COLUMBELLA

A governess becomes entangled with a dysfunctional and dangerous family in this novel by a New York Times?bestselling ?master of suspense? (Mary Higgins Clark).   Finally liberated from her cruel and domineering mother, twenty-eight-year-old schoolteacher Jessica Abbott has accepted a position as governess in Hampden House, a crumbling plantation on the cliffs of St. Croix. Her charge is Leila Drew, the oppressed teenage daughter of a pathologically punishing mother. But the vulnerable girl is not Catherine Drew?s only victim.   For years, Catherine?s desperate husband, King, a man to whom Jessica is irresistibly drawn, has been searching for the means to a safe escape?for himself and Leila?from this ruin of a family. As Jessica becomes further entwined in the violent dynamics of the Drew family, she realizes Catherine?s wretched power may be grounded in a secret that has trapped not only King and Leila, but herself as well.   A recipient of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, Phyllis A. Whitney was hailed by Mary Higgins Clark as ?a superb and gifted story teller, and a master of suspense.?   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Phyllis A. Whitney including rare images from the author?s estate.