The Lace Reader - Brunonia Barry

I've really been behind with my book reviews and reading everyone's blogs because we've been selling our house! Tonight I've managed to catch up on some of the blogs I follow and write two reviews. Here's a final one more for this evening - The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry.

From Bookdepository:

Drawn by family. Driven by fear. Haunted by fate. Would knowing the future be a gift or a burden? Or even a curse!? The Whitney women of Salem, Massachusetts are renowned for reading the future in the patterns of lace. But the future doesn't always bring good news -- as Towner Whitney knows all too well. When she was just fifteen her gift sent her whole world crashing to pieces. She predicted -- and then witnessed -- something so horrific that she vowed never to read lace again, and fled her home and family for good. Salem is a place of ghosts for Towner, and she swore she would never return. Yet family is a powerful tie. So it is that fifteen years later, Towner finds herself back in Salem. Her beloved Great Aunt Eva has suddenly disappeared -- and when you've lived a life like Eva's, that could mean real trouble. But Salem is wreathed in sickly shadows and whispered half-memories. It's fast becoming clear that the ghosts of Towner's fractured past have not been brought fully into the light. And with them comes the threat of terrifying new disaster. A literary page-turner with depth, narrative power and a story that novels like 'The Thirteenth Tale' can only dream of, 'The Lace Reader' is a bewitching and tightly plotted read.

My thoughts:

I really wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. Reading lace sounded really strange and not at all appealing, quite boring actually. But I found myself really immersed in the story from the very first pages and absolutely loved this book!

At first glance I didn't really warm to Towner, she seemed distant and aloof but once the story progressed, I saw that there was so much more to her than the first impression. All the different characters and what goes on with them keeps you on your toes at all times.

I don't want to give anything away, but let's say that I was truly suprised as the story unwound itself and had to return to the beginning to really make sure I hadn't missed anything. The Lace Reader also deals with many serious issues like mental illness and sexual abuse.

I'm sure many of you have read this book already, so do let me know what you thought!