The Fate of Mercy Alban

Whether or not you, as a reader, want to play along, is up to your definition of what makes a good ghost story. As I listened to the unabridged audio presentation of \”The Fate of Mercy Alban,\” perhaps the performance aspect of that medium helps to keep the suspense of the tale on an even keel while the actual voice of Kirsten Potter smoothes out some of the novel\’s reliance on the first person narrator\’s impractical decisions. Nevertheless, on a whole, author Wendy Webb ( The Tale of Halcyon Crane: A Novel ) doesn\’t quite recreate the psychological suspense of her first ghostly tale set on Lake Superior, but she does manage to craft the Gothic ambiance of a large house with a number of secrets. \”Fate\” tells the story of the Albans–a wealthy influential family originating from Ireland who pretty much have run the town and the area on the shore of Lake Superior for generations. Tragedy follows the family closely; first person narrator Grace Alban is not the only member of her family that feels like a catalyst for death and sorrowful memories. The question Webb poses is why haunting destruction and melancholy seem synonymous with the family and its history. When Grace\’s mother passes away unexpectedly, Grace must return to her family home and deal with arrangements and the property. An elderly aunt suddenly reappears with a nosy journalist who promises to publish a dastardly scandal that he has unearthed, putting the remaining household servants into a close-mouthed tailspin. Obviously, Grace, as head of the Alban family must come to grip with what is expected of her. With the help of a handsome Lutheran minister–which to this reviewer\’s mind seems a bit incongruous as the family\’s roots are Irish and most probably would have a Roman Catholic affiliation–Grace begins to unravel her family\’s past, eventually discovering the manuscript of a famous writer who hints at a supernatural presence lurking at the heart of every one of the misery-ridden chapters of the Alban past. Does this supernatural entity exist? Or is it all a figment of superstitious minds? Could a woman in her seventies wreak such havoc on an entire populace of family members? Of course, Webb provides the answers to these questions as the story unravels–and also manages to keep the evil alive for, perhaps, another offering in the form of a sequel. Without disclosing the entire premise, the use of the Epilogue in this story, while meant to frighten the reader into thinking that the story is not quite resolved, comes off as a bit contrived. It doesn\’t have the emotional implication that made Webb\’s first ghost tale far more successful. Webb\’s first person narrator Grace does develop an Alban spine during the telling, but her decision making during the crisis seems impaired–her judgement calls not always the best. As readers, we award her some leeway, after all, \”Fate\” is a ghost story which implies that there are going to be moments of haste to increase the tension rather than a packing of bags and leaving the craziness of the house forever. The story within a story idea of the manuscript is only executed halfway–I, for one, would have liked to read the writer\’s impressions of his experience myself, rather than have Grace interpret them for me. Bottom line? \”The Fate of Mercy Alban\” by Wendy Webb entertains on a variety of Gothic levels. The old house, the secret passages, the hidden manuscript, the crazy aunt, the silent servants all manage to create an atmosphere of tension that does the actual ghost story justice. In terms of actual fright–where the reader must sleep with his/her light on, look elsewhere. \”Fate\” does not manage to instil fear in that manner. Recommended, nevertheless. For those who wish a truly frightful story look at The Uninvited , an oldie, but goodie. Diana Faillace Von Behren \”Buzzard\’s Eye View\”

Look it\’s a nice spooky story…But anyone familiar with Duluth Mn will see in it a whispering of the story of the Congdons mansion. Perhaps a bit of The Pattinson mansion as well. The mansion of the Albans is tjese, mostly glensheen, made up a tale with supernatural elements. That said, great spooky tale… Character s bit flat like she forgot what the character was like for several pages but then back to normal. I think the epilogue was a pointless addition, likely to make the quota of pages the contract.

I loved Webb\’s debut novel, The Tale of Halcyon Crane, and have been waiting for this, her second novel, ever since. I immediately downloaded it the day it published and just finished reading it. Although it held my interest and it was a quick read, unfortunately, in my opinion, this book is not nearly as good as her first. Even suspending belief (since it is a fiction paranormal novel), it\’s confusing at times and there are too many loose ends. I don\’t want to give away any spoilers, but will give a few examples of what I mean by loose ends. When the reader knows what\’s going on and someone is hurt in the house near the end, no one tries to find out what happened to the perpetrator. When the perp does show up later and everyone is in the room together, the protagonist Grace turns her head for one moment and her daughter is gone with the perp. Just wouldn\’t happen for a number of reasons, the main two being Grace would not take her eyes off her daughter or the perp, and also the daughter would scream if someone started dragging her away. The perp couldn\’t drag her away that fast, anyway, without someone in the room stopping her. At the end when good overpowers evil, even suspending belief, it didn\’t work for me. Also, all this time, what happened to the \”lads\” staying out at the carriage house? No mention was made of them again once they were sent to the carriage house. Then, at the end when the bad stuff was over, a week passed, and then it was July all of a sudden. All this time, where was Harris? Last time we heard, he was waiting for Grace to contact him. She may have, but the reader has no idea because it\’s not mentioned. Lastly, and this is just a picky thing, but the author uses the description of chills running up and down the spine or through the body, etc. way too much. There are other ways of describing a feeling. I\’m really sorry to sound so critical, but I expected more from this book since I really loved the first one so much. I\’ll give her next novel a read, despite being a bit disappointed by this one.

Within a few pages of The Fate Of Mercy Alban, I recalled why earlier this year I raved about Webb\’s other book, The Vanishing. Webb is a masterful storyteller, and builds suspense into the plot from the first few sentences of her novels. I loved that an old house with secret passageways was the setting for a story about whether the Alban family was actually cursed. The mysterious lives of the estate\’s inhabitants was Gothic horror at its best. With each chapter, the plot continued to develop through unexpected twists. Grace was a great main character for the book. She was strong-willed and secure in herself, two things that made her actions plausible. Every character had a secret, which were presented at just the right time to continue to move the plot along. There was a creepy element to this book that would make this a perfect read for a stormy night! To me, this wasn\’t a book advancing an agenda or containing thoughtful themes, instead this was a mesmerizing ghost story that was pure entertainment! My only complaint was the characters retold large portions of the plot multiple times. I just don\’t need constant recaps as I\’m reading. The last chapters had me transfixed, a testament to the author\’s tight writing and vivid imagination. I was a little disappointed in the quick ending after such a lengthy build up, but overall, the story was fantastic. I can\’t wait to read more by Webb.

Loved it from start to finish! Have just bought the Vanishing by Wendy Webb as well 🙂

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