I'm late to the party on this one as it was a best seller some eight years ago. It's one of the rare self-published books to gained enough attention for a traditional publisher to pick it up and promote it. I recall being intrigued by the title but somehow I never read it till now -- it was a deal on Kindle for 99 cents. (And still was, as of yesterday.) This is one of those books that grabbed me and kept me reading long after midnight. Set in present day Salem, Massachusetts, rife with Wiccans and psychics of one kind and another, it's the story of Towner, granddaughter of a charismatic lace reader. "The Lace Reader must stare at the piece of lace until the pattern blurs and the face of the Seeker disappears completely behind the veil . . . an image will begin to form . . . in the space between what is real and what is only imagined."
Towner is a very likeable enigma. She is still trying to cope with the memory loss and confusion of past events caused by the loss of her twin sister as well as various dark family secrets. And she is trying hard to stay away from reading lace herself--fearful of what it may tell her of her past and her future.
The story twists and twists again -- but the twists have been artfully set up, though the reader may see the setups only in hindsight.
There are good guys and bad guys, an island sanctuary for abused women turned lace-makers, gardens and boats and dogs, mysterious women, widows walks and hidden rooms, obnoxious tourists, scary followers of an even scarier self-proclaimed holy man, and more than a touch of what may be the supernatural -- or is it? I thoroughly enjoyed The Lace Reader.
More about the book and the lace HERE.
