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| "I'd attended charity balls and civic functions there. Every small town has its aristocracy... The Humes...Suffice it to say that J.J. was a hard-drinking, rabble-rousing, iconoclast...(p. 9) |
Ghost in Trouble
By
Carolyn Hart
I have to tell you, I really enjoy Carolyn Hart's Bailey Ruth mysteries...So when I wanted to take a break over the weekend and relax, I chose Ghost in Trouble from my TBR stack... This is only third in the series, but I see the little changes being made as both the author and the characters become better known to each other.
Especially between Bailey Ruth and her supervisor, Wiggins, who heads the Department of Good Intentions.
You see, Bailey Ruth is a ghost, although in Heavenly terms, the word ghost is never used. But, as you will see, Bailey Ruth does not always follow the precepts given to her by which she can work. Still, she gets the job done. The job? Bailey Ruth is routinely sent back to earth whenever there is a problem in her hometown of Adelaide (where she lived on earth, of course).
This time, she is sent back to ensure the safety of Kay Clark, now staying at "The Castle" which was a private home owned by the Hume family. Bailey Ruth had attended many formal events there when she was living, so it would be glorious to see it again--and, of course, help the woman who was in trouble...
But who knew Kay would now be living by a married name and that she was formerly known by Bailey. Needless to say, neither was thrilled to be meeting like this, especially since Bailey Ruth had chosen to live her life in Heaven as she was when 27--young and beautiful and full of life. And Kay was now in her 50s. And what was worse, Kay couldn't believe that a ghost had come to help her! But after they became reacquainted, Kay was willing to share that she thought that one of the Hume sons, with whom she had been close, had been murdered.
Besides, after Bailey Ruth had saved Kay's life before she ever appeared to her, Kay didn't have too much choice but to ultimately realize she could use her help...especially since Bailey Ruth could pop in and out invisibly to gather information.
The family had refused to allow a police investigation of Kay's "apparent accident" when a huge outdoor vase had fallen just as she was standing underneath. So Kay and Bailey Ruth find themselves using the story that Kay had been asked to write a memoir by Jack Hume, about his life in Africa--and including the obviously importance of his dying at home.
As usual, a cozy mystery will bring you lots of suspects--in this case, besides obvious members of the family and inside help, there are many secrets and criminal acts outside of the murder through which the author takes readers so that we can play at mystery solving - and yes, I solved the crime well before the ending. But then again, isn't that part of the plan by the author?
Character driven, fact-finding and a careful review of Bailey's Ruth constant clothes changes and self-admiration, are just more reasons to verify that when you want fun, giggles and a touch of mystery, you'll want to check out Carolyn Hart...Her latest, Ghost in trouble, only shows that the series is getting better and better! I loved spending time with Bailey Ruth...you will too!
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