Vermilion

by Phyllis A Whitney

From the very beginning, for Lindsay Phillips, there was the memory of that terrible cane with the dragon's head-threatening horror, torment, death.  And always there was Vermilion whispering in Lindsay's ear:  "Go!  You must go to Arizona.  Everything you want is waiting for you there."

Lindsay hadn't listened to Vermilion for years, but now she couldn't shut out her voice.

She knew very well what waited for her in the country of the red rocks.  Her father's murderer was there, as well as the dragon cane.   And Rick lived there too.  Rick, with whom she'd been in love at seventeen, and who had married her older half sister, Sybil.  Nothing but risk awaited her in the Southwest - and possible forbidden love -  but this time she musn't listen to Vermilion.

In Sedona there is an immediate clash with her sister, and Lindsay must try to understand Rick's unhappiness and the trap in which they are both caught.  But first the dark questions must be answered.  About her own mysterious heritage; about her father's death.  She must discover which of her new acquaintances moves behind a mask, and she must find answers that may be concealed in the awful place of the red cliffs.

What she does not expect is that Vermilion will be there too, trying to take over her life, even saving her from harm on occasion - yet always to be feared until the final reckoning.

• ISBN10: 1504043901
• ISBN13: 9781504043908
• Publish Date: 4 July 2017 (first published 31 December 1981)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Open Road Media Romance
• Edition: Digital Original ed.
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 321
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Another one of my finds from my Friends of the Library book sale trail I did while on holiday back home; this one I had to pay a bit more for, as it was at a retail used book store, but I'm determined to collect Whitney's work, and it was still priced cheaper than a new mass market paperback.   Vermilion is set contemporary to the time Whitney wrote it - the 80's - and at first glance of the book jacket I was left with the impression that the cane was going to be central to the story in some slightly paranormal way.  This would make it perfect for the bingo square Relics and Curiosities.  Unfortunately, while it is central to the plot, it's not an object of superstition or paranormal power.  BUT, the setting in Sedona, with the red rock formations, and Vermilion herself - who turns out to be an imaginary friend the MC created as a child that has rather more personality than your standard issue imaginary friend - offer enough superstition, object fear, and possible paranormal activity to more than qualify this book for the square.  (Otherwise, it's dripping with romantic suspense, and it's a murder mystery that takes place amongst a closed set.)   The one thing about Whitney's female characters that bugs me is that she portrays them as strong, intelligent and independent (at least in the contemporary books), but then allows them to get rolled over by events or other characters.  Lindsay agrees to things, or rushes into things that are the cliche'd equivalent of don't go into the basement!     Readers of Whitney's Window on the Square will find familiar ground here with the character setup, but it's not re-tread ground.  The dynamics are similar, but Whitney isn't repeating herself; I get the sense that she was taking the opportunity to take that dynamic down different paths.   The mystery plotting was excellent - not quite as shocking as Window on the Square but still better than average, and Whitney uses the Native American history and culture, woven with plain old anglo evilness to really ratchet up the suspense and create a tense atmosphere where the reader really doesn't know who's doing what to whom.     The romance was ... absolutely unsurprising, but I continue to admire Whitney for daring to trod on morally shaky ground.  Yes, the hero and heroine always get an easy out, but she was writing her heroines into morally shaky situations back in the 50's and 60's that few authors have the courage to put their heroines in today.   Vermilion is not amongst her best, but I'd definitely put it above her average and definitely better than Woman Without a Past.