their scars. But what she doesn't anticipate are her father's cool reception, two strange stepsisters, rumors of a buried treasure, and the whispers about Clifton's second wife-and her bizarre death in a greenhouse full of orchids. The only one who seems to be happy about her presence is the mysterious Marcus O'Neill-if only she could be sure she can trust him. Now, in a house of bad blood and family secrets, Laurel finds herself alone, unprepared for the real reason she has been summoned, and, with every new revelation, more afraid for her life. Edgar Award winner Phyllis A. Whitney, "headmistress of handsomely-schooled suspense [is] in full bloom" in this gothic romance of deception and murder (Kirkus Reviews). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Phyllis A. Whitney including rare images from the author's estate.