ajmatt blog

A free book arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago courtesy of LibraryThing and Harper Collins Publishers. What does that mean? It means I am a LibraryThing Early Reviewer!

I signed up to be an early reviewer for the first time last month, requested a few books, and forgot about it. I never thought that out of nearly 1,000 requesters for each book that I would “win” a copy—especially on my first try.

And then—before my free-book joy had a chance to fade—LibraryThing notified me that I won a second review copy.

I’m not satisfied that this review truly captures the novel, and I may go back tweak it if I have an epiphany. But I thought I’d better get something posted to my account or my literary good fortunes might come to an end.

So I give you a review of The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry, scheduled for publication in August.

The Lace Reader starts like every good Victorian novel—with a crazy narrator you can’t trust. From there, the beginning starts and stops between Southern California and Salem, Massachusetts. It’s hard to fall into the story for the first few chapters as the author gives too much back story (telling, not showing) and it’s hard to get a grip on protagonist Towner Whitney. The stilted feel returns as the story wraps up.

The plot finds its pace when Towner lands in mid-1990s Salem, complete with fortune telling witches, a homicide detective, a ragged band of Cavlinists, and insane aunts. The broken structure of the book works well, switching between multiple narrators, quotes from “The Lace Reader,” and journal entries.

For most of the of the book, the pages turn themselves in a blend of whodunit and psychological intrigue. Author Brunonia Barry successfully took this linear-minded reader into the world of the insane and brought her back out in one piece. [4 out of 5 stars]