Sunday, April 11, 2010

The Tale of Halcyon Crane

by Wendy Webb
Finished April 11, 2010

I finally read another book! This one was a good choice for a return to reading. It's a ghost story - a modern gothic. It just caught my eye as I walked through the new book section at the library.

The Tale of Halcyon Crane is of average quality, but I enjoyed it greatly. It's a lot like a Lifetime Movie: a good thing for an afternoon's pastime.

Hallie James receives a letter from a lawyer on Grand Manitou Island informing her that her mother, Madlyn Crane, has just passed away and that she has been named in the will. Included in the lawyer's envelope is a letter from Hallie's mother. This is a real shock for Hallie because she had always been told that her mother died in a fire when she was five years old. Hallie is only able to confirm the existence of Madlyn from her father who is suffering from Alzheimers. He dies the day after revealing this to his daughter.

Hallie goes to Grand Manitou to learn her family history. There she finds out that she is the sole heir of Madlyn's fortune which includes a big Victorian house and estate. Madlyn gives instructions that the house is not to be sold. Perhaps it's this as well as Hallie's desire to learn her history that keeps her there, even after eerie things begin to happen.

Hallie's inherited housekeeper, Iris, tells her (and the readers) stories of each generation of her cursed family.

There's murder, ghosts, romance, storms and creepy cemetaries. Just the kind of book I needed.

1 comment:

mrshart said...

And you were able to sleep after reading that??? Yikes!