EBONY SWAN

Finding herself alone in the world, Susan travels to Virginia to find her long-lost grandmother and learn about her family history, but her visit awakens nightmarish memories of the past that may threaten the future. 90,000 first printing. $90,000 ad/promo.

One of her best efforts, this carefully crafted novel of psychological suspense by the prolific Whitney ( Woman Without a Past ), a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, entices the reader into a series of enigmas. When Susan Prentice returns to her childhood home in Virginia 25 years after witnessing the death of her mother, Dolores, she wishes only to become reacquainted with her formidable grandmother, Alex, a former ballerina. But Susan finds herself isolated in a hostile environment, her relatives obviously fearful that she might recall hitherto repressed memories of the tragedy. Alex is correct but reserved, while her eccentric cousin Theresa is openly menacing. Her old playmate Peter (now Alex's physician) has survived the murder of his wife a year ago, a crime that might be linked to Dolores's death. And Susan is particularly dismayed to find an ebony swan carved by her late grandfather that ostensibly depicts Alex as Odile in Swan Lake --with a terrifyingly malevolent face. Is Susan at risk? The suspense never falters, and Whitney wonderfully enriches her storytelling with the lush background of Tidewater Virginia and well-integrated historical commentary. Literary Guild selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Whitney's 36th mystery suspense is tighter, neater, better than ever. This time, the protagonist is a 72-year-old former prima ballerina, although it's her granddaughter who, Whitney-style, follows clues into the past where all those closed doors hiding scandal (and sometimes murder) begin to creak open. The new Whitney settings for the armchair tourist are the northernmost peninsula of Virginia and the once-exotic island of Tangier. Alex Montoro, the widow of deceased Peruvian novelist Juan Gabriel, who married the much younger Alex at the peak of her dancing fame, is not at all sure that she wishes to see granddaughter Susan. Susan's father had swept the girl away when she was six, after Susan's mother Dolores had been killed in a fall--a fall for which the father had blamed Alex. (Yet only a wheelchair-bound Juan Gabriel and Susan were there at Dolores's death.) Susan arrives, impressed by grandmother, intimidated by Theresa, Juan Gabriel's niece (who's a bit sour), and drawn to Dr. Peter. Mysteries swarm. Peter was recently charged with, and acquitted of, the murder of wife Marilyn--had it something to do with notes left by Juan Gabriel? And what could explain the unflattering portrait of Alex in Juan Gabriel's novel? What could explain the anxiety of batty neighbor Hallie, who wants Susan to go home? What was the significance of Juan Gabriel's four last words? Alex holds the most potent secret--something to do with the island of Tangier. A sound, well-crafted mystery with every thread tied and knotted--plus Whitney's usual tour-guide view of some fine coastal scenery. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for Summer) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.