The Fate of Mercy Alban

Years ago, Grace Alban left her family home, determined to escape the painful events that haunted her. The unexpected death of her mother brings her back to Alban House, with her teen daughter in tow. It turns out that Grace's mother had intended to tell a reporter about some of the Alban family's secrets. Was it the Alban family's curse that killed her?

As Grace tries to figure out what the next steps will be for her and Alban House and introduces her daughter to some of Alban House's more benign secrets (nifty secret passageways), she begins to uncover things about her family that even she was unaware of.

The description for this book referred to Alban House as "haunted," and that's what I was hoping for: a creepy story, with lots of show more atmosphere, about a haunted house and a family whose history was filled with dark secrets. Instead, I got zero atmosphere, completely different supernatural aspects than what the description had hinted at, ridiculously convoluted family secrets, and cheesy and clunky "horror."

It didn't help that, as the story wore on, I became more and more tired of the Alban family and how their wealth and "respectable" status in town helped them bypass almost every difficulty and consequence without hardly thinking about it. Even Grace, who'd been away for years, wielded the family's power and money like it was only natural. The local police acted as her personal guard, and no one ever asked Grace to prove that she and her family needed that kind of assistance and attention.

When the handsome local minister finally talked more about himself and his own life, I thought for sure that he had to be a secret villain, trying to lead the last of the Alban family to their downfall. However, his and Grace's budding romance turned out to be real rather than some kind of trap, and the true villain was a supernatural baddie who wasn't so much creepy and scary as incredibly cheesy. Right up to the end, I thought there was going to be a twist that revealed something truly sinister behind the ridiculous rhyming supposed witch. Nope. And the whole "the evil hasn't been defeated and will come back" ending was particularly bad.

All in all, this went from being mildly interesting despite not being the sort of story I'd hoped to read, to being a completely cheesy mess that was almost painful to finish.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

I'm keeping this one short and to the point. It's a gem of a story that contained everything from mystery to romance...ghosts to witches and spells. Just a perfect Gothic story. The ghost story junkie is a happy camper.

I've always loved creaky old houses and dusty attics - I sit and wonder about who once lived there and what their life was like.

Wendy Webb gives free rein to her imagination in her latest book The Fate of Mercy Alban.

When her mother dies, Grace Alban and her daughter Amity return to the family estate on Lake Superior. The faithful family staff are still in situ - Jane, her husband and a driver. They've been there from the beginning - bearing witness to the lives of the wealthy and influential Alban family. And they've been there for the tragedies too - the family seems to have more than their share of heartbreak. Is is just bad luck or is there some truth behind the whispers of a family curse? "...accidents, death, scandal, and even show more murder have taken place in the house over the years."

Grace herself has stayed away for over twenty years- a response to a tragedy that is slowly unveiled over many chapters. While sorting through her mother's papers, she comes across a packet of letters that challenge everything she thought she knew about her parents - and revives her interest in a night that the Alban family has kept shrouded in mystery for decades. But some secrets don't want to see the light of day......

Webb has crafted a modern take on a classic genre - the Gothic ghost story. Family secrets, haunted houses, family curses with a little witchcraft thrown in as well. Webb's plotting is intricate and keeps us guessing with many red herrings and switchbacks on the way. For me, The Fate of Mercy Alban was plot driven. I was much more interested in where Webb was going to take her story than the characters. Although all the right elements are in place, I didn't really ever engage with Grace.

I enjoyed the book within a book technique that allowed us to learn secrets of the past along with Grace.

This was a fun read for me, not overly scary, but definitely entertaining. I really like the cover art and once you read the book, you realize the title is quite clever as well. What did I love the most? The house - I want to explore all those hidden passages and back staircases to unused rooms....... Also chosen as a February 2013 Indie Next List Great Read. show less

3.75 Stars — THE FATE OF MERCY ALBAN was an eerie contemporary Gothic with all the right elements: a creepy old mansion, dark family secrets, deadly curses, a mysterious death, a ghostly woman in white, and a dash of romance.

The Alban family has been cursed since building the estate on the shore of Lake Superior in the mid-1800s. Tragedy after tragedy has befallen the family. Is it caused by a malevolent spirit in the house? Or is it the house itself? No one is certain. Grace Alban left 20 years earlier to escape the past, but she finds herself back at Alban House after the death of her mother, possibly another victim of the curse.

Questions about the death of a man and the sudden disappearance of Grace’s aunt in 1956 resurface when show more Grace finds old love letters written to her mother. These letters give clues to what went on behind the walls of Alban house all those years ago. Grace also discovers that someone – or something – has been sneaking around the secret passageways recently. It seems the evil presence is back, and it has targeted Grace and her daughter, Amity.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story to listen to. Some of the mystery I had figured out, but there were still surprises along the way. The plot was suspenseful and moved quickly for most of the book. Some of the things the characters did (or didn’t do) seemed unusual or far-fetched, but I was okay with it, as it worked for the story as a whole. I loved the eerie atmosphere the author created, and the mysterious mansion was an intriguing character on its own. The very last page left me saying, “Ooo!” Maybe there will be a sequel at some point. I’m hoping the story of the Alban family isn’t over yet… show less

These days I find myself with less and less tolerance for explicit violence and cruelty in my reading. So the idea of this book appealed - old family secrets, twins, a huge house with hidden passageways, a touch of romance and a ghost. It’s not the most original storyline ever, but it made for a nice break between thrillers. If you like Kate Morton’s books you’ll probably like this, albeit I think Morton is a better writer. There are the ubiquitous gray eyes and dammit if everyone didn’t pad everywhere they went. Oh and upon first approaching the front of a house people had the magical ability to see the back porch and the view to Lake Superior. Uh, what?

I guessed a few of the things that happened, but not all of them so that show more was good. The relationship between the characters was superficial and trying sometimes. Grace and her daughter; well that just seemed typical of every strained mother/teenage daughter scenario I’ve ever seen. And with Matthew things seemed to get to a place of intimacy too soon. And I don’t mean sex, although there is some of that (with a minister, what?). No I mean the silent communication that takes years of practice for a man and woman to have. These two have it pretty darn fast. Overall Matthew is a bit much to take; a Volvo-driving, tear-shedding minister from a broken home who is sensitive and has instant rapport with said difficult teenage daughter. Blergh. I was hoping he’d be the bad guy. Alas he isn’t and even the guy you think is the bad guy isn’t. Oh well. It was ok, but I don’t think I’ll read another one from this writer. show less

I usually love Wendy Webb but this was just okay for me. The plot concerns Grace Alban coming back to the family home with her daughter Amity after the death of her mother. Once she is back in residence a whole lot of family secrets starting coming to the surface which may put her and her daughter in jeopardy.

I love a Gothic thriller and this one had all of the creepy elements in spades. Mansion, secret passageways, family secrets, you get the idea. The characters however were one dimensional and the situations were unbelievable. All of the women in the family have character trait names (Faith, Grace, Charity, Amity), and they all started to run together in my mind. If that wasn't confusing enough there is a story within a story where show more all of the characters are given an alias. Even though the author kept reminding the reader who was who, there was some identity shifting as well, and it soon it got to the point that I was losing interest in the plot. The story started out strong for me and I gradually lost interest along the way. The final nail in the coffin for me was the highly improbable circumstances which make up the book along with the characters nonchalant reactions. I had high hopes for this novel but found it lacking. show less

From Amazon:

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 show more 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. With the help of the disarmingly kind--and attractive--Reverend Matthew Parker, Grace must uncover the truth about her home and its curse before she and her daughter become the next victims.

My Thoughts:

This delightful little gem is a Gothic ghost story, which only just misses categorization as romance. is a mildly creepy story, one that would probably make a scarier movie than book because of its visual potential. It was a fun to book to read, and holds back one last secret till the very last page, which will leave you with food for thought and speculation.

Why not 5 stars? While it is, of course fiction...there were some things that were just hard to swallow....like how the situation with Mercy was handled when she showed up. Why it took three or so days to reach someone at the institution and more so why didn't the institution miss her? Lastly, why would you lock someone like this in a room instead of hauling them off to a hospital? Just little things. Overall a very good book. show less