Watermark Books and Cafe

"The Lake of Dreams," Kim Edwards’s second novel, is a whodunit without a dead body or smoking gun. Instead, Lucy Jarrett comes across some mysterious artifacts in a window box on the third floor of her family home. There is a heart wrenching love letter to a child and a swatch of fabric with a lovely moonflower motif. Soon she discovers an arts & crafts Stained glass window framed with borders in the same motif.   

Lucy Jarrett, has spent her adult life globetrotting. Now in her late twenties, she first ventured off to college far away from her upstate New York home; then to Indonesia where she fell in love and married her husband before they both moved to Japan for his job. Without any real purpose in this new setting, Lucy begins to question all the choices she has ever made.   

When in doubt, we often go home. For Lucy this is the small town where her father died and her mother lives in what has been the family home for three generations. The family owned hardware store has a fragile future and Lucy feels a rekindling with an old flame. While researching the mysterious stained glass window, Lucy discovers suppressed episodes in her family that will change the way she sees the world.  

"The Lake of Dreams" is filled with interesting details; including the art of stained glass and the preservation of archival materials. Kim Edwards takes Lucy Jarrett on a journey of history and self discovery with a puzzle at every turn; when we reach her final destination, we’ll feel as if we’ve come home.   

Review by Sarah Bagby