The Lace Reader

I'm not sure exactly how to characterize The Lace Reader (#238) by Brunonia Barry.  I suppose psychological thriller might come closest.  Nothing is as it seems in this book.

Set in contemporary Salem, Massachusetts, The Lace Reader is about a family of women who can read the future from the patterns in a piece of lace.  Towner Whitney returns to Salem after an absence of fifteen years when her brother urgently summons her home.  Their Great Aunt Eva, the only family member who has gone public with her lace readings, has gone missing.  Eva raised them in her home in Salem while their own mother remained isolated on her island in Salem Harbor, refusing to come to town.  The web of this dysfunctional family creates some disturbing patterns of its own as the tale unfolds and another young woman with ties to Towner's family vanishes.  Can you predict how this will end?  Probably not...

Although the Salem witches do appear in this novel, I really wouldn't call it a paranormal tale.  The lace reading is more akin to "second sight" than magic.  It's really the mysteries of the mind that haunt the characters. 

Setting this book in modern day Salem is clever, though, because many of the denizens can and do believe that anything can happen here.   Ms. Barry's descriptions of the city brought back many fond memories and made me long to visit it again.  If you ever get there yourself, be sure to visit the Peabody Essex Museum, an amazing place.  I still remember visiting an exhibit on the Treasures of the Forbidden City that included some astounding pieces of Chinese art and craftsmanship that had never before left China.  They also have a collection of restored houses from different periods, where you can admire the work of eminent Salem architect Samuel McIntyre yourself, and imagine what Aunt Eva's house on the Common might have looked like.  I've included a link to the Peabody Essex Architecture Collection, so you can take a look for yourself:  Peabody Essex Museum Architecture Collection .  While you're there, check out what else they have.

One of my book club members suggested this book for our December read.  Although this book originally came out in 2008, I overlooked it then.  Better late than never!  It's a dark but satisfying read.