Wendy Webb’s “The Tale of Halcyon Crane”

The other day a representative of Henry Holt and Co. contacted me about whether I’d be interested in reviewing a copy of The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb.

Here was the hook:

In this chilling and ghostly tale, Wendy Webb has created a haunting story full of delicious thrills, vibrant characters, and family secrets.

When a mysterious letter lands in Hallie James’s mailbox, her life is upended. Hallie was raised by her loving father, having been told her mother died in a fire decades earlier. But it turns out that her mother, Madlyn, was alive until very recently.

In search of answers, Hallie travels to the place where her mother lived, a remote island in the middle of the Great Lakes. The stiff islanders fix her first with icy stares and then unabashed amazement as they recognize why she looks so familiar, and Hallie quickly realizes her family’s dark secrets are enmeshed in the history of this strange place. But not everyone greets her with such a chilly reception—a coffee-shop owner and the family’s lawyer both warm to Hallie, and the possibility of romance blooms. And then there’s the grand Victorian house bequeathed to her—maybe it’s the eerie atmosphere or maybe it’s the prim, elderly maid who used to work for her mother, but Hallie just can’t shake the feeling that strange things are starting to happen…

Needless to say I bit. I received my copy over the weekend. I plan on posting my review as soon as possible.

And then guess what it gives me a chance to do? (Thanks in part to the FTC blogger regulations that went into effect at the end of last year.) Hold another contest!

So if you had your eye on this book but haven’t gotten it yet, you may soon have a chance to win it! (It’s getting really great reviews. I’m trying not to pay too much attention. I don’t want to be tainted either way. I’d rather stay impartial. But I have to admit, it looks very enjoyable. I guess I’ll soon find out…)

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.