Merry, Merry Ghost

Perfect combination of mystery and comedy. Just what I needed to lift my spirits.

This is my first Carolyn Hart novel, and it is fun. Merry, Merry Ghost is not the stereotypical modern novel with lots of detailed violence scenes. It is a mystery in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes or Father Blackie with a sense of humor. Hart gives us a lot of suspense, such that we are a little uncertain of the perpetrator until the end. Carolyn Hart spices the story with numerous humorous antics of the detective. Merry, Merry Ghost is a story of Bailey Ruth Raeburn, who is an especially rare detective in that she is dead. Bailey Ruth is sent from heaven on a mission as a guardian angel for Keith, a five year old boy who has many enemies and few friends. Bailey's supervisor instructs her to avoid being seen or noticed and to protect the child without seeming to be a ghost. Bailey, of course, is destined to be noticed and must do things her way. The results are often amusing. Early in the story we learn that Keith is the long lost heir to the Pritchard fortune. Competing against Keith, however, are others mentioned in the current will of the very wealthy Susan Pritchard Flynn, who was unaware that she had blood relatives. When she becomes aware of Keith she announces that she intends to revise her will. The scene is set for intrigue and murder for a high stakes share of the fortune. Hart's book is an easy read with fairly well defined characters and interesting plot twists, many the result of the interference of Bailey Ruth. I recommend Merry, Merry Ghost. It is a good mystery with frequent humor dispensed as a result of Baily Ruth the well intentioned guardian angel.

Merry, Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart When the intrepid "Heavenly Emissary"(or Ghost ) Bailey Ruth, from previous book "Ghost at Work", is sent back to Earth on the Rescue Express, little did she know that she was going to be watching over the wrong person. Bailey is thrilled to be back at Christmas time and is soon at work busily trying to prove in her ghostly way that the wealthy woman, Susan Flynn did not die of natural causes, but was murdered. This wonderful Christmas Cozy mystery has enough twists and turns to keep you happily occupied for quite a while. There are plenty of characters to suspect and numerous red herrings to plague and enthrall you. Although this book is the second installment in this new series, it certainly may be read as a `stand alone' book. You will have no trouble at all following what is going on. This is a very sweet series, with no foul language or earthy romance to fill the pages. Bailey is the epitome of the 1940's or 50's zany wacky heroine who can get herself into a tight jam; but she has the intelligence and determination of a heroine from 2010 to get herself out of the jams without masculine help. This series is sure to appeal to both young and old, cozy mystery lovers, speculative fiction lovers and just plain old mystery lovers!! Merry Christmas!

This is the second book of a wonderful series about irrepressible ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn. (First book is Ghost at Work.) Bailey Ruth has been sent to make sure a four year old little boy, Keith, is not harmed when he is returned to a family who didn't know he existed! It's Christmas time and his very rich grandmother, Susan, dying because of a bad heart, is thrilled. She had been notified of her run-away son's death while he was in service, but no mention had been make of a wife or child. She has no other blood relatives and insists upon immediately changing her will. The current will leaves her home, a ranch, and money to her in-law relatives. She wants to leave practically everything to her grandson with $200,000 to each of the other members of her family. She notifies the family about what she is going to do. Bailey Ruth, who can appear and disappear at will, and can always be seen by children, is Keith's 'invisible' friend as far as others are concerned. She watches him and realizes that he has a real friend in Peg, a young woman living in the house, but she doesn't keep a close watch over Susan, the grandmother. There are murders, and Bailey Ruth gives tips to Police Chief Cobb by writing on his blackboard, and signing things as Officer M. Loy, (a name she used in the first book.) Bailey Ruth keeps bending the regulations about how she should behave when on earth, and her mentor often scolds her, but she always gets things done. A perfect, entertaining mystery.

The "ghost" whose name is Bailey Ruth, last seen--or not seen!--in author Carolyn Hart's mystery "Ghost at Work" is back on earth. She's back to Oklahoma, and this time it's at Christmas. This tale is sure to put you into a holiday spirit--with a lot of spice. Now, I don't mean sexual spice, because Bailey's beloved husband is in heaven, and she only enjoys nice men in nice ways. The book is delightfully free of rough language, too. However, there is murder! This book would I'm sure be considered a "cozy," and is very unlikely to give anyone bad dreams. Bailey Ruth's supervisor frowns on the term "ghost," and indeed, Bailey is on earth--in Oklahoma--to do heaven's work. She has precepts of behavior to observe. She observes them pretty much in spirit, but not so much in fact! Like "Ghost at Work," this is a delightful read. It would be fun to read the other book first, but not necessary. And I don't think reading this one first would spoil your pleasure in then reading that one. "Merry, Merry Ghost" is a great Christmastime tale!

After a long and happy life Bailey Ruth Raeburn and her beloved husband Bobby Mac died, as they would have wished, together and while they were having a wonderful time. Heaven is - well just Heaven but Bailey Ruth gets restless from time to time, missing her favorite earth activities of helping out those in need. And, Heaven, being Heaven has a solution to her problem - the Department of Good Intentions. She has once again managed to get another assignment in the Heavenly Department of Good Intentions despite the strong reservations of the Department Head. It would seem that Bailey Ruth should be a perfect match for these assignments, after she is nothing but a mass of Good Intentions but there are just so many Precepts, rules that must be followed while on earthly missions, Bailey Ruth has every intention of following each and every one of those rules but sometimes circumstances just seem to conspire against her and despite her, well good intentions, and the rules just simply have to be broken. Still she fully intents to full each and every rule as she sets out on her new assignment, but things begin to go wrong when she is sent off before briefing is finished. When she once again finds herself in Adelaide, Oklahoma - her earthly hometown she feels that her assignment should go well. A young boy is left on the doorstep of the finest house in Adelaide with nothing but a note stating that he is the son of the long missing and now dead heir to the family fortune, a child that none of the family knew existed. Bailey Ruth believes that this assignment should go easily, the little boy, Keith, is sweet and charming, his grandmother is quite willing to accept him and provide for him. It seems as though little Keith will be part of a true Christmas miracle with very little intervention needed from Bailey Ruth. All too soon though she is once again reminded what the road to Hell is paved with. This is the second in the Bailey Ruth series of Heavenly cozy mysteries. These are sweet, gently funny stories reminiscent of the 'Topper' movies. Bailey Ruth manages to get herself into, and out of one unlikely and zany fix after another with a never ending change of wardrobe all selected to set her red hair off to it's best advantage. These are not meant to be puzzlers, the mysteries are secondary to the gentle humor of Bailey Ruth's escapades.