C. (Comment, never msg).'s Reviews > The Tale of Halcyon Crane

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.