Margins
Flaming Tree book cover
Flaming Tree
1985
First Published
3.83
Average Rating
298
Number of Pages

In search of solitude in the wake of her son’s tragic death, recently divorced physical therapist Kelsey Stewart accepts an invitation to stay at her aunt Elaine’s seaside inn in Carmel, California. No sooner does Kelsey arrive than she becomes moved by another tragedy: On a bright sunny day, local boy Jody Hammond fell from the Point Lobos cliff into the pounding waves of the Pacific and was left with a devastating brain injury. He now stares into an empty void and hasn’t spoken a single word since the accident. Compelled to aid in the boy’s recovery, Kelsey visits the Hammonds’ Flaming Tree ranch, where Jody’s tyrannical father, Tyler, has given up hope. Kelsey can offer that, and the effort might revive her own crushed spirit as well. But as she falls in love with the mysterious Tyler, she also begins to unravel the family’s secrets. When she begins to fear that Jody’s silence is coming from a very dark place, her mission will become one of life and death—because what’s buried in the boy’s memories could be murder.

Avg Rating
3.83
Number of Ratings
880
5 STARS
27%
4 STARS
37%
3 STARS
28%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads

Author

Phyllis A. Whitney
Phyllis A. Whitney
Author · 74 books

Phyllis Ayame Whitney (1903 – 2008) was an American mystery writer. Rare for her genre, she wrote mysteries for both the juvenile and the adult markets, many of which feature exotic locations. A review in The New York Times once dubbed her "The Queen of the American Gothics". She was born in Japan to American parents and spent her early years in Asia. Whitney wrote more than seventy novels. In 1961, her book The Mystery of the Haunted Pool won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Juvenile novel, and she duplicated the honor in 1964, for The Mystery of the Hidden Hand. In 1988, the MWA gave her a Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. Whitney died of pneumonia on February 8, 2008, aged 104.

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