Brunonia Barry’s novel—the first of three books this year about her spooky hometown of Salem—concerns a family of fortune-tellers, not witches. But she couldn’t have seen this one coming: Barry self-published her suspenseful and literary catnip-for-book-clubs novel only to have it picked up at auction for a $2 million advance and put out as a potential summer blockbuster. And while it’s surprisingly gritty for having “lace” in the title, we’re calling this now as the beach read of ’08.
The Lace Reader
Brunonia Barry
William Morrow
Out July 29
$24.95
