This Sunday, after a rough work week, I laid on the couch and inhaled The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. It's a suspense/mystery story with some big twists. The plot has a number of similarities to Beloved although it is not in any way to be mistaken for that great book.
The story takes place in Salem, MA, against a backdrop of tourists visiting modern-day witches while a (Christian) cultist sect exorcises demons. The mystery involves two missing women who are connected to the head of the cult. The main character, Towner, is the great niece of one of those women and the niece of the cult leader. She and her family are psychic and able to see the future in patterns of hand made lace - kindof a fancy crystal ball.We are thrown in and out of psychic phenomenon as Towner tries to understand her dreams and elements of her past and future. The mysteries themselves do some shape-shifting which keep the reader on his-or-her toes. And there is a handsome detective to lend the story some romantic interest.
The Lace Reader is a solid read. I never looked to see how far along I'd gotten (are we there, yet?). I spent time at the end rereading earlier parts to make the mystery's dots connect. They all connected. Another great pallet cleanser after a few hard-to-read Time 100 books.
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