Review: Thrill of the Unicorn
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2012
Norma Beishir's The Unicorn's Daughter (formerly published as A Time for Legends) has recently been re-released.  This fast-paced thriller strikes forward at lightning speed.  Beishir is a seasoned author and master storyteller who takes us on an adventure from the USA to Europe and the Middle East.  The story spans the World War II era up to the Reagan era.Beishir spins us a tale of espionage, sacrifice, and growth.  James Lynde was the master spy; he was every intelligence agency's dream.  Known as the Unicorn, he was just as mystical at covering his tracks. His ultimate task was to find a cover that would allow him to get into Russia during the Cold War. He came up with a plan that led him to marry a Senator's daughter and to head an International Investment Banking Firm, which the former Senator had inherited, that allowed him to travel throughout the world. This simple cover became complex when his daughter Jaime was born. He had never really loved or trusted anyone throughout his life, but looking at his daughter, who greatly resembled him, changed his life.  We follow this special relationship between father and daughter as we observe their love and devotion to each other. Her mother Fran became severely depressed and very distant precluding her death. Jaime suffers another blow when her father, supposedly on a business trip, suddenly disappears.Over the years, Jamie is lied to about her father until she doesn't know what to believe.  She is told repeatedly that he is dead; however, her gut intuition leads her to believe he is still alive, and she is determined to uncover the truth, despite the passage of nineteen years.Jaime has to deal with her personal pain as she is blocked from discovering anything about her father.  Someone is serious in stopping her at any cost, and people around her end up dying.  Jaime tries to trust again, but only ends up repeatedly hurt. She finally meets someone willing to help her, but can she trust him?  And can she really discover the truth about her father? Is he still alive?Beishir digs deep into the psychology of her characters, and she gives them a three dimensional quality.  We understand their pain, confusion, fears and motivations.  We take a train through both a physical and a psychological terrain in a world of intrigue and danger.The Unicorn's Daughter is an amazing journey that will leave you breathless, and at the end of the trip you will be completely satisfied.  It is a powerfully vivid and memorable story.