::READERS REVIEWS::

Dark Exploration of the Semi-Insane - I struggled at first with the POV of this novel. Was she narrating the story or was it coming from directly inside her head? I say this because there were "normal" times where the book reads like like we are trying to solve a mystery, gaining clues slowly and sometimes subtly. Then there were "should be locked in a state facility" times in which the main character would display some highly illogical behavior. I guess you could say she teeters on the edge of insanity, just as the back cover warns, and that may be where the haunting nature of the book comes from.

In any case, it has a happy ending (somewhat) and you finish the book feeling touched and with a new-found appreciation for your own well-groundedness.

My favorite of all her books thus far - First Sentence: The gray-haired woman stood with her boots planted on the rocky promontory and watched what was left of her family pull away.

Rae Newborn is a woodworker whose work appears in galleries and museums. She is also a woman who has known tragedy, severe depression and attempted suicide more than once. Working to put her life back on track, Rae has come to Salvation Island to rebuild the house, known as Folly, built by her great-uncle and by fire. She is dealing with her fears after having been viciously attacked and a feeling of being watched.

Things don't improve when she finds a footprint that's not hers, learns her house in Los Angeles has been broken into and discovered a skeleton still containing the killing bullet.

This was a re-read for me and I found it as good the second time. Rae is a powerful character. In spite of her problems and past, you feel her strength and admire her self-awareness. Since the story is told in first-person, you have a real feel for her emotions and fears.

There is an interesting assortment of supporting character, including dead great-uncle Desmond, who are interesting in themselves but also act as a foil for Rae in demonstrating her determination.

I loved King's attention to detail and powers of description. Even if you've never worked with wood, anyone with a craft they love and recognition for the importance of the tools of that craft, will appreciate the descriptions of the wood her awareness of her tools.

The mystery isn't a traditional one. There is the present day mystery of whom, if anyone, is after Rae and the secondary mystery of Desmond, who came to the island with his own need to recover from shell shock after WWI.

Folly is a wonderful, emotional story and my favorite of anything King has written thus far.

Folly - This is one of the best novels I have ever read. I enjoyed the story, the character and personality of Rae Newborn. She looked her fears directly in the face and proved that she was strong enough to carry through to her goals. I literally could not put this book down.

Unlike her Holmes or detective fiction... but darned good - Laurie King is simply a great writer who makes settings and characters come alive. After consuming every one of Laurie King's Mary Russell books (beginning with The Beekeeper's Apprentice), as though I had an attack of the munchies at midnight and found a box of cookies stashed in the pantry -- I started on her Kate Martinelli books. I found this one, a solo book (not in a series) at the library, and grabbed it as thought it was the last Wii at the toy store.

The beginning, I must admit, is hard slogging. Not because it's poorly written (King is among the authors who probably write interesting grocery shopping lists) but because her main character is depressed, troubled, scared. She's working to get out of the situation by rebuilding a house (singlehandedly) on an island she inherited, but if you've had a bad week at work or an argument with your spouse, it's difficult to read about Rae's troubles too.

It is, however, worth the effort. Rae rebuilds her life and sanity as she builds the house, and (after that first bit) the story is compelling, with interesting characters... and man, this woman can bring words to life.

One element that I didn't expect, yet which I appreciated grandly, is that Rae is a woodworker. Part of her solo activities includes creating beautiful things from wood. If you like woodworking *and* mysteries (or at least good storytelling), you'll really enjoy this book.

I liked it. I didn't love Folly in the same way that I did her longer series, but I'm glad I took the time to read it.

Intriguing and Complex Character-Driven Mystery - King has created a moody, atmospheric thriller in which the reader is never quite sure what is real and what is imagined. At the heart of this novel is Rae Newborn, a 52-year old woman starting her life over on a remote island off the coast of Washington. For most of her life Rae has battled mental illness and depression. Eighteen months ago, the death of her beloved second husband and young daughter sent Rae spiraling into a complete breakdown. Now, although she is shaky, Rae has come to an island which she inherited from her great uncle, Desmond Newborn, to rebuild the beautiful home he created on the island before his own disappearance. Cut off from the mainland, Rae uses her carpentry skills to create a new home and starts to heal. But a number of disturbing incidents, noises in the night, tools rearranged lead Rae to believe that someone may be watching her. But is there really danger or is Rae's paranoia destroying her sanity? Rae must overcome her own mental demons before she can face the presence that threatens not only her life but that of her beloved granddaughter. King has crafted a terrific story that reveals the strength and courage of a remarkable woman who refuses to live in fear any longer. The true struggle in this novel is not identifying Rae's human enemy; it is her matter of fact confrontation of the forces that have poisoned her from within. Like any good mystery writer, King provides a number of suspects; but in the end, the villain is unmasked and overcome in just a few short pages. The resolution of the mystery is perhaps the book's biggest weakness.