The Necklace

In this glittering, Gatsby-esque (Publishers Weekly) novel, two generations of Quincy womena bewitching Jazz Age beauty and a young lawyerare bound by a spectacular and mysterious Indian necklace. Always the black sheep of the tight-knit Quincy clan, Nell is cautious when shes summoned to the elegantly shabby family manor after her great-aunt Loulous death. A cold reception from the family grows chillier when they learn Loulou has left Nell a fantastically valuable heirloom: an ornate necklace from India that Nell finds stashed in a Crown Royal whiskey bag in the back of a dresser. As predatory relatives circle and art experts begin to question the necklaces provenance, Nell turns to the only person she thinks she can trustthe attractive and ambitious estate lawyer who definitely is not part of the old-money crowd. More than just a piece of jewelry, the necklace links Nell to a long-buried family secret involving Ambrose Quincy, who brought the necklace home from India in the 1920s as a dramatic gift for May, the woman he intended to marry. Upon his return, he discovered that May had married his brother Ethan, the good Quincy, devoted to their father. As a gesture of friendship, Ambrose gave May the necklace anyway. Crisp as a gin martini, fresh as a twist of lime, The Necklace is the charming and intoxicating story written with wit, compassion, and a meticulous attention to period and cultural detail (Kirkus Reviews) of long-simmering family resentments and a young woman who inherits a secret much more valuable than a legendary necklace.