Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061624766
ISBN: 0061624764
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: August 01, 2008
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Studio: William Morrow

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Review:
Amazon Best of the Month, August 2008: Brunonia Barry dreamt she saw a prophecy in a piece of lace, a vision so potent she spun it into a novel. The Lace Reader retains the strange magic of a vivid dream, though Barry's portrayal of modern-day Salem, Massachusetts--with its fascinating cast of eccentrics--is reportedly spot-on. Some of its stranger residents include generations of Whitney women, with a gift for seeing the future in the lace they make. Towner Whitney, back to Salem from self-imposed exile on the West Coast, has plans for recuperation that evaporate with her great-aunt Eva's mysterious drowning. Fighting fear from a traumatic adolescence she can barely remember, Towner digs in for answers. But questions compound with the disappearance of a young woman under the thrall of a local fire-and-brimstone preacher, whose history of violence against Whitney women makes the situation personal for Towner. Her role in cop John Rafferty's investigation sparks a tentative romance. And as they scramble to avert disaster, the past that had slipped through the gaps in Towner's memory explodes into the present with a violence that capsizes her concept of truth. Readers will look back at the story in a new light, picking out the clues in this complex, lovely piece of work. --Mari Malcolm

Product Description:

Every gift has a price . . .



Every piece of lace has a secret . . .



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. . . .

Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of The Lace Reader, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light.



The Lace Reader is a mesmerizing tale that spirals into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths in which the reader quickly finds it's nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction, but as Towner Whitney points out early on in the novel, "There are no accidents."






Rating: - I was left confused
In many ways, this book left me confused. I read along, following the story closely and with great interest. It moved in strange ways, with different voices, but it all seemed to flow just fine. And then the ending brought me to an abrupt "huh?!?!"

I went back and read large portions of the book thinking I must have just missed something, but in the end it just confirmed that although some of the twist was in the text, a lot of it was not. Too much of the fiction was fiction, or ... Read More

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Rating: - Interesting twist and held interest throughout
Thoroughly enjoyed this book - the tidbits at the start of each chapter about Lace/Lace Readers was a nice change up to the story. Could picture each of the characters, appreciate when that connection can be made. The ending did make me want to go back and reread the whole book again! Well done, Enjoy!

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Rating: - Different!
I didn't think I'd like this book, but got hooked from the beginning. I live in New England, and am very familiar with Salem, so I was happy to see it in the spotlight of this book. The sense of place truly played a role in the lives of the characters.

I did *not* see the twist coming in this story, and it will keep the book with me long since I've finished it as I will continue to review what happened.

All in all, I think this is a good book with interesting characters, ... Read More

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Rating: - 3 Star Should Have Been 5
I read this book because it was my Book Club pick. I loved the first half of the book and thought it reminded me a little of "Prince of Tides". I really liked the characters and the setting but soon was completely confused. There were so many discrepancies and surprise endings. There could have been some hints along the way.

My Book Club felt the same way.

One big Question no one could answer was?

WHY DID TOWNER/SOPHYA REFER TO EVA AS HER "GREAT-AUNT"????? ... Read More

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Rating: - Disappointed
I'm sorry to say that after longing to read this book because of the title, I was disappointed when I read it. It seemed to me to just go on and on, never captured my interest.

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