The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb

Title: The Fate of Mercy Alban
Author: Wendy Webb
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Source: ARC from Betsey H. at Hyperion Books in exchange for an honest review

Grace Alban has spent more than twenty years avoiding her childhood home, the stately Alban House on the shores of Lake Superior, for reasons she would rather forget. But when her mother’s unexpected death brings Grace and her teenage daughter back, she finds more is haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House than her own personal demons.

Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters, and a lost manuscript plunge Grace into a decades-old mystery about a scandalous party at Alban House, when a world-famous author took his own life and Grace’s aunt disappeared without a trace. The night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all of these years.  Her mother intended to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died—could it have been murder? Or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse? Grace soon realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the mansion’s secret passages.

 

Book cover of The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb

I read this mostly during my lunch hour at work. Even in that brightly lit room I could feel the dust in the unused secret passages or have to look over my shoulder to be certain no one was watching me from an unknown hiding place.

Webb definitely makes the Alban House into a character that plays a part in the mysteries of Grace’s family. Other characters include servants who were at Alban House the night of the suicide and disappearance, a local Lutheran minister and the reporter who was nosing around the family before Grace’s mother passed away. Amity is written a real teenager. She’s sullen and is more interested in texting her friends at home than spending time with her mother.

The plot included some unexpected twists. Overall, it was a pleasure to read.

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