Flaming Tree

On the California coast, a physical therapist unlocks a young boy’s terrible secrets, in this novel from “the Grand Master of her craft” (Barbara Michaels).

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.

Flaming Tree is a twisting tale of deception, danger, and discovery from an Edgar Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling master of suspense.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Phyllis A. Whitney including rare images from the author’s estate.