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The Tale of Halcyon Crane
A young woman travels to uncover a past she never knew was hers in this thrilling, modern, ghost story. A letter upends Hallie's life. She was raised by her loving father, having been told her mother died in a fire. Her mother, Madlyn, was alive until very recently. Why would Hallie's father have taken her away? What happened to her family thirty years ago?
Hallie travels to where her mother lived, a remote island in the middle of the Great Lakes. Islanders fix her with stares and unabashed amazement as they recognize why she looks familiar and Hallie realizes her family's secrets are enmeshed in the history of this strange place. In "The Tale Of Halcyon Crane", Wendy Webb of Minneapolis, USA has created a haunting story of thrills, vibrant characters, and family secrets.
Hallie travels to where her mother lived, a remote island in the middle of the Great Lakes. Islanders fix her with stares and unabashed amazement as they recognize why she looks familiar and Hallie realizes her family's secrets are enmeshed in the history of this strange place. In "The Tale Of Halcyon Crane", Wendy Webb of Minneapolis, USA has created a haunting story of thrills, vibrant characters, and family secrets.
328 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2010
About the author
Wendy Webb
9 books2,862 followersWENDY WEBB's novels are mysteries about long-buried family secrets, set in big, old haunted houses on the Great Lakes.
THE END OF TEMPERANCE DARE (2017, Lake Union) is set in a former tuberculosis sanatorium on Lake Superior, now a renowned retreat for artists and writers. When Eleanor Harper takes the helm as its new director and her first batch of visiting artists arrives, she begins to suspect this isn't going to be the restful retreat she thought it might be.
THE VANISHING (2014, Hyperion) is the story of Julia Bishop, who takes a job as a companion for a famous novelist, who the entire world thinks is dead. When she travels to the novelist's remote estate, she begins to suspect her too-good-to-be-true job offer is exactly that.
THE FATE OF MERCY ALBAN (2013, Hyperion) is an Indie bestseller. It's the story of Grace Alban, who returns home after 20 years when her mother dies under questionable circumstances on the very day she (the mother) planned to reveal the truth about a tragedy that occurred during a party at Alban House long ago. A packet of old love letters and a lost manuscript by a famous novelist lead Grace to the haunted truth about what really happened that day.
Wendy's first novel, THE TALE OF HALCYON CRANE (2010, Holt) was an IndieNext Pick, a Great Lakes Great Reads Pick and a Midwest Connections Pick. It won the prestigious Minnesota Book Award for genre fiction in 2011, and was a finalist for Le Livre de Poche's Prix des Lecteurs award in France in 2012.
A longtime journalist, Wendy lives in Minnesota.
THE END OF TEMPERANCE DARE (2017, Lake Union) is set in a former tuberculosis sanatorium on Lake Superior, now a renowned retreat for artists and writers. When Eleanor Harper takes the helm as its new director and her first batch of visiting artists arrives, she begins to suspect this isn't going to be the restful retreat she thought it might be.
THE VANISHING (2014, Hyperion) is the story of Julia Bishop, who takes a job as a companion for a famous novelist, who the entire world thinks is dead. When she travels to the novelist's remote estate, she begins to suspect her too-good-to-be-true job offer is exactly that.
THE FATE OF MERCY ALBAN (2013, Hyperion) is an Indie bestseller. It's the story of Grace Alban, who returns home after 20 years when her mother dies under questionable circumstances on the very day she (the mother) planned to reveal the truth about a tragedy that occurred during a party at Alban House long ago. A packet of old love letters and a lost manuscript by a famous novelist lead Grace to the haunted truth about what really happened that day.
Wendy's first novel, THE TALE OF HALCYON CRANE (2010, Holt) was an IndieNext Pick, a Great Lakes Great Reads Pick and a Midwest Connections Pick. It won the prestigious Minnesota Book Award for genre fiction in 2011, and was a finalist for Le Livre de Poche's Prix des Lecteurs award in France in 2012.
A longtime journalist, Wendy lives in Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,234 reviews
June 28, 2011
i think this is the kind of book v.s. naipaul is railing against whenever he talks shit about female novelists. and it's not that this is a terrible book, it is just not...accomplished. it is clumsy in its exposition, it is not particularly scary, for a ghost story, and the characters are pretty poorly realized. it's a fine escapist book for people who don't really want to be challenged while they half-read on their lawn chairs, sipping afternoon chardonnay while they make sure their kids don't drown in the shallow end of the pool.
par exemple:
he was just as i had last seen him, black overcoat, slightly rumpled hair, electric blue eyes. he smelled of salt air and memories, pain and forgiveness
really?? is that what he smelled like?? is that scent similar to lavender?
and later (a different man)
i wound my arms around (shhhh, no spoiler)'s neck and pressed my mouth to his, tasting wind and rain and forever.
this woman does not understand the difference between concrete and abstract nouns.
they are different. don't pretend you are a poet when you are writing a ghost story. keep it simple.
dunno, it just made me feel blop. like when you eat a lot of cookies because you are distracted by something, and you are like "did i just eat a million cookies?? wow. i feel kind of sick and i didn't even really taste those cookies. what was the point??"
the point is they are cookies and they are supposed to be good. but under the wrong circumstances, they are just not really worth it...
if you don't want your kids to drown, read this. otherwise, find something more intense and engrossing.
par exemple:
he was just as i had last seen him, black overcoat, slightly rumpled hair, electric blue eyes. he smelled of salt air and memories, pain and forgiveness
really?? is that what he smelled like?? is that scent similar to lavender?
and later (a different man)
i wound my arms around (shhhh, no spoiler)'s neck and pressed my mouth to his, tasting wind and rain and forever.
this woman does not understand the difference between concrete and abstract nouns.
they are different. don't pretend you are a poet when you are writing a ghost story. keep it simple.
dunno, it just made me feel blop. like when you eat a lot of cookies because you are distracted by something, and you are like "did i just eat a million cookies?? wow. i feel kind of sick and i didn't even really taste those cookies. what was the point??"
the point is they are cookies and they are supposed to be good. but under the wrong circumstances, they are just not really worth it...
if you don't want your kids to drown, read this. otherwise, find something more intense and engrossing.
July 6, 2022
Great story
Wow, I expected to be able to tell what was going to happen with this story and for the main part, I was. However, the story pulled me in and made me want to read and finish it in one reading session. If you like islands, old houses, ghosts and paranormal events, this book is for you!
Wow, I expected to be able to tell what was going to happen with this story and for the main part, I was. However, the story pulled me in and made me want to read and finish it in one reading session. If you like islands, old houses, ghosts and paranormal events, this book is for you!
June 28, 2010
When I was navigating the rift between nonfiction and fiction writing during my undergraduate career I found that I don't have a knack for nonfiction. I am sure it would take practice, diligence, all that sorta stuff, yada, yada, yada, for me to become as adept with nonfiction as I am with fiction. I love fiction-writing. That is truly where my heart is. I was in a class strictly for public relations writing and my teacher told me he could tell I was a fiction writer because my sentences were too long for the PR style of writing. When you're in that sort of field you have to be short, brief, and to the point.
Wendy Webb used to be a journalist. Or maybe she still is. Whatever the case, you can see it in her book. She's trying to take the leap from reporting, nonfiction writing to fiction. And not just any fiction but thriller, ghost story fiction. Sadly enough, she fails at the leap and she fails hardcore.
I was intrigued with the storyline. I think there was a lot of potential. There were random details about the characters that I didn't think pertained to the story. Hallie, or Halcyon, is a divorcee and we briefly meet the ex who left her because, it turns out, he's gay and yet they're still really good friends. That right there made me leery about the main character.
She goes to this island on the Great Lakes to find out more about a mother she had been told was dead but had been alive the whole time. Come to find out, oh my goodness, she inherited this massive mansion and lots of money so, yippee, she gets to leave her boring life in Seattle and live on a creepy little island. That decision right there also made me leery about the sanity of the heroine, Hallie.
Oh and, as an added bonus, the mother's lawyer just so happens to be young and handsome and a perfect match and love interest for Hallie. Gag me. There was no chemistry between these two. In fact, Webb had to have Hallie tell me, the reader, that there was chemistry between them.
Speaking of chemistry...There's a random character named Jonah who, according to Hallie, there is nothing going on between them. Yeah. There was definitely more chemistry there than with the lawyer whose name is, ironically, Will (think about it...he's a lawyer...lawyers help write wills and stuff...Forget it...).
I'm sure Webb is a fantastic journalist. She's just not very good at fiction writing. Let's discuss her writing for a minute.
She uses weird metaphors for smells:
"He smelled of rain and kindness" (88). Tell me, what does "kindness" smell like? I know I've never smelled kindness. I'm thinking this is just a failed attempt at being cute and poetic.
"She smelled of decaying roses and dirt" (109). Decaying roses? Seriously?
There are a smattering of other examples of this. I started marking them down but then I got tired of it.
Also, there is a very amateur tone in the writing. Consider some of the minor details. One of the big ones is here:
"I settled the tray down on my bed and switched on the TV..." (88).
Then, just on the next page it says this:
"I switched on the television, wanting to fill the room with voices..." (91).
Funny thing is that, apparently, in Wendy Webb's world you can turn on the television twice without turning it off. There was never a mention of Hallie turning off the television. This seems like a small detail but it really bugged me because it is something that should have never made it to a published page.
Let's talk about the main conflict: the house Hallie inherited is haunted. Conveniently, no one ever believes Hallie. And Hallie never actually seems too scared. So, in turn, I never get scared. The spooks fall flat because the writing just plain sucks. I don't feel the atmosphere when I'm reading it. I want to know what Megan Chance was smoking or how much she was paid when she called this book "hypnotic, twisting, and vividly imagined."
Ok, last point. The climax is retarded. Apparently all Hallie had to do was tell the three ghost girls that they were being naughty and they needed to go home. Wow. It reminded me of the dumb climax at the end of The Haunting in which the main character seems to befriend the ghosts who have been haunting the house the whole time.
And, wow, Jonah is actually Hallie's half-brother which I figured out when Hallie had a dumb vision about an affair her father had with an innkeeper who is also a medium. You see how ridiculous this story is?
I think, if handed to the right hands, this story could have been good. But Wendy Webb should probably stick to nonfiction journalistic writing.
I thought I was done with terrible books. Apparently not.
Well, I'm done with this review. I want to forget I ever read this book. I give it 1 of 5 stupid white lacy ribbons.
For more reviews like this checkout my blog at http://thirstyimagination.blogspot.com
Wendy Webb used to be a journalist. Or maybe she still is. Whatever the case, you can see it in her book. She's trying to take the leap from reporting, nonfiction writing to fiction. And not just any fiction but thriller, ghost story fiction. Sadly enough, she fails at the leap and she fails hardcore.
I was intrigued with the storyline. I think there was a lot of potential. There were random details about the characters that I didn't think pertained to the story. Hallie, or Halcyon, is a divorcee and we briefly meet the ex who left her because, it turns out, he's gay and yet they're still really good friends. That right there made me leery about the main character.
She goes to this island on the Great Lakes to find out more about a mother she had been told was dead but had been alive the whole time. Come to find out, oh my goodness, she inherited this massive mansion and lots of money so, yippee, she gets to leave her boring life in Seattle and live on a creepy little island. That decision right there also made me leery about the sanity of the heroine, Hallie.
Oh and, as an added bonus, the mother's lawyer just so happens to be young and handsome and a perfect match and love interest for Hallie. Gag me. There was no chemistry between these two. In fact, Webb had to have Hallie tell me, the reader, that there was chemistry between them.
Speaking of chemistry...There's a random character named Jonah who, according to Hallie, there is nothing going on between them. Yeah. There was definitely more chemistry there than with the lawyer whose name is, ironically, Will (think about it...he's a lawyer...lawyers help write wills and stuff...Forget it...).
I'm sure Webb is a fantastic journalist. She's just not very good at fiction writing. Let's discuss her writing for a minute.
She uses weird metaphors for smells:
"He smelled of rain and kindness" (88). Tell me, what does "kindness" smell like? I know I've never smelled kindness. I'm thinking this is just a failed attempt at being cute and poetic.
"She smelled of decaying roses and dirt" (109). Decaying roses? Seriously?
There are a smattering of other examples of this. I started marking them down but then I got tired of it.
Also, there is a very amateur tone in the writing. Consider some of the minor details. One of the big ones is here:
"I settled the tray down on my bed and switched on the TV..." (88).
Then, just on the next page it says this:
"I switched on the television, wanting to fill the room with voices..." (91).
Funny thing is that, apparently, in Wendy Webb's world you can turn on the television twice without turning it off. There was never a mention of Hallie turning off the television. This seems like a small detail but it really bugged me because it is something that should have never made it to a published page.
Let's talk about the main conflict: the house Hallie inherited is haunted. Conveniently, no one ever believes Hallie. And Hallie never actually seems too scared. So, in turn, I never get scared. The spooks fall flat because the writing just plain sucks. I don't feel the atmosphere when I'm reading it. I want to know what Megan Chance was smoking or how much she was paid when she called this book "hypnotic, twisting, and vividly imagined."
Ok, last point. The climax is retarded. Apparently all Hallie had to do was tell the three ghost girls that they were being naughty and they needed to go home. Wow. It reminded me of the dumb climax at the end of The Haunting in which the main character seems to befriend the ghosts who have been haunting the house the whole time.
And, wow, Jonah is actually Hallie's half-brother which I figured out when Hallie had a dumb vision about an affair her father had with an innkeeper who is also a medium. You see how ridiculous this story is?
I think, if handed to the right hands, this story could have been good. But Wendy Webb should probably stick to nonfiction journalistic writing.
I thought I was done with terrible books. Apparently not.
Well, I'm done with this review. I want to forget I ever read this book. I give it 1 of 5 stupid white lacy ribbons.
For more reviews like this checkout my blog at http://thirstyimagination.blogspot.com
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2015
Paranormal fiction that isn’t horror, teenaged, or “cozy” is nearly unheard of. I’m through with unoriginal, cookie-cutter plots: found a body, who did it? I hungered for family secrets, ancient mansions, and ghosts... for adults. I am euphoric that in 2010, Wendy Webb, from close by Minnesota, USA, authored exactly the kind of book I have wanted! “The Tale Of Halcyon Crane” entices us instantly with a secret: Hallie has had a Mother all along and asks her ailing Dad to confirm that fact, before dying. She will return to her island birthplace, with a warning not to identify herself to residents.
Wendy continues enchanting us at every turn, with the island itself. Motor vehicles are excluded and horsepower prevails. Houses and cemetery are ancient, the views of Lake Superior mesmerizing. Spectral activity is subtle until later chapters but the exquisite atmosphere, enormous secrecy, and the most unique mystery I have ever encountered, keep readers fuelled with the promise of electrifying revelations on every page. Hallie has free reign with her Mother’s mansion, both to acquaint this long-lost parent and to ascertain why her Dad pulled her away. There is no retreating from this story. Sleep stops us from devouring it in one sip. Our thirty-five year old character is loveable and carries her own mysticism: she sees moods and memories in a vapour. She reads souls in her Mother’s uncanny photography. What kind of lineage would produce such a thing?
Wendy’s novel becomes more and more profound, achieving a multi-generational saga that is unexpected in a modern, 326-page mystery. Contributing characters and layers, like her ex-husband Richard, flow into a riveting sequence of events. Hallie’s investigative efforts are enriched in the most colourful way possible, by one person who can weave the threads of ninety years, into movie-like visions.
Wendy continues enchanting us at every turn, with the island itself. Motor vehicles are excluded and horsepower prevails. Houses and cemetery are ancient, the views of Lake Superior mesmerizing. Spectral activity is subtle until later chapters but the exquisite atmosphere, enormous secrecy, and the most unique mystery I have ever encountered, keep readers fuelled with the promise of electrifying revelations on every page. Hallie has free reign with her Mother’s mansion, both to acquaint this long-lost parent and to ascertain why her Dad pulled her away. There is no retreating from this story. Sleep stops us from devouring it in one sip. Our thirty-five year old character is loveable and carries her own mysticism: she sees moods and memories in a vapour. She reads souls in her Mother’s uncanny photography. What kind of lineage would produce such a thing?
Wendy’s novel becomes more and more profound, achieving a multi-generational saga that is unexpected in a modern, 326-page mystery. Contributing characters and layers, like her ex-husband Richard, flow into a riveting sequence of events. Hallie’s investigative efforts are enriched in the most colourful way possible, by one person who can weave the threads of ninety years, into movie-like visions.
March 28, 2010
This was an utterly memorizing story. I was completely drawn into the story of Hallie/Halcyon and the past history of her family. Imagine getting a letter that not only tells you that your mother was alive for the last 30 years (when you have been told that she died) and then in the same letter that she had just past away. After another family tragedy, she leaves to go to the island where she was born and where she can find out more about the family that she was taken from and hopefully she will find out why.
I loved the quirky characters and the eeriness of her mother's house and the island in general kept me up on more than one night. I would get so into the story that when I tried to sleep after reading it my heart would continue to race as I remembered the stories told by Iris.
If you are looking for a great modern ghost story, I would definitely recommend this one.
I loved the quirky characters and the eeriness of her mother's house and the island in general kept me up on more than one night. I would get so into the story that when I tried to sleep after reading it my heart would continue to race as I remembered the stories told by Iris.
If you are looking for a great modern ghost story, I would definitely recommend this one.
December 22, 2018
Audiobook #259
May 29, 2010
When I was a kid, I ran across the word "halcyon" in the dictionary and fell in love with it. It means calm, peaceful and happy. Because of my love of a word, I had to take a look at The Tale of Halcyon Crane when I saw it at the library. It sounded intriguing enough for me to check out.
Now, I don't think there's really anything new or groundbreaking in this story. It's pretty ordinary and I could see where it was going most of the way. But, I was hooked from the first chapter and stayed up until 1:00 AM to finish it in a day. It completely captivated me.
The Tale of Halcyon Crane has many elements of a horror story, but I didn't find it the least bit scary. There are some dangerous ghosts, but I was never once scared by them. What captured me was the story of a young woman who discovers that her past isn't what she thought it was and that she wasn't who she thought she was. She has to find out who she is and find her way home. It was a truly wonderful story that was very well-told. I hope to see more of Wendy Webb soon.
Now, I don't think there's really anything new or groundbreaking in this story. It's pretty ordinary and I could see where it was going most of the way. But, I was hooked from the first chapter and stayed up until 1:00 AM to finish it in a day. It completely captivated me.
The Tale of Halcyon Crane has many elements of a horror story, but I didn't find it the least bit scary. There are some dangerous ghosts, but I was never once scared by them. What captured me was the story of a young woman who discovers that her past isn't what she thought it was and that she wasn't who she thought she was. She has to find out who she is and find her way home. It was a truly wonderful story that was very well-told. I hope to see more of Wendy Webb soon.
July 2, 2010
"It all sounds quite Gothic,” he said. “A huge old house, stuck on an island in bad weather, an unsolved murder, mysterious encounters with ghosts and rude townspeople, even the eerie old maid.”
That pretty much sums up the plot. Set on the fictitious Grand Manitou Island, which is modeled on Mackinac Island, the atmosphere is perfect for a ghost story. Even though the story is contemporary, there are no cars allowed on the island and no cell phone reception, giving it that Gothic feel. A woman comes to the island for the reading of a will and is caught up in the secrets of her family and of the island, and there seem to be ghosts everywhere. The book is thoroughly entertaining for anyone wanting a quick nd somewhat spooky read.
Thank you, Tara!
That pretty much sums up the plot. Set on the fictitious Grand Manitou Island, which is modeled on Mackinac Island, the atmosphere is perfect for a ghost story. Even though the story is contemporary, there are no cars allowed on the island and no cell phone reception, giving it that Gothic feel. A woman comes to the island for the reading of a will and is caught up in the secrets of her family and of the island, and there seem to be ghosts everywhere. The book is thoroughly entertaining for anyone wanting a quick nd somewhat spooky read.
Thank you, Tara!
April 2, 2010
This is what reading is supposed to be like: A story that comes across so well, so seamlessly that it is like a brain movie, that reminds you of the first books that kidnapped your attention. The kind where the bookmark is still warm when you reopen it.
When Wendy Webb's debut novel "The Tale of Halcyon Crane" starts, Hallie James is learning that the circumstances of her life have been a lie. Her mother didn't die in a fire; her name wasn't even Hallie James. She receives a packet with two letters: One from a famous photographer named Madlyn Crane claiming to be her long lost mother; one from a lawyer telling her that Madlyn Crane has recently died. She has barely enough time to get to her father's death bed to fact check, and in a rare lucid reprieve from Alzheimers, he says enough to confirm that there is more to the story than what he has told her. He dies and Hallie takes off for Manitou Island to meet with her mother's lawyer.
Manitou Island is one of those zero bars on the cell phone destinations without cars. It's a place with big houses that thrives with tourists in the summer. Hallie gets there at the end of the season, when half of the town shuts down and the locals greet her with stink eye when she wanders into the coffee shop. Hallie combs her brain for memories of living on this island, and instead comes up with sing songy kid voices in her head, and a vision of a full body apparition: a young girl with braids.
The lawyer Will turns out to be her childhood friend; Madlyn's big old house on the hill and her two malamutes are bequeathed to Hallie. And with this comes a creepy old lady named Iris, who makes stew, does windows and and then parses out bite size pieces of the Crane history to Hallie -- stories that date back to the early 1900s that Hallie can visualize so clearly, it is if she was there. Think: ghosts, naughty triplets, witch brews, suicide and murder.
The island's newest resident gets the cold shoulder from the folks who remember the circumstances of Hallie and her father leaving the island: the death of a young girl blamed on her father, which he followed up with by faking his and Hallie's death and whisking her away to the west coast.
Meanwhile, Hallie and Will start getting frisky.
Webb has crazy chops as a storyteller, and plays this one exactly right. Often, at the end of a chapter, I'd close the book, chuckle and think "nicely played." The ghosts in the story are introduced in a subtle way, more like they are actual characters -- albeit spooky characters -- than something Dan Akroyd needs to Hoover. The relationship between Hallie and Will is adorable. And every time I stopped to say something like "Hey, wait a tick, how old does that make Iris?" Hallie had exactly the same thought. And there are scenes that are so, so, visual that it is like someone is reading the book to you while you lay there with your eyes closed.
This is one of my favorites this year.
When Wendy Webb's debut novel "The Tale of Halcyon Crane" starts, Hallie James is learning that the circumstances of her life have been a lie. Her mother didn't die in a fire; her name wasn't even Hallie James. She receives a packet with two letters: One from a famous photographer named Madlyn Crane claiming to be her long lost mother; one from a lawyer telling her that Madlyn Crane has recently died. She has barely enough time to get to her father's death bed to fact check, and in a rare lucid reprieve from Alzheimers, he says enough to confirm that there is more to the story than what he has told her. He dies and Hallie takes off for Manitou Island to meet with her mother's lawyer.
Manitou Island is one of those zero bars on the cell phone destinations without cars. It's a place with big houses that thrives with tourists in the summer. Hallie gets there at the end of the season, when half of the town shuts down and the locals greet her with stink eye when she wanders into the coffee shop. Hallie combs her brain for memories of living on this island, and instead comes up with sing songy kid voices in her head, and a vision of a full body apparition: a young girl with braids.
The lawyer Will turns out to be her childhood friend; Madlyn's big old house on the hill and her two malamutes are bequeathed to Hallie. And with this comes a creepy old lady named Iris, who makes stew, does windows and and then parses out bite size pieces of the Crane history to Hallie -- stories that date back to the early 1900s that Hallie can visualize so clearly, it is if she was there. Think: ghosts, naughty triplets, witch brews, suicide and murder.
The island's newest resident gets the cold shoulder from the folks who remember the circumstances of Hallie and her father leaving the island: the death of a young girl blamed on her father, which he followed up with by faking his and Hallie's death and whisking her away to the west coast.
Meanwhile, Hallie and Will start getting frisky.
Webb has crazy chops as a storyteller, and plays this one exactly right. Often, at the end of a chapter, I'd close the book, chuckle and think "nicely played." The ghosts in the story are introduced in a subtle way, more like they are actual characters -- albeit spooky characters -- than something Dan Akroyd needs to Hoover. The relationship between Hallie and Will is adorable. And every time I stopped to say something like "Hey, wait a tick, how old does that make Iris?" Hallie had exactly the same thought. And there are scenes that are so, so, visual that it is like someone is reading the book to you while you lay there with your eyes closed.
This is one of my favorites this year.
August 16, 2012
This book seems to aspire to the Gothic genre. It falls short.
Oh what to say about this book? The writing is mediocre. The "mystery" is obvious pretty close to the beginning of the book.
The narrator, Hallie, failed to elicit any feelings of compassion in me, and I really didn't identify with her at all. The book is full of stereotypical characters that I suspect are meant to be quirky or mysterious or something. Maybe they would have been if Webb ever developed them, but alas she didn't so they passed in and out of the pages without making much of an impact. Hallie basically has to be told everything by the all-knowing housekeeper, rather than figuring it out for herself. The housekeeper, incidentally, feels like a slightly nicer rip off of Rebecca's Mrs. Danvers.
I found myself reacting to the revelations with more of a "Duh. No kidding." than a shocked gasp. The phrasing in the book didn't convince me that Hallie was all that scared. It's supposed to be a scary story - but why should I be scared if the main character isn't scared herself? Webb is a non-fiction writer and it shows. Everything is spelled out instead of alluded to. The attempts at foreshadowing are so obvious that she might as well have just said "Oh hey, just so you know,____ is going to happen next!" She attempts metaphors, but they fall flat. It feels like she is trying far to hard to put them into the book.
The resolution was nothing short of ridiculous. (Yes, it was so ridiculous that I needed to start a new paragraph just to say so.)
Oh what to say about this book? The writing is mediocre. The "mystery" is obvious pretty close to the beginning of the book.
The narrator, Hallie, failed to elicit any feelings of compassion in me, and I really didn't identify with her at all. The book is full of stereotypical characters that I suspect are meant to be quirky or mysterious or something. Maybe they would have been if Webb ever developed them, but alas she didn't so they passed in and out of the pages without making much of an impact. Hallie basically has to be told everything by the all-knowing housekeeper, rather than figuring it out for herself. The housekeeper, incidentally, feels like a slightly nicer rip off of Rebecca's Mrs. Danvers.
I found myself reacting to the revelations with more of a "Duh. No kidding." than a shocked gasp. The phrasing in the book didn't convince me that Hallie was all that scared. It's supposed to be a scary story - but why should I be scared if the main character isn't scared herself? Webb is a non-fiction writer and it shows. Everything is spelled out instead of alluded to. The attempts at foreshadowing are so obvious that she might as well have just said "Oh hey, just so you know,____ is going to happen next!" She attempts metaphors, but they fall flat. It feels like she is trying far to hard to put them into the book.
The resolution was nothing short of ridiculous. (Yes, it was so ridiculous that I needed to start a new paragraph just to say so.)
November 9, 2019
Hallie is a young woman who was raised by her father, who told her that her mother had died when Hallie was little. Hallie suddenly receives info that her mother that her mother has been alive all these years, until just recently. Hallie travels to a remote island where her mother has lived, to meet the attorney in charge of her mother's estate, and to unravel family secrets. It does not take her long to discover there are ghosts of the past, literally. This is a gothic feeling ghost story, with no horror mixed in, that was very enjoyable. My only complaint is that the ending while it wrapped up all questions and was satisfactory, it was just a little too tidy. I kept wondering how the author could possibly end this story, but there really was not much choice left for the author other than how she did it.
March 14, 2016
3.5 stars. Spooky & entertaining.
July 19, 2017
I really enjoyed this book and found it engrossing!
October 25, 2013
3.5 stars
This was a fun, creative, imaginative Gothic ghost story/myster/love story. A woman receives a letter from her dead Mother. A Mother she does not know. She is invited to come to the island for the reading of the will and learns about a past she does not remember. Learning that her father took her and started a new life for them. There were some twists and turns, ghosts, withes, graveyards and treacherous cliffs. This was my first Wendy Webb book but it will not be my last.
This was a fun, creative, imaginative Gothic ghost story/myster/love story. A woman receives a letter from her dead Mother. A Mother she does not know. She is invited to come to the island for the reading of the will and learns about a past she does not remember. Learning that her father took her and started a new life for them. There were some twists and turns, ghosts, withes, graveyards and treacherous cliffs. This was my first Wendy Webb book but it will not be my last.
January 12, 2010
If you like a gothic story with ghosts, a wee bit of witchcraft, creepy graves, and an interesting setting, think about reading this when it is published (April 2010).
Having lived with her father in the Seattle area for all of her life, Hallie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her mother had just died and asks her to travel to Grand Manitou Island in Lake Superior (based on Mackinaw Island) to claim her legacy. Her father had told Hallie that her mother died in a fire but turns out he faked their deaths and her mother, a world famous photographer, had been alive all these years. Upon her arrival to the island, Hallie is stunned to find out she has inherited not only a fortune but a large Victorian mansion that was the family home--but that is only the beginning. As she investigates the tragedy that impelled her father to remove her from the island, more family secrets start to emerge. And what’s the deal with the sometimes playful but also malevolent apparitions? This was a good fast read for a rainy night, and if I have any complaints, it’s that there are much better books of this ilk out there such as The 13th Tale and The Little Stranger, but if you’ve read those and hunger for more ghosty type of reads, by all means pick this up.
Having lived with her father in the Seattle area for all of her life, Hallie receives a letter from a lawyer saying her mother had just died and asks her to travel to Grand Manitou Island in Lake Superior (based on Mackinaw Island) to claim her legacy. Her father had told Hallie that her mother died in a fire but turns out he faked their deaths and her mother, a world famous photographer, had been alive all these years. Upon her arrival to the island, Hallie is stunned to find out she has inherited not only a fortune but a large Victorian mansion that was the family home--but that is only the beginning. As she investigates the tragedy that impelled her father to remove her from the island, more family secrets start to emerge. And what’s the deal with the sometimes playful but also malevolent apparitions? This was a good fast read for a rainy night, and if I have any complaints, it’s that there are much better books of this ilk out there such as The 13th Tale and The Little Stranger, but if you’ve read those and hunger for more ghosty type of reads, by all means pick this up.
September 10, 2024
2 stars.
Read in 2020.
Reread in 2024.
Read in 2020.
Reread in 2024.
May 27, 2022
One of the pleasures that propels me through to the end of a book like this is the anticipation of the joy I'll feel when I savage it in a review. Having arrived at the end of this turkey, here I go.
Hallie James's father passes away at just about the same time as a letter arrives informing her that her long-lost mother is alive and wants to reconnect with her except that unfortunately she has also just died. I hate when that happens. Nonetheless, our intrepid Hallie ups and treks from her home in Seattle to Grand Manitou Island in Lake Superior so that she can meet with the lawyer who sent her the letter.
Naturally, this lawyer turns out, much to her surprise (but not ours), to have blue jeans and blue eyes. Of course he does. Quick, raise your hand if you've ever heard of this storyline before: fresh from a bad patch in her life, Our Heroine returns to Ye Olde Home Town where ruggedly handsome so-and-so still lives, and sparks fly. Will Our Heroine give in to old fears or will she find love and a new life with Fabio? Oh my, so many hands went up!
Having had time for a latte and to learn she has inherited her late mother's fab house and considerable fortune, Hallie tries to settle in, but it seems that islanders blame her father for staging her death and his own in order to escape to a new life after having apparently murdered her little playfriend. And so, they regard her with suspicion. Oh, and there's ghosts and stuff.
I will admit right here that I quite enjoyed the first half of the book. This is pretty good, I said. The second half should really be fun, I said. Unfortunately, that's when the whole thing started getting laughably silly.
Let's start with Fabio. He's buff, he's nice, he digs her, he's perfect. Of course. After knowing Our Heroine for just three measly days, going to dinner twice, and being rebuffed from so much as a kiss after both dates, Fab finally gets to first base and starts blathering out the L Word like he has electrodes up his butt. But wait, there's more. He's supportive, sweet, present, he really listens and gosh he WORRIES when she's out in the rain for a few minutes. And so I rechristened him Woman-Man because no man acts like this guy. He's more like a best girlfriend with parts. Whee!
Then there's an ancient crone called Iris (get it? she sees all tells all, so IRIS like in your eye.) She's about a hundred, does windows and floors, cooks a mean stew (really often, and without ever being seen doing it! Wee-oo!) and tells Hallie everything about her family line in a series of daily sessions, but only AFTER she polishes the brass fixtures and stuff. No really. Hallie found her lurking in an upstairs bedroom with the door shut, but she explained that she was Hallie's mom's housekeeper. Hallie just goes, oh, okay, and never inquires about this Iris, never discusses pay or anything, just takes her on without blinking. Moreover, this Iris skipped the chapter on Deportment & Boundaries in the Domestic's Handbook. She's bossy, abrupt and creepy. Jellyfish Hallie just lets herself be bossed and moved around like an old hat rack, with nary a qualm about leaving a total stranger alone in her house with her treasures. In fact, Hallie is a pushover in every scene but one, where she suddenly goes way off character and tells some snippy dopes in a coffee shop where to get off. Apart from that one scene, she accepts anything anyone says and repeatedly ignores her own gut reactions. Wonder Woman she is not.
This book is a mystery, especially to Hallie. About two chapters and 20-50 pages after the reader catches on to a thing, the penny drops for our Miss H. The Big Reveals are no surprise to anyone but her. Honestly, between her and Fabio I found myself laughing out loud at them both. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't take one teensy weensy moment to be petty before I wrap up this paean. Our Heroine hops. A lot. She hops in the shower, hops on her bike, hops hops hops like Peter Cottontail hopping down the haunted cheesy bunny trail. In fact, she and Woman-Man often talk in phrases one expects from toddlers and their stay at home moms. Near the end, she calls off her search for 1oo-year-old Iris lost in the blizzard because lunch is ready.
Do not read this book. I have read it for you, so you don't have to. You're welcome.
Hallie James's father passes away at just about the same time as a letter arrives informing her that her long-lost mother is alive and wants to reconnect with her except that unfortunately she has also just died. I hate when that happens. Nonetheless, our intrepid Hallie ups and treks from her home in Seattle to Grand Manitou Island in Lake Superior so that she can meet with the lawyer who sent her the letter.
Naturally, this lawyer turns out, much to her surprise (but not ours), to have blue jeans and blue eyes. Of course he does. Quick, raise your hand if you've ever heard of this storyline before: fresh from a bad patch in her life, Our Heroine returns to Ye Olde Home Town where ruggedly handsome so-and-so still lives, and sparks fly. Will Our Heroine give in to old fears or will she find love and a new life with Fabio? Oh my, so many hands went up!
Having had time for a latte and to learn she has inherited her late mother's fab house and considerable fortune, Hallie tries to settle in, but it seems that islanders blame her father for staging her death and his own in order to escape to a new life after having apparently murdered her little playfriend. And so, they regard her with suspicion. Oh, and there's ghosts and stuff.
I will admit right here that I quite enjoyed the first half of the book. This is pretty good, I said. The second half should really be fun, I said. Unfortunately, that's when the whole thing started getting laughably silly.
Let's start with Fabio. He's buff, he's nice, he digs her, he's perfect. Of course. After knowing Our Heroine for just three measly days, going to dinner twice, and being rebuffed from so much as a kiss after both dates, Fab finally gets to first base and starts blathering out the L Word like he has electrodes up his butt. But wait, there's more. He's supportive, sweet, present, he really listens and gosh he WORRIES when she's out in the rain for a few minutes. And so I rechristened him Woman-Man because no man acts like this guy. He's more like a best girlfriend with parts. Whee!
Then there's an ancient crone called Iris (get it? she sees all tells all, so IRIS like in your eye.) She's about a hundred, does windows and floors, cooks a mean stew (really often, and without ever being seen doing it! Wee-oo!) and tells Hallie everything about her family line in a series of daily sessions, but only AFTER she polishes the brass fixtures and stuff. No really. Hallie found her lurking in an upstairs bedroom with the door shut, but she explained that she was Hallie's mom's housekeeper. Hallie just goes, oh, okay, and never inquires about this Iris, never discusses pay or anything, just takes her on without blinking. Moreover, this Iris skipped the chapter on Deportment & Boundaries in the Domestic's Handbook. She's bossy, abrupt and creepy. Jellyfish Hallie just lets herself be bossed and moved around like an old hat rack, with nary a qualm about leaving a total stranger alone in her house with her treasures. In fact, Hallie is a pushover in every scene but one, where she suddenly goes way off character and tells some snippy dopes in a coffee shop where to get off. Apart from that one scene, she accepts anything anyone says and repeatedly ignores her own gut reactions. Wonder Woman she is not.
This book is a mystery, especially to Hallie. About two chapters and 20-50 pages after the reader catches on to a thing, the penny drops for our Miss H. The Big Reveals are no surprise to anyone but her. Honestly, between her and Fabio I found myself laughing out loud at them both. Now, I would be remiss if I didn't take one teensy weensy moment to be petty before I wrap up this paean. Our Heroine hops. A lot. She hops in the shower, hops on her bike, hops hops hops like Peter Cottontail hopping down the haunted cheesy bunny trail. In fact, she and Woman-Man often talk in phrases one expects from toddlers and their stay at home moms. Near the end, she calls off her search for 1oo-year-old Iris lost in the blizzard because lunch is ready.
Do not read this book. I have read it for you, so you don't have to. You're welcome.
September 20, 2010
Oh gosh, this was beyond dopey. It sounded interesting enough, and since fall is starting to approach I thought it would be perfect.
First of all, it's clumsily told. The main character goes from fearful to bravely determined on the same page. And when the reader can see the mystery of the ghost coming a mile away it ain't a good ghost story. "Wait til Helen Comes" did it better, and that was for 11 year olds. The icing on the cake was when the protagonist gets rid of the malevolent ghosts by giving them a good talking to. I promise I did not make that up.
One more mark against the "Readers Choice" section of the library.
First of all, it's clumsily told. The main character goes from fearful to bravely determined on the same page. And when the reader can see the mystery of the ghost coming a mile away it ain't a good ghost story. "Wait til Helen Comes" did it better, and that was for 11 year olds. The icing on the cake was when the protagonist gets rid of the malevolent ghosts by giving them a good talking to. I promise I did not make that up.
One more mark against the "Readers Choice" section of the library.
July 14, 2017
Really good ghost story. Would make a great movie! Rating is 3-1/2 stars.
November 5, 2023
4.5 stars
I just discovered an amazing new author!! Absolutely loved this spooky ghost story! Well written and narrated. Can't wait to read more books by Ms. Webb.
I just discovered an amazing new author!! Absolutely loved this spooky ghost story! Well written and narrated. Can't wait to read more books by Ms. Webb.
September 12, 2012
Ok so I didn't hate this, but I also only got to about page 133 and decided I just don't have enough time to waste on a book that constantly makes me roll my eyes and forces me to think about all the other books I would rather be reading. Yeah. That about sums this story up.
Let's talk for a second about predictability and how this usually happens in books about 'the mysterious beyond.' And the mysterious beyond is really just my fancy-pants way of saying this book is about ghosts. Yawn. What it's SUPPOSED to be about (and what the jacket cover promised) is a mystery about a girl who was taken from her home when she was five and presumed dead by all, including her clueless mother, until one day she returns to the island to discover her past. Hallie (or Halcyon, which was her original name and by the way--why does no one ever explain what kind of name THAT is?) finds her mother has left her a beautiful victorian home (which is described in the most bland, young adult-style description ever), a creepy maid (who wears sensible shoes, apparently) and a whole lot of weird business involving angry towns-folk and of course, ghosts.
The story in and of itself is predictable beyond measure. I can already see exactly how this is going to play out which is why I stopped reading it and will be donating it to my local library for some other poor soul to pick up and then put down in mild annoyance again. I am now predicting the fate of this book. SPOOKY.
The writing style is--well...blah. As you read through you sort of get the idea that this author has taken a lot of writing and composition courses that teach you how to form basic, decently structured sentences that convey the point so well that they slam you over the head with it repeatedly. Remember that whole 'Say it, don't show it' thing they always teach in writing 101? Well. She might have missed that day.
Here's a lovely little sentence that sums up how the entire novel is written. In reference to her feelings for one of equally ridiculous romantic interests she writes, "I couldn't quite figure him out, but I knew one thing: There was no chemistry between us. Not anything like what I felt when I was with Will. No, Jonah and I were destined to be friends and nothing more."
Seriously? It's just such a juvenile way of TELLING the point, which I already got a few sentences earlier from her reaction to the guy trying to invite her home. Which alright, she just got on this island and literally the second she meets these two people who are described as "handsome" with "sandy blond hair" and "electric blue eyes" with "an athletes build" (which what does that even mean? What kind of athlete? A slim one? A body builder? Bane from Batman?) they all immediately fall in love with her and she has to waste a whole page trying to figure out who she's more interested in. You know, never mind the ghosts and the whole dead mother thing. Also I have zero idea what the main character herself looks like except that brown hair seems to be involved and that, predictably, she's the 'spitting image of her mother' which would help except the mother is ALSO never described.
At this point I could really give a crap about the "mystery" involving Hallie being taken away from her mother when she was five. I'm assuming it has to do with ghosts in the house and her mother being able to see them. Something else about a little girl dying which I'm also going to predict did not involve Hallie's father after all but was the result of a ghostly encounter. What would be actually surprising is if her mother was a total psychopath after all and she did it but I doubt it. Because that would involve creative thinking which is clearly not happening in this book.
Between the lacking and annoyingly predictable plot, the character development that clearly isn't going to happen ever, and the irritating descriptions of rooms that just feels way too much like how you're taught to describe something in elementary school, I give up. Example: "We walked through enormous double doors and into a hallway lined with dark wood paneling. A candle chandelier, similar to the one at Madlyn's house, blazed in the foyer, bathing the room in soft flickering light. A bar stood to the left, where several men were enjoying what I assumed were predinner cocktailes."
You assumed they were predinner cocktails? Why would your character even bother to try to figure that out? Men. In a bar. Drinking. OH IT MUST BE PREDINNER SINCE CLEARLY NO ONE HAS EATEN YET. What. The author throws these sort of stupid, unnecessary observations in every few sentences which just make me want to strangle someone.
So, I give up on this one but I'm considering it read since you can figure out the entire plot by about page 20. Moving on.
Let's talk for a second about predictability and how this usually happens in books about 'the mysterious beyond.' And the mysterious beyond is really just my fancy-pants way of saying this book is about ghosts. Yawn. What it's SUPPOSED to be about (and what the jacket cover promised) is a mystery about a girl who was taken from her home when she was five and presumed dead by all, including her clueless mother, until one day she returns to the island to discover her past. Hallie (or Halcyon, which was her original name and by the way--why does no one ever explain what kind of name THAT is?) finds her mother has left her a beautiful victorian home (which is described in the most bland, young adult-style description ever), a creepy maid (who wears sensible shoes, apparently) and a whole lot of weird business involving angry towns-folk and of course, ghosts.
The story in and of itself is predictable beyond measure. I can already see exactly how this is going to play out which is why I stopped reading it and will be donating it to my local library for some other poor soul to pick up and then put down in mild annoyance again. I am now predicting the fate of this book. SPOOKY.
The writing style is--well...blah. As you read through you sort of get the idea that this author has taken a lot of writing and composition courses that teach you how to form basic, decently structured sentences that convey the point so well that they slam you over the head with it repeatedly. Remember that whole 'Say it, don't show it' thing they always teach in writing 101? Well. She might have missed that day.
Here's a lovely little sentence that sums up how the entire novel is written. In reference to her feelings for one of equally ridiculous romantic interests she writes, "I couldn't quite figure him out, but I knew one thing: There was no chemistry between us. Not anything like what I felt when I was with Will. No, Jonah and I were destined to be friends and nothing more."
Seriously? It's just such a juvenile way of TELLING the point, which I already got a few sentences earlier from her reaction to the guy trying to invite her home. Which alright, she just got on this island and literally the second she meets these two people who are described as "handsome" with "sandy blond hair" and "electric blue eyes" with "an athletes build" (which what does that even mean? What kind of athlete? A slim one? A body builder? Bane from Batman?) they all immediately fall in love with her and she has to waste a whole page trying to figure out who she's more interested in. You know, never mind the ghosts and the whole dead mother thing. Also I have zero idea what the main character herself looks like except that brown hair seems to be involved and that, predictably, she's the 'spitting image of her mother' which would help except the mother is ALSO never described.
At this point I could really give a crap about the "mystery" involving Hallie being taken away from her mother when she was five. I'm assuming it has to do with ghosts in the house and her mother being able to see them. Something else about a little girl dying which I'm also going to predict did not involve Hallie's father after all but was the result of a ghostly encounter. What would be actually surprising is if her mother was a total psychopath after all and she did it but I doubt it. Because that would involve creative thinking which is clearly not happening in this book.
Between the lacking and annoyingly predictable plot, the character development that clearly isn't going to happen ever, and the irritating descriptions of rooms that just feels way too much like how you're taught to describe something in elementary school, I give up. Example: "We walked through enormous double doors and into a hallway lined with dark wood paneling. A candle chandelier, similar to the one at Madlyn's house, blazed in the foyer, bathing the room in soft flickering light. A bar stood to the left, where several men were enjoying what I assumed were predinner cocktailes."
You assumed they were predinner cocktails? Why would your character even bother to try to figure that out? Men. In a bar. Drinking. OH IT MUST BE PREDINNER SINCE CLEARLY NO ONE HAS EATEN YET. What. The author throws these sort of stupid, unnecessary observations in every few sentences which just make me want to strangle someone.
So, I give up on this one but I'm considering it read since you can figure out the entire plot by about page 20. Moving on.
May 24, 2010
A good first effort at fiction, from a writer with a non-fiction background. Webb excels at setting scenes, as though literally painting the story with a watercolor brush ... and I'm not a particularly visual reader. Unfortunately, she let the plot get away from her.
The first half of the book was fairly good, with lots of opportunity for island description, introduction of characters, and setting up of plot lines. At that point, the book gradually, but persistently, proceeds deeper into Cliche Land, especially the romance angle between Hallie and Will, the attorney handling her mother's estate. I was left with the idea that he must be (roughly) the same age as she, though he could've been as much as 10 years older. He has fond memories of playing with her as children, though she was only 5 when she left. So, statements such as "We played tree forts together!" rang a bit hollow: this is something 3 or 4 year old girls do (with 5 - 10 y/o boys)? He seemed a good-looking "prop" for a romance angle, showing little passion or enthusiasm.
Much of the second part consists of Sherherazade-like stories from Iris, her mother's (family's) housekeeper, who appears several times a week, doing a full day's work, including walking to and from the house (two miles from town), and must be over 100 as she freely admits she was the (albeit young) "nanny" to Hallie's grandfather, born around World War I. (Hallie doesn't really question this much, except a "Gosh - she must be old!" moment.) All I'll say of the rather too-neat ending is that at one point Hallie gives the reader a "had I but known what was to follow ....", after which, no one dies, or is seriously injured.
Finally, there's Hallie's ex-husband, appearing un-announced at Hallie's home in Washington state near the beginning of the book. Her good-looking, British, and gay ex-husband. They are still oh-so-close, despite her lack of ... requisite plumbing (he has an offstage partner for that). He disappears until the middle of the book, when after rejecting Will's initial advances, Hallie calls him in London, admitting that she hasn't been with a guy since the divorce, with a "How can I trust a man again, after what happened!" cry of angst. He gives her a Churchill-like pep talk to go on, take a chance at having her heart broken, yadda, yadda, yadda ... and then exits the story for good. These two are oh-so-close and yet haven't resolved their breakup? Were I the editor, I would've insisted Webb either drop him, or have him appear more often (as a hero figure).
I'd read another of Wendy Webb's books, but here's hoping she gets more honest feedback next time!
The first half of the book was fairly good, with lots of opportunity for island description, introduction of characters, and setting up of plot lines. At that point, the book gradually, but persistently, proceeds deeper into Cliche Land, especially the romance angle between Hallie and Will, the attorney handling her mother's estate. I was left with the idea that he must be (roughly) the same age as she, though he could've been as much as 10 years older. He has fond memories of playing with her as children, though she was only 5 when she left. So, statements such as "We played tree forts together!" rang a bit hollow: this is something 3 or 4 year old girls do (with 5 - 10 y/o boys)? He seemed a good-looking "prop" for a romance angle, showing little passion or enthusiasm.
Much of the second part consists of Sherherazade-like stories from Iris, her mother's (family's) housekeeper, who appears several times a week, doing a full day's work, including walking to and from the house (two miles from town), and must be over 100 as she freely admits she was the (albeit young) "nanny" to Hallie's grandfather, born around World War I. (Hallie doesn't really question this much, except a "Gosh - she must be old!" moment.) All I'll say of the rather too-neat ending is that at one point Hallie gives the reader a "had I but known what was to follow ....", after which, no one dies, or is seriously injured.
Finally, there's Hallie's ex-husband, appearing un-announced at Hallie's home in Washington state near the beginning of the book. Her good-looking, British, and gay ex-husband. They are still oh-so-close, despite her lack of ... requisite plumbing (he has an offstage partner for that). He disappears until the middle of the book, when after rejecting Will's initial advances, Hallie calls him in London, admitting that she hasn't been with a guy since the divorce, with a "How can I trust a man again, after what happened!" cry of angst. He gives her a Churchill-like pep talk to go on, take a chance at having her heart broken, yadda, yadda, yadda ... and then exits the story for good. These two are oh-so-close and yet haven't resolved their breakup? Were I the editor, I would've insisted Webb either drop him, or have him appear more often (as a hero figure).
I'd read another of Wendy Webb's books, but here's hoping she gets more honest feedback next time!
May 11, 2010
I rarely read contemporary tales nowdays, but when I do, it better grab me and fast or I head back over to my historical fiction pile. Halcyon (how do you pronounce that by the way?) grabbed me and held me and even managed to give me goosebumps at times. I'm greatly impressed by this debut.
Hallie James has believed for the last 25 of her 30 years that her mother was killed in a fire and everything related to her family's past was burned in that fire. Her father raised her single handed to the very best of his abilities. When a letter arives in the mail from a lady claiming to be her mother, Hallie is in a state of disbelief and shock. An accompanying letter from a lawyer informing her of that same mother's death quickly puts a damper on whatever excited feelings may have rose to the surface. Hallie's father is suffering alzheimers and is unable to clarify much and the only reason he can give Hallie for having taken her away from her mother and letting the entire world believe her dead is, "I was trying to save you."
From what?? A trip to Manitou island could provide the answers Hallie needs or it may just raise more questions. Hallie discovers her true identity and the mystery surrounding her and her father's disappearance almost thirty years ago. There's a haunted house, triplet terrors, a strange housekeeper, some hostile townfolk, a dead girl, and a secret within Hallie herself.
As Hallie digs for answers, she also discovers the legacy of her ancestors. Their stories add a wonderful touch to a suspenseful, on the edge of your seat ghost thriller. The ending and the deal with Iris was just a bit too weird, or I would have gave this a five. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Hallie James has believed for the last 25 of her 30 years that her mother was killed in a fire and everything related to her family's past was burned in that fire. Her father raised her single handed to the very best of his abilities. When a letter arives in the mail from a lady claiming to be her mother, Hallie is in a state of disbelief and shock. An accompanying letter from a lawyer informing her of that same mother's death quickly puts a damper on whatever excited feelings may have rose to the surface. Hallie's father is suffering alzheimers and is unable to clarify much and the only reason he can give Hallie for having taken her away from her mother and letting the entire world believe her dead is, "I was trying to save you."
From what?? A trip to Manitou island could provide the answers Hallie needs or it may just raise more questions. Hallie discovers her true identity and the mystery surrounding her and her father's disappearance almost thirty years ago. There's a haunted house, triplet terrors, a strange housekeeper, some hostile townfolk, a dead girl, and a secret within Hallie herself.
As Hallie digs for answers, she also discovers the legacy of her ancestors. Their stories add a wonderful touch to a suspenseful, on the edge of your seat ghost thriller. The ending and the deal with Iris was just a bit too weird, or I would have gave this a five. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
May 2, 2010
There are some nice, creepy gothic elements to The Tale of Halcyon Crane, but a lot of people will see many of the plot wrap-ups coming from a mile away; even if you're like me and pretty much oblivious to the obvious plot denouements of most movies and books.
I enjoyed the story-within-a-story whenever Iris was at the house and telling Halcyon about the house and her family's history; and I enjoyed the haunting elements of the story when the ghosts came out to play. But the modern-day part of the book seemed like a generic romance story. You know how women in those romance stories will meet Mr. Right and everything falls perfectly into place? Well, that's all here.
That said, I wish some relative would leave me a furnished mansion on an island and millions of bucks in the bank! Minus the ghosts, of course.
I enjoyed the story-within-a-story whenever Iris was at the house and telling Halcyon about the house and her family's history; and I enjoyed the haunting elements of the story when the ghosts came out to play. But the modern-day part of the book seemed like a generic romance story. You know how women in those romance stories will meet Mr. Right and everything falls perfectly into place? Well, that's all here.
That said, I wish some relative would leave me a furnished mansion on an island and millions of bucks in the bank! Minus the ghosts, of course.
April 21, 2015
With an intriguing title and a captivating cover, The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb immediately caught my eye. The theme of “magical realism” and “gothic mystery” scurried through my whetted brain, and off I went on a satisfying adventure from land to sea to Grand Manitou, an imaginary island in Lake Michigan, rather reminiscent of Mackinac Island.
Imagine receiving a mysteriously large envelope, which not only contains a letter from an attorney that you have never heard of, but worse, a hand-written letter from your beloved mother whom you believed to be dead. Such is Hallie James’ unfathomable dilemma.
Comprehensive and coherent explanations from her memory-impaired father would be out of the question. In an elusive moment of lucidity, Hallie’s father gibberish suggests a nugget of truth, and she is off to investigate the overpowering reality of what paltry knowledge she recently gained.
Unaware that long-kept secrets and unanticipated mysteries soon will open a Pandora’s Box, Hallie learns that her mother Madlyn not only had been alive throughout most of her life, but that her recent death has propelled Hallie, rather Halcyon Crane into the midst of a ghastly and ghostly conundrum.
Despite idiosyncratic island characters who at first shun her, an eerie mansion she now possesses, and an unsolved murder of a young girl she knew, Halcyon demonstrates strength of character as she rises to the unexpected challenges thrust upon her.
Too many spoilers in this twisting tale of a young woman who refuses to fail in her unanticipated journey from vacillating victim to victorious heroine.
Imagine receiving a mysteriously large envelope, which not only contains a letter from an attorney that you have never heard of, but worse, a hand-written letter from your beloved mother whom you believed to be dead. Such is Hallie James’ unfathomable dilemma.
Comprehensive and coherent explanations from her memory-impaired father would be out of the question. In an elusive moment of lucidity, Hallie’s father gibberish suggests a nugget of truth, and she is off to investigate the overpowering reality of what paltry knowledge she recently gained.
Unaware that long-kept secrets and unanticipated mysteries soon will open a Pandora’s Box, Hallie learns that her mother Madlyn not only had been alive throughout most of her life, but that her recent death has propelled Hallie, rather Halcyon Crane into the midst of a ghastly and ghostly conundrum.
Despite idiosyncratic island characters who at first shun her, an eerie mansion she now possesses, and an unsolved murder of a young girl she knew, Halcyon demonstrates strength of character as she rises to the unexpected challenges thrust upon her.
Too many spoilers in this twisting tale of a young woman who refuses to fail in her unanticipated journey from vacillating victim to victorious heroine.
March 21, 2016
Like...what happened here??? Those last 20-30 pages brought the rating down 2 whole stars. WHY WASN'T THIS EDITED MORE? WHY COULDNT IT BE LONGER?! I have serious issues w/ this.
But I also LOVED the rest of this book so???
But I also LOVED the rest of this book so???
May 2, 2010
Every once in a blue moon, I am reminded of one of the many reasons why I love to blog/read blogs/the Internet overall. What's the reason, per say? Well, it's the fact that if not for blogging, I would have never ever heard of some of the books that ended up being among my absolute favorites. The Tale of Halcyon Crane was one of those books, and had I not heard about it, well, it would have been a very, very tragic thing, because this book was drop-dead amazing; not only of the best adult novels I've ever read, but one of the best books I've ever read!
The Tale of Halcyon Crane ended up surprising me in many ways.
One was the setting, which was Grand Manitour. The way Webb described it made me feel like I was right there taking part in the story the whole time. I loved the fact that in most ways it was very much a time-warped island, one that had no cell service (Oh, the horror of all horrors!) nor cars among other aspects.
The characters were another part of this story that I adored! They were well-developed, even the dead ones, and it was absolutely fascinating to learn about each and every one's back-story. My favorite out of all them would have to be Hallie James, the main character. Since while she was sweet, kind, and loving, she was also flawed, like any adult or teen. It was interesting to see her truly find herself on the island and let go of her past mistakes and hardships, so that instead she could move on to a place were she completely felt at home.
The plot and writing of this were both well done and, as mentioned before, truly brought this book to life. There was almost never a dull moment, much the opposite in the fact, since I was always clinging on to each word, dying to find out what would happen next. Plus there were parts in The Tale of Halcyon Crane I barley saw coming, an aspect I love in any story. And I loved the incorporation of ghosts in the novel. It gave it a unique spin that made it live up and well past it's full potential.
The only problem I had with this book would be the fact that the dialogue sometimes felt a wee bit awkward. But other than that, The Tale of Halcyon Crane is A+ material!
In all The Tale of Halcyon Crane is a fabulous mix of ghosts, romance, and one girl finding herself to be more than she ever expected! I am highly look forward to reading Webb's next work. Since I'm sure it'll prove to be the same!
Grade: A+
The Tale of Halcyon Crane ended up surprising me in many ways.
One was the setting, which was Grand Manitour. The way Webb described it made me feel like I was right there taking part in the story the whole time. I loved the fact that in most ways it was very much a time-warped island, one that had no cell service (Oh, the horror of all horrors!) nor cars among other aspects.
The characters were another part of this story that I adored! They were well-developed, even the dead ones, and it was absolutely fascinating to learn about each and every one's back-story. My favorite out of all them would have to be Hallie James, the main character. Since while she was sweet, kind, and loving, she was also flawed, like any adult or teen. It was interesting to see her truly find herself on the island and let go of her past mistakes and hardships, so that instead she could move on to a place were she completely felt at home.
The plot and writing of this were both well done and, as mentioned before, truly brought this book to life. There was almost never a dull moment, much the opposite in the fact, since I was always clinging on to each word, dying to find out what would happen next. Plus there were parts in The Tale of Halcyon Crane I barley saw coming, an aspect I love in any story. And I loved the incorporation of ghosts in the novel. It gave it a unique spin that made it live up and well past it's full potential.
The only problem I had with this book would be the fact that the dialogue sometimes felt a wee bit awkward. But other than that, The Tale of Halcyon Crane is A+ material!
In all The Tale of Halcyon Crane is a fabulous mix of ghosts, romance, and one girl finding herself to be more than she ever expected! I am highly look forward to reading Webb's next work. Since I'm sure it'll prove to be the same!
Grade: A+
September 15, 2017
I read this all in one day! I didn't want to put it down!
Hallie James' story (formerly known as Halcyon Crane) is told to her by a wraith-like housekeeper named Iris, who knows all the family secrets and lore. There is more than a dash of the supernatural here - witches, ghosts, murderous accidents, and a seance. It's a book that you'll want to read during the daytime with all the lights on!
Hallie comes to live in a fictional version of Mackinac Island (Minnesota), and I love this setting. Fudge shops, horse-drawn carriages, and neighbors who have grown up beside you like family.
This is Wendy Webb's first book, and I read all her others previously, so I recognized things that she would recycle into her later novels - affairs, twins, ghosts, seances... and of course those friendly and protective Alaskan Malamutes ;)
I love Wendy's protagonists - I feel like I would love to crawl into the book and get to know them and become their friend. We would eat French onion soup, crisp salad, and crusty bread - a meal which crops up again and again in Wendy's writing. Her characters are so real to me, and I love that. I become deeply invested in her books - I love that feeling.
Hallie James' story (formerly known as Halcyon Crane) is told to her by a wraith-like housekeeper named Iris, who knows all the family secrets and lore. There is more than a dash of the supernatural here - witches, ghosts, murderous accidents, and a seance. It's a book that you'll want to read during the daytime with all the lights on!
Hallie comes to live in a fictional version of Mackinac Island (Minnesota), and I love this setting. Fudge shops, horse-drawn carriages, and neighbors who have grown up beside you like family.
This is Wendy Webb's first book, and I read all her others previously, so I recognized things that she would recycle into her later novels - affairs, twins, ghosts, seances... and of course those friendly and protective Alaskan Malamutes ;)
I love Wendy's protagonists - I feel like I would love to crawl into the book and get to know them and become their friend. We would eat French onion soup, crisp salad, and crusty bread - a meal which crops up again and again in Wendy's writing. Her characters are so real to me, and I love that. I become deeply invested in her books - I love that feeling.
August 15, 2011
This was hands down one of my more favorite reads of this year. The pacing, story and characters were excellent. The setting of a virtually-deserted tourist island in the Great Lakes was very chilling and eerie; it was reminiscent of the abandoned hotel in "The Shining". The dark and sinister visions and ghostly encounters were described with such detail that it made the hair on the back of my neck raise.
The tone of the book pulls you in right away and never lets up. I tore through this book because I needed to know what was going to happen next. This was quite an achievement for a debut novel. It felt like a story that the author had trapped in them for a long time and only now has shared with the world. Thanks for that Wendy Webb. In a market saturated with overly obtuse novels that are trying to push the envelope (and failing for the most part) it was refreshing to curl up with a good old ghost story beside my window on a stormy afternoon. Keep up the good work!
March 13, 2010
Hallie James is not who she thinks she is! A letter arrives in the mail one day and changes her whole world. Hallie's father has told her that her mother perished in a fire when Hallie was 5. However, the letter, written by her mother, the famous photographer Madyln Crane before her recent death, explains that Hallie's father abducted her 30 years previously and staged their deaths. Travleing to a remote island in the Great Lakes, Hallie seeks out her family history and discovers that she is not alone in the ancient, but grand Victorian mansion bequeathed to her. This is a quick, entertaining read. Great for a cloudy day and several cups of Earl Grey!
I picked up an advance copy of this Hart paperback at the Midwest Booksellers Spring meeting in MN last weekend. It is due to be published in April and does not disappoint!
I picked up an advance copy of this Hart paperback at the Midwest Booksellers Spring meeting in MN last weekend. It is due to be published in April and does not disappoint!
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