The Map of True Places

Brunonia Barry's The Map of True Places was a fast read - a book I could easily pick up and get into immediately. While some of my friends didn't enjoy her first novel, The Lace Reader, I liked that book and have enjoyed this one as well.

Zee (Hepzibah, but who wouldn't shorten a name like that?) is a psychotherapist, engaged to be married, when she returns home to check on her ailing father, Finch. She has lost her first patient, Lilly, who committed suicide by jumping off a bridge, and Zee is in need of a break, anyway. However, her father, who suffers from Parkinsons, needs a great deal of care, and Zee's time is consumed by his needs. In order to deal with what is going on, Zee flees her current life, and ends up creating a new one for herself in the place she grew up. There are several things that Zee has yet to deal with - especially the suicide death of her mother when she was a child, and her return home has forced her to re-examine an event she thought she understood.

There were a few times while reading that I wondered where Barry was going with her story. There wasn't some great mystery to solve or really much of anything to resolve, and yet, I really did like this book. And, when a few little twists are revealed near the end, I was happily surprised and enjoyed the suspense that was created. Barry has created a solid sophomore novel; I'm hoping she has a few more stories she plans to tell.