The Lace Reader

Starred review from August 6, 2007
In Barry's captivating debut, Towner Whitney, a dazed young woman descended from a long line of mind readers and fortune tellers, has survived numerous traumas and returned to her hometown of Salem, Mass., to recover. Any tranquility in her life is short-lived when her beloved great-aunt Eva drowns under circumstances suggesting foul play. Towner's suspicions are taken with a grain of salt given her history of hallucinatory visions and self-harm. The mystery enmeshes local cop John Rafferty, who had left the pressures of big city police work for a quieter life in Salem and now finds himself falling for the enigmatic Towner as he mourns Eva and delves into the history of the eccentric Whitney clan. Barry excels at capturing the feel of smalltown life, and balances action with close looks at the characters' inner worlds. Her pacing and use of different perspectives show tremendous skill and will keep readers captivated all the way through.

Starred review from June 15, 2008
What if you could read your future in a piece of lace? The women of the Whitney family can do just that. Years earlier, on departing from her former home of Salem, MA, Sophya "Towner" Whitney vowed never to read lace again. However, her restraint and resolve are tested as she is called home following her beloved great-aunt Eva's mysterious disappearance. As Towner tries to discern details about Aunt Eva, she must also come to terms with her own earlier near-loss of sanity as well as attempt to establish new relationships and rebuild others. Multiple narratives often told in flashback by various long-standing town residents, while offering somewhat skewed points of view, help to advance this part-historical, part-mystery/suspense novel, building rhythmically to its shattering conclusion. Barry has previously written books for the YA fiction series "Beacon Street Girls." In this, her first original adult novel, she combines her focus on the history of this particular community, including its witchcraft trials, religious cults, and quotidian seaport life, with her study of a fractured family seeking truth to bring us a most unusual and bewitching novel. Highly recommended. [Morrow is pushing this 2000 self-published sleeper hit as its big summer book with a 200,000-copy first printing, reading group guides, and online marketing.Ed.]Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2008
When her great-aunt dies, Towner Whitney returns to Salem, Massachusetts, to deal with ghosts, real and imagined, historical and current. With the first sentence, Towner announces herself as an unreliable narrator, and just how unreliable she is remains a mystery through most of the novel. Towner is mourning the death of her beloved twin sister, recovering from surgery, and recovering from shocktreatments administered to help her cope with her depression. She belongs to a family of lace readers and is a reluctant seer who also has the ability to read other peoples thoughts. Towner longs to leave Salem, but circumstances seem determined to keep her there until both she and the reader can unravel the mystery of her past. Fans of Dennis Lehanes Shutter Island (2003), Chris Bohjalians The Double Bind (2007), and other modern pop-psych mysteries will not be disappointed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)