Beloved author Brunonia Barry returns to the world of THE LACE READER with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.

When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem’s chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed “The Goddess Murders,” in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.

But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?

***************************************************************

This was one of those hard-to-put-down novels. The unsolved murder, the young woman with no family, the mentally disturbed woman who had witnessed it all — it all combined to make an engaging read.

Now I have to say that I found some of the parts about the nuns (who raised Callie) and their superstitions a bit far-fetched. I’ve known many a nun in my time and none have acted like the nuns in this story, especially as recently as 1989.

On the other hand, I found the whole piece about sound healing fascinating. Callie is a music therapist, of which I have known several, but she also does sound healing. I looked this up online and found it quite fascinating!

If you know me, you know I love history and New England, so tying this story into the Salem Witch trials made it a home run for me!

Thank you, Net Galley and Crown Publishing, for my review e-copy!