Ghost At Work
by Carolyn Hart
Quirky,
humorous, good-natured ghost sleuth in fantastic
start to a new mystery series!
Bailey Ruth Raeburn died along with
her husband Bobby Mac when their caravan plunged into the Gulf of
Mexico. Now Wiggins and the Department of Good Intentions sends her
back to her former home in Adelaide, Oklahoma to lend a helping hand to
Kathleen Abbott, the rector's wife. As soon as she arrives, the dead
body of Daryl Murdoch at the rectory complicates her task. Although
Wiggins has placed the probationary Bailey Ruth under orders of the
Precepts For Earthly Visitation, a list of rules to limit the living's
awareness of the presence of departed spirits, every action she takes
to protect scared Kathleen seems to break the rules. To make matters
worse, Kathleen herself seems to destroy the one piece of evidence that
might exonerate her! Bailey Ruth's task is threefold: to discover the
murderer's identity among a list of all those who might want him dead,
to protect Kathleen from herself while clearing her of suspicion, and
to follow the Precepts so that the town's residents do not discover the
ghost at work.
Celebrated in the mystery world for her Henrie O and Death on Demand
mysteries, Carolyn Hart's GHOST AT
WORK is the first in a new Bailey Ruth series starring a spunky,
good natured yet ever so impulsive ghost. When a job needs doing,
Bailey Ruth steps up. Her often quirky solutions to the dilemmas before
her, make for one humorous moment after another. Told in first person
narrative, Bailey Ruth's commentary on her actions is just as humorous
as the actions themselves. As Bailey Ruth tries to keep one precept,
she ends up breaking several others, confounding the police and the
residents with objects that seem to move on their own and disappearing
items. Bailey Ruth is a ghost who sees straight to the good hearts of
those around her. As she narrows the trail to the murderer, she also
has a knack for touching the lives of those around her, transforming
missteps into opportunities.
With its vivid, lovable characters and unusual sleuth, GHOST AT WORK is a mystery that
pulls the reader into the book and the town of Adelaide. Bailey Ruth's
description of heaven as opposed to the world of the living has a
wonderful mixture of warmth, generosity and humor. Bailey Ruth's
humorous portrayal of the rector's life, the Altar Guild and the ECW
(Episcopal Church Women) will put a smile on the face of Episcopalians,
indeed with readers of many denominations, as Carolyn Hart's gentle wit
strikes a chord. Bailey Ruth's interactions with Kathleen and her
daughter warm the heart while their outrageous good-intentioned antics
made this reader laugh aloud. The carefully plotted clues to the
mystery of Daryl Murdoch's death provide several delightful twists and
turns but what makes this mystery such a fabulous read is that, though
not every suspect is indeed the murderer, no presentation of a
suspect's character is superfluous. Each suspect adds a layer of
richness to the portrait of the town and dynamics between the
residents. In the ingenious creation of Bailey Ruth, a ghost chocked
full of personality, Carolyn Hart's cozy mystery GHOST AT WORK will appeal to
traditional mystery lovers as well as to those wanting something a
little bit different to enliven their mystery reading. GHOST AT WORK is a smashing
introduction to Bailey Ruth and hopefully a many volumed mystery series!
Publisher: William Morrow (October 2008)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
Review Courtesy of Amazon
Vine
