A cross between 'The Memory-Keeper's Daughter' and 'The Sixth Sense', this mesmerising first novel takes the reader into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies and half-truths, culminating in an extraordinary twist. 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 ...
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A cross between 'The Memory-Keeper's Daughter' and 'The Sixth Sense', this mesmerising first novel takes the reader into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies and half-truths, culminating in an extraordinary twist. 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.
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Add this copy of The Lace Reader to cart. $10.22, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2009 by William Morrow & Company.
Add this copy of The Lace Reader to cart. $18.41, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2013 by HarperLuxe.
I read the first 5 chapters but this book just wasn't to my liking ... I thought that after reading 5 chapters something would spark my interest ... it just didn't happen.
dualjazz
Aug 18, 2009
Very interesting
It took me a little bit of time to get into it and keep the timing straight. I kept reading, and I loved the book and was surprised by the twist at the end.
raineandroses
Jun 15, 2009
Intriguing
This story was slow to start. I almost gave up. I am glad I didn't because once I did become involved, the book became a page-turner for me.
The Whitney women present layers of intrigue in their relationships to each other. They are three generations of quirky women (including a set of twins) who deal with dysfunctional family issues in surprising ways.
They are also seers who find symbols in the spaces of the lace. I loved reading about Ipswich lace, how it was made, who made it and how it was read. The author wove clues about the story in her preface to each chapter under the guise of how-to excerpts from "The Lace Reader's Guide."
Add to the family dynamics, the sea, witches, red hats, a runaway, a single-dad policeman and Calvinists in Salem, MA and you have a highly entertaining read with many surprises.
I was sorry when it ended.
