Ghost Ups Her Game

June 1, 2020
The rebel of the Department of Good Intentions bypasses the rules once more to help those in need. Though Oklahoma-born Bailey Ruth Raeburn has often tried the patience of Wiggins, her heavenly boss, the redheaded rule breaker has a long and successful record of solving crimes back in her old hometown. Assigning herself the newest problem in Adelaide, she drops down from heaven to see Robert Blair and Iris Gallagher standing over a dead body. Iris is holding a homemade sap but denies killing fundraiser Matt Lambert. Robert ditches the murder weapon while Bailey Ruth converses with Iris, that rare person who can see her and admire her fashion sense. Since Iris refuses to call police chief Sam Cobb, who's worked with Bailey Ruth before, Bailey Ruth is forced to protect both Iris and Robert, a fledgling lawyer who's the boyfriend of Iris' daughter Gage, while researching Lambert, who, despite all the money he's raised for Goddard College, is not universally beloved. Aided by her ability to go anywhere unseen if she desires or appear to people and take on any persona that suits the moment, she interviews everyone from Lambert's family to his girlfriend and business acquaintances. Despite all her tips and hints to the contrary, the police chief targets Iris. So Bailey Ruth must be extra creative this time in winkling out the killer. A charmer of a detective, a twisty mystery, and a feel-good story that's balm for our troubled times.

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June 22, 2020
MWA Grand Master Hart’s delightful ninth novel featuring ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn (after 2017’s Ghost on the Case) sends Bailey Ruth, of heaven’s Department of Good Intentions, to her hometown of Adelaide, Okla., where a murder has just occurred. Cool, self-possessed Goddard College professor Iris Gallagher is standing over the body of slimy college fund-raiser Matt Lambert holding the murder weapon, a man’s sock “apparently filled with a heavy substance.” She’s telling nervous Robert Blair, a newly minted lawyer, that she didn’t commit the crime. Robert’s agreeing to dispose of the weapon later gets him in trouble with the police for tampering with evidence. When an impoverished student next turns up dead with Iris at hand, she’s arrested. In the course of gathering information on Lambert’s activities, Bailey Ruth identifies several suspects, including prominent local George Kirk. The murders may be related to the earlier death of George’s wealthy wife. Bailey Ruth’s concern for the vulnerable makes her a particularly endearing sleuth. Fans of paranormal cozies will be in heaven. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary.

July 1, 2020

Once again, ghostly emissary Bailey Ruth Raeburn is proving problematic for Paul Wiggins, Heaven's stationmaster. When a message for help comes from Adelaide, OK, Bailey Ruth's hometown, she hops on the Rescue Express to help two people. Bailey Ruth doesn't really know which person is her assignment, but when she arrives at Goddard College, Robert Blair and Iris Gallagher are standing over a body, while Iris instructs Robert to get rid of a black sock used as a sap. Bailey Ruth is shocked when Iris acknowledges she sees her and doesn't want help. Iris is arrested for killing Matt Lambert, the college's outreach vice president, but Iris's daughter, Gage, is convinced Lambert was blackmailing someone. Always a sucker for romance, Bailey Ruth knows that Gage is dating Robert, and that there's more to the murder than a mother's protectiveness. Unable to convince the police chief of Iris's innocence, Bailey Ruth persuades Wiggins to allow her to stay in Adelaide long enough to find the killer. The charming ghost will need all her skills to unravel a complicated case. VERDICT The amusing sequel to the first book in the series, Ghost on the Case, is a warmhearted traditional mystery that will appeal to fans of Nancy Atherton's "Aunt Dimity" books. [See Prepub Alert, 1/22/20.]--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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