I Tried a Book Out of My Comfort Zone

Sometimes, reading out of my comfort zone is ... well, uncomfortable.

The blurb of the book sounded rather interesting.

The Fate of Mercy Alban by Wendy Webb (Author), Kirsten Potter (Narrator), Blackstone Audio, Inc. (Publisher) It was an Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Grace Alban has spent 20 years away from 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 home, she finds more than just her own personal demons haunting the halls and passageways of Alban House. 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 during which a world-famous author took his own life and Grace’s aunt disappeared without a trace. That night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all of these years, and Grace realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the hidden passages of Alban House. Her mother was intending 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? 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.

One thing I can say - the writing was good. The atmosphere was at times, spooky, exciting, interesting and surprising.

I started to like the story until, I didn't.

I'm not a fan of witchcraft because it's inherently full of pitfalls, like pit, evil, negative, scary and rather depressing.

I looked at some reviews and I agreed with one of them. The mystery was solid, the clues were riviting and it's rather Gothic in nature. But, it really didn't need to be warped by the supernatural angle. The mystery could have stood on its own. I agree with that statement.

I enjoyed discovering that the old house didn't just have a couple of secret passageways, it was riddled with them. It was fascinating. Until I later discovered how effective they were for someone with ill intent.

Eventually, all the secrets are revealed, the villian is dead, and a family can finally look towards the future.

The Fate of Mercy Alban was 42 chapters of revelations, horrors, surprises, shocks and a rather tame romantic theme.

What left a very sour taste and left an unpleasant sensation in my brain, was the epilogue.

This is a spoiler so don't read any more if you intend to read the story.

*******

The evil pouring out of the book to seduce, warp and corrupt two innocent young girls, girls that up until that point were well-loved by their families, were kind of sweet, and shown to have genuine caring and sympathetic personalities, was a vile and sick way to end this book. I was not happy. I was actually disgusted. If that was supposed to hint at a sequel, I won't read it.

Especially after what I went through learning all about the actual fate of Mercy Alban.

If I had to pick anything from this story that was truly horrific and earned the moniker of a supernatural horror story, the epilogue condensed it in a nutshell. Right before the end of the last chapter, the heroine of the novel, Grace Alban, makes a remark that forshadows the epilogue.

Do you know what this kind of ending feels like?

The ending of the 1977's Empire of the Ants. Just when they thought they made it. After going through the guantlet, after fighting to survive against incredible, stacked-against-you odds, they failed. All of it was WORTHLESS! The evil ants WIN. A giant WASTE of my time!!! Why did I bother watching this???

You know, except for Star Wars, 1977 was a sucky year.

Why do I say that? 1977 also brought The Kingdom of the Spiders with William Shatner.

Guess what? EVERYONE DIES even after valiant attempts to survive. The spiders WIN! WHY do people call the end of civilization by creepy crawly means, entertainment?

Another giant WASTE of my time. Why did I bother watching this??? Oh, yeah. That's right. William Shatner. Ha.

Seriously though, The Fate of Mercy Alban gave me the same sensation once I finished the book.

I'm a reviewer. I'm supposed to not give spoilers. If I'm too negative or snarky, they can't use my review. But how can I express what drove me nuts without saying WHAT got my goat?

That means I write about the story on my blog. I don't get too many readers here anymore because I'm sporadic at best about posting blog posts. But this book upset me so much, it drove me to write this post. I had to put it here because no way could I do this in my 'official' capacity. It's a bit too opinionated, and it leaves a visitor with the impression that I ended up not liking this book.

They'd be right.