The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

So, The Lace Reader. It seems that everyone and their sister read this before I did. It took THREE copies of the book and a sweet friend before I got around to reading it. The first one, from PBS, was very damaged, so I requested a second. That one came and sat on my shelves for months unread. I finally purged it from the shelves and sent it off via PBS roughly 30 seconds before it made the rounds in a blog tour and convinced me that I should have read it. One of those reviews was TRISH'S review, which convinced me that I had to find another copy. Miraculously, one appeared in my mailbox just days later and this time I read it.

What's it about? Towner Whitney is called back to Salem after 15 years away. Her great-aunt Eva, who is a mother figure to her, is missing and presumed dead. Once she returns to Salem, another local woman with ties to the family disappears. Towner is forced to confront her past and face up to the reasons she left.

And what's it REALLY about? Family and trust, secrets, memory, and the truth. Towner tells you on page one that she can't be trusted, that she is crazy and a liar. She's the narrator of the book, mostly, so you have to wonder how much of it is true and how much she's making up. (And as I type that, I think of a another startling possibility, another version of truth and make-belief.) During the investigation of Eva's death, Towner literally comes face to face with her past and it seems that her past is what brought her back.

So did I like it? On yeah! (Thanks Trish, for making me read it.) I had an odd reading experience with it though- I'd read so many reviews that occasionally something would happen that would pull me out of the story and I was aware myself reading. (Please tell me that makes sense to at least one of you!) I was looking for the answers, instead of letting the story pull me along, if you will. Regardless of this, I still enjoyed it very much and was completely shocked by the ending. From about 70 pages til the end it just does not let up, with one shocker after another. There are still some loose ends, that leave you wondering what to really believe but it's done really well and fits into the story. It's not at all what I thought it was going to be about and I completely enjoyed it. This one would make a great Christmas present to someone who loves to read.

My one complaint, and others have also said it, the narration becomes obvious near the end. Most of the books is narrated by Towner herself but occasionally Rafferty, the detective, does a bit and when it swapped back and forth it was a bit jarring.

One other thing, it very much made me think of another book that I read. I am DYING to talk to someone else who has read both of them, but I can't really ASK if you've read both because if you've only read one of them it might give away the ending of the other. If you read it and thought this same thing, please email me so we can chat, k? (Email in my profile.)

I know that quite a few of you have read it, so tell me what you thought? Did you see the ending coming? Did you see through Towner's lies? Did you enjoy it?

Other reviews:
Trish's Reading Nook
Sam's Book Blog
The Literate Housewife Review
Shh... I'm Reading
Savvy Verse & Wit
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
books i done read

Did I miss you? Leave me a link and I'll add you in!

The book has a website, which you can find here.
Brunonia Barry has a blog as well.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Harper Collins
2006
385 pages





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