Iodine, the fourth novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author Haven Kimmel, tells the electrifying story of a young woman emerging from layers of delusion, fantasy, and lies. With equal parts genius and psychosis, Trace Pennington copes with the fallout from a brutal and bizarre childhood in this heart-stopping exploration of the terror and wonder of mental illness.
From her earliest years, Trace turned away from her abusive mother toward her loving father. Within the twisty logic of abuse, her desperate love for him took on a romantic cast that persists to this day, though she's had no contact with her family since she ran away from home years ago. Trace's solitary, impoverished, but functional existence is upended when she falls in love with a much older man, and she is forced to con- front herself and her past. Kimmel parcels out Trace's strange, dark story in mesmerizing bits that obscure as much as they reveal and keep the reader guessing about Trace's true identity and past until the end.
With Kimmel's radiant imagination, lyrical prose, and vision of a bleak and fertile Midwest on full display, Iodine is a frightening and marvelous tale of life at the outer extremes of human experience. This unique portrait of the psychological effects of trauma is tantalizing, shocking, and ultimately hopeful.