Columbella Author:Phyllis A. Whitney Jessica Abbott, fleeing her own past, finds herself the center of a whirlpool of conflict at Hampden House, high on its cliff in the Virgin Islands. She is confronted by Catherine Drew, a woman whose sole purpose is to torment and destroy. Catherine is the wife of a vital, driven man, Kingdon Drew - toward whom Jessica is irresistibly drawn. Jes... more »sica must defy the beautiful, self-indulgent Catherine, who likes to affect the name of a shell - Columbella. She must fight for the very future of another woman's child. Above all she must find the strength to help the mans he loves escape the trap Catherine has set for him. Yet each day Catherine seems to mock her in a new way - and win. Until the night of the shell...« less
This was one of my favorite Phyllis Whitney gothic romance/thrillers. As usual, she makes the setting come alive, and keeps the suspense going in this tale of a murderer among a troubled household.