The Lace Reader

by Brunonia Barry4 Stars
Historical Fiction, Witches
Setting: Massachusetts
368 Pages
Published in 2006

Ellie's Review
This was a really interesting read that kept my attention with mysterious happenings. I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect about the Salem witch trials. This was a really creative book that was quite unique. We discussed this for a book club - it was a great pick!

Book Summary
Can you read your future in a piece of lace? All of the Whitney women can. But the last time Towner read, it killed her sister and nearly robbed Towner of her own sanity. Vowing never to read lace again, her resolve is tested when faced with the mysterious, unsolvable disappearance of her beloved Great Aunt Eva, Salem's original Lace Reader. Told from opposing and often unreliable perspectives, the story engages the reader's own beliefs. Should we listen to Towner, who may be losing her mind for the second time? Or should we believe John Rafferty, a no nonsense New York detective, who ran away from the city to a simpler place only to find himself inextricably involved in a psychic tug of war with all three generations of Whitney women? Does either have the whole story? Or does the truth lie somewhere in the swirling pattern of the lace?