Summary: Towner Whitney comes from a long line of women who can "read" lace - that is, see and interpret visions when looking through a lace panel. When her great-aunt dies, Towner returns from California to her childhood home in Salem, Massachusetts, to deal with her family and the mass of secrets and memories that her great-aunt Eva has left behind. But things aren't as easy for Towner as simply selling the house and moving on; no one in town believes that Eva died in an accident, and most people are pointing their fingers at a local group of religious fanatics, lead by a man who is convinced that the women in Towner's family are witches. However, when one of the women from their church disappears as well, the waters are muddied even further. Towner not only has to deal with the tangled web of the present, but also with her own fractured past of mental illness and psychiatric treatment following the death of her twin sister when they were teens.

Review: While I really enjoyed this book, an unfortunate vagary of timing kept me from really loving it. See, I started this book soon after finishing Her Fearful Symmetry. Both novels feature storylines involving Huge Unspeakably Bad Secrets from the Past, and both star at least one set of twins. Because my brain was already primed for sniffing out Unspeakably Bad Secrets, and because I knew going in that Towner was an unreliable narrator (that's not a spoiler, she tells us as much within the first paragraph of the book), I was double- and triple-guessing everything that happened instead of just letting the story carry me along, and as a result, I figured out what was going on *way* earlier than I would have otherwise.

The good news is that figuring out the book's twists didn't stop me from enjoying it. The pieces of backstory and the layers of deception are applied - and removed - so carefully and so masterfully that the whole thing hangs together perfectly. Barry's also very good at describing her setting; you can practically feel the salt air blowing off the pages. (Or out of your headphones, in my case.) Towner was an excellently crafted character, feeling full and real and just slightly broken, with minute cracks below the surface that start to widen and show as the novel progresses. Barry's secondary characters are just as wonderful, particularly Rafferty, the detective, and Ann Chase, the leader of the local coven of witches.

The only real thing I had a problem with - other than figuring out the twists too early, which was my fault, not the book's - was the pacing. Or, not exactly the pacing, since things move along at a good clip and I never really noticed any dragging. It's more that I found the frequent narrative tone shifts - from Taylor's first-person narration, to third-person from the point of view of the detective, to Towner again, but reading a story about her past, etc. - a little bit unexpected and wrong-footing. Nevertheless, I tore through this book much faster than average, and only barely stopped myself from immediately starting it again to hunt for the clues I'd missed the first time. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Just because it is set in Salem and involves fortune-telling women does not mean that it is historical fiction about witchcraft. I think it would probably appeal most to fans of psychological mysteries and unreliable narrators, or anyone who likes an intricate and very involving story. ( )

ACK! I loved this book, but now I have to read it again!! This book has kept me engrossed from the first page.

The characters are well-developed in a fragmented sort of way. What I mean is that we find things out piecemeal, but every detail we learn adds texture and depth to each character. The setting is well-realized and adds tremendously to the story.

The problem, if it is one, is that things are never what they seem. And when the truth begins to peek through, you have to rethink everything. The biggest revelation comes right at the end, and like I said, I have to reread. But that's ok. Knowing what I know now makes the whole story brand new. ( )

This is simply one of the best books I've come across. I saw it first on a daily web mail I get and went out at lunch to get it. I never do that! This story of a family in the vicinity of Salem and all its sadness really caught me up. The main character begins the book by saying she's crazy. The whole family is.

She's right! Her mother lives on an island with a group of persecutes women who make lace by hand. Her aunt owns a tea room in the town where the lace is sold and where the witches meet.. There is a long back story which is so interesting, I could have been it's own book.

Then the unthinkable happens. The aunt is found dead but no one believes it was natural causes. Could it have been her son-in-law, a self-proclaimed preacher weho is leading the residents against her? Was it her sister?

This tale will take you to Massachusetts, California and places beyond and between. The end wil leave you - as it did me - asking "What!!??!!" ( )

This book grabbed me right from the first few pages. I very very much enjoyed reading this book. I loved the graceful way each main character was developed. It reminded me of my mother who always tried to teach me that there is much good in everyone (at least mostly everyone). The book covered some tough subjects, but yet it felt peaceful. I loved the lessons about Salem and witchcraft. I appreciated the reminder that witches are not satanists or voodoos! I feel like this could so easily be a true story! I loved it!

I want to go to Salem! I want to have more lace! ( )

Towner has never got over the death of her twin sister, and after a battle with mental illness, flees the city of Salem and her family for the anonymity of California. When her beloved aunt is reported missing however, she must return.

This book intrigued me from the first page, and seemed to promise much. The plot was certainly complex and it kept me quite intrigued until the end. However, I found some of it a bit contrived and felt that the author had too many interesting characters that she could not then fully develop without turning the book into a saga.
I likes the gentleness with which the main characters were treated. Obviously heavily weighed down, both Towner and Rafferty- the local cop who befriends first Towner's aunt, and then Towner herself, are likeable and believable characters who have personalities and lives outside their respective conditions (Mental illness & recovering alcoholic). I also liked the underlying themes of toleance and acceptance and the way this story was played out in the modern city of Salem, with it's history of anything but.
Overall, an enjoyable and interesting read. ( )