A Conversation with Wendy Webb

In some stories, place almost becomes a character -- so it is with Wendy Webb's novel "The Tale of Halcyon Crane." The fictional spot of Grand Island, Michigan has so much character I almost wanted to pick up and visit. Good thing Grand Island is based on the real-life Mackinac Island, where locals really do forbid automobiles and sweeping porches and verandas aren't just house details, but part of the lifestyle.

Webb has cleverly chosen to contrast the sweetness and light of old-fashioned island life with some very dark happenings and motivations. Hallie James travels back to her deceased mother's house and discovers nobody in her family was who she thought they were, and there are quite a few family members whose legacies will come to haunt her both literally and figuratively. 

It's an excellent choice for your summer beach bag -- although I have to tell you it will be an even better choice for reading on a porch swing during the storm that drives you off of the beach, unless you're not sure who's beneath the porch...