The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

Age Level: Adult
Format: Book

My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time.

At the novel's beginning, Towner lives in California in self-imposed exile. Called back to Salem, Massachusetts due to her great-aunt Eva's disappearance, Towner is not happy to be home. Several years before, her twin sister Lyndley drowned, leaving Towner suffering from hallucinations and loss of memory due to various therapies. Towner's family also has a reputation in Salem as lace readers, not witches per se, but readers of a person's future through a piece of lace. The discovery of Eva's body forces Towner to stay in Salem, where her past and her family haunt her waking and dreaming moments. When a second female disappears in Salem, who has a connection to Towner's abusive uncle through the church he established, Towner helps cop Rafferty with the case. Her involvement forces her to confront what she remembers of the past and slowly begin to understand how to survive life.

Told in first person (Towner's perspective) and third person, the occasional lack of a reliable narrator forces the reader to question events that happened in the past and puzzle out the truths among Towner's confused memories. It is this uncertainty that makes this novel such a remarkable story about loss and identity. Some readers may have a hard time getting through the narration - at times, Towner will jump from past to present and seem a tad incoherent - but it was an interesting journey through one woman's psyche, severely damaged by tragedy. Some revelations at the end are surprising, though clues do appear in both Towner's thoughts and the third person narrator's descriptions. Readers looking for a light, fluffy read will not enjoy this book, for there is really nothing light and fluffy about the plot line; those who like a touch of mystery, intrigue and romance should give this novel a try.

Reveiewed by Jessica