Customer Reviews

The Dornstein Icon

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Catherine Dudley comes to Vienna with her boss, Greg Alpert, to restore some art taken from the von Dornstein family after World War II. They meet with Rudolf von Dornstein, who invites them to the family castle so that his mother and some art expert friends can look over the possible recovered items, including the treasured Dornstein icon.

Once there, Rudolf's mother claims that the items are not real, but her behavior belies her words. Rudolf then refuses to let them leave the remote castle --- confiscating their car under the pretense of having it repaired --- and begins to question Caroline about how much she knows about Greg. At one point, a madman --- one of the Dornstein relatives --- tries to strangle Caroline in her room.

With all of this suspicious behavior from everyone, Caroline eventually tries to run away on foot from the castle and is caught. Rudolf then starts drugging her, marries her, and continues his drugging and questioning about Greg until the truth is finally revealed.

Frankly, if this book hadn't been so short I would not even have finished it. Caroline was pathetic, not even making a decent attempt to refuse the drugs and Rudolf was just as pathetic for using them.