Review: The Unicorn's Daughter
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2012
"Do you believe in unicorns, Daddy?"He looked at her with a sly smile and winked. "Me? No way.""I believe in unicorns," she told him.Something mysterious drew me to this book about a daughter and her daring, handsome father and though I'd love to elaborate, this review should be about Norma Beishir's fabulous book and not me.  Anyway, back in the nineties, A Time For Legends hit the bestseller list with the publisher's choice for a title. Norma wanted to call it The Unicorn's Daughter  but when I received the book from Amazon, all I cared about was what was inside, between the covers.Faster than you can run for cover, I was lured into the emotional bond between a daughter and her dad--an unbreakable bond that nothing could tear away--not even the possibility that Jaime's (the main character)father might be dead. I know about that heart-wrenching feeling. Thank goodness I was in the hospital the day my father died, because he definitely had other plans that day and he appeared to be prepared for all eventualities. His digital camera and his keys were in the pocket of his slacks--there in the hospital--there when it was too late. Though I'll always wonder what he wanted to do that clear September day, I know this stubborn daddy's girl would have searched for the truth too, just like Jaime did in The Unicorn's Daughter. I know it sounds strange, but I feel like my dad wanted me read this book. It explains the strange way I found out about it and that mysterious pull that drew me to read it. Thanks dad.Norma Beishir's book is part war story, part  love, romance, intrigue and international espionage. It's written in that suspenseful noir-esque style that makes you start worrying about the heroine right from the prologue. Then you'll start following her father James Lynde, who goes from working with the OSS before the war, to working with the C.I.A during the Cold War. His mythological code name is The Unicorn. To keep his profile undercover he marries a senator's daughter in order to get a position in a prestigious bank with global monetary concerns. Subsequently Jaime is born, but his unhappy wife feels justifiably unloved. While her father is busy with dangerous, top secret missions around the world, Jaime is enrolled in a boarding school. Her despondent mother dies and to make matters worse, relatively soon thereafter Jaime is told that her father is dead. Strange people posing as relatives come to pick Jaime up, becoming her guardians. Haunted by the strange disappearance of her father, Jaime wants to know what really happened. As she grows up she asks many futile and unanswerable questions, until one day she comes across a chest full of letters, packages and presents written to her and sent by her father. When the postmarks look like they were made after his alleged death, she knows that everyone has been lying. Unfortunately however, the more questions she asks, the more problems arise and Jaime's ire is rising faster than the banks of the river Seine after a rainstorm. Beautifully written, and full of twists and turns, Norma's crescendo of mystery builds tenderly, like the overture to a tragic opera. Soon people start to disappear--as in murdered.Finally, a smart man by the name of Nicholas at the American Embassy in Paris takes pity upon the gorgeous tall redhead and he quickly falls in love with her. Jaime's in danger and maybe if he helps her, she'll put it all into the past and they can face the future together with a clean slate. Kids, a life in the suburbs and wait...just a micro-second....Jaime is not all that keen on jumping into any relationship until she knows the truth about her father. Persistent and determined, Jaime refuses to give up the search and keeps running into dead-end after dead-end (literally). You'll start turning the pages faster and faster to find out who betrays whom and who will be left in the dust of the Libyan Desert. When the bullets start flying and the bombs come hailing down over Tripoli, you'll be at the edge of your seat hoping the book will never end. Will Jaime find her father, the man called The Unicorn? Will Jaime and Nicolas get married and buy the home in the suburbs? Go find The Unicorn because only he knows for sure. You'll be glad you did.