Ghost at Work

I've been a big fan of the works of mystery writer Carolyn G. Hart for many years, particularly her Death on Demand series, featuring mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance-Darling. A fellow mystery fan recommended the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series to me so I gave the first volume and try and found myself enjoying it. Bailey is a fun character -- spunky, with a lot of southern charm. Which is saying a lot, considering that she's a ghost. Bailey and her husband died decades ago, but she's a bit bored in Heaven, and has asked to be sent back to Earth to provide "guardian angel" assistance. She is granted her request, but before she can be properly trained in the essentials of the job -- how NOT to manifest herself around mortals -- she's dropped in her old hometown and finds herself trying to prevent the local pastor's wife from being accused of murder. This is a fun, light-weight mystery, with some quirky characters and a definite Texas twang. It's not Hart's best written or edited work -- the hardback edition had lots of typos and some serious plot loopholes. But, if you're looking for a quick, upbeat mystery this should fit the bill. Hart has released a new Bailey Ruth Raeburn title each of the past three Octobers.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec10-11.htm ( )

Opening Sentence: ‘…Incandescent dashes of pink and gold spangled the fluffy white clouds that arched over the entrance to the Department of Good Intentions…’

Many years ago Bailey Ruth Raeburn and her husband died on their cabin cruiser during a storm, and now the both reside in heaven. As lovely as eternal life is, Bailey wants to be more useful so she decides to see if she can join the Department of Good Intentions. She is recruited on the spot and sent down to earth to help someone who has just got into big trouble. That someone is Kathleen Abbott, a pastor’s wife; she has just discovered a body on her porch and is wondering what to do. There are rules for the heavenly emissaries but Bailey hasn’t any time to be trained, so all she has is a copy of the rules in her hot little hand when she arrives. She manages to break most of them in her first few hours on the job.

It doesn’t take Bailey very long to find out that the victim, Daryl Murdoch, is not quite the upstanding citizen and dedicated church member he appears to be. It seems there is a rather long list of people who have good reasons to want Daryl dead; including Kathleen and her pastor husband, Bill. Bailey slowly begins to narrow the suspects down and the suspense builds amongst the laughs until all is revealed at the end.

Bailey is a likeable, charming, rash and impulsive character, she has more powers than a mere ghost so she can appear quite solid at times – and is invisible the next, which is useful for listening in on police interviews. She can also eat – which she does rather a lot of. Initially Bailey helps to move the body and hide the evidence and then as she follows the investigation to deflect suspicion away from Kathleen and Bill. She sometimes forgets that if she is invisible, the things she are holding are not, mobile phones, guns and cups of coffee sail through the air to the horror of those witnessing the phenomena.

Ghost at Work is the first book written by Carolyn Hart in the Bailey Ruth series. It is humorous and creative with a believable plot and real characters. There is a second book in the series titled Merry, Merry Ghost – so guess what is going on my Christmas reading list. ( )

A charming new heroine -- and new series -- from this author. Light and entertaining and an easy read. ( )

A pleasant cozy. Bailey Ruth Raeburn has already died and gone to heaven. After a while of almost boring wonderfulness, she enlists in the heavenly rescue squad to return to earth and help people in trouble. Her first assignment is to go back to her hometown of Adelaide Oklahoma to help her grand niece Kathleen Abbott who is afraid she or her husband, the rector at St. Mildred's episcopal, will be accused of murder. After all, there is a dead body on the back porch of the rectory.

Bailey Ruth didn't have time for training in heaven before she undertook this assignment. Her continual violation of the "heavenly precepts for emissaries" lands her in hot water with her heavenly mentor Wiggins as she tries to intercept evidence, interview suspects, and find out who dunnit while keeping herself invisible. Her appetite for good home cooking keeps getting in the way, and her need to help constantly has objects flying through (or suspended in) the air as she whizzes, whisps, and zooms from spot a to spot b, all the while forgetting that while she may be invisible the bag of evidence she's just scooped up isn't. Neither can the corporeal objects melt through solid walls or doors. Her antics to overcome these difficulties are truly amusing.

All in all, Hart presents us with an endearing character, a solid plot, lots of good suspects, and a fairly surprise ending. I'll be looking for another of these to see if Bailey Ruth can learn how to do this job in a more efficient manor and whether she'll be able to get off probation and become a full-fledged emissary. ( )

Ghost at Work - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

"He's dead!" Her voice was a whisper. "What am I going to do?" "Call the police." I clapped my fingers to my mouth. I hadn't intended to speak. "I can't." It was a moan. The moan turned into a strangled gasp. She looked wildly about. "Who's there? Where are you?" Skirting the body, she hurried to the back door, flung it open, clattered down the steps. In an instant she returned to the porch, dashed to the rectory back door, yanked it open, seeking the source of the voice.

Bailey Ruth Raeburn is dead and living the the glories of Heaven, but there are times when an "emissary" from Heaven needs to be sent back to earth to help out those in trouble. Bailey Ruth has never had the honor of being returned to earth as an emissary so Wiggins, who is in charge of this Heavenly task, must teach her the rules and prepare her before letting her depart. Unfortunately, there is no time for preparation. In Bailey Ruth's own home town of Adelaide, someone has murdered Daryl Murdoch right on the steps of the rectory. It becomes Bailey Ruth's job as an emissary to protect Kathleen, who just happens to be the pastor's wife, and hopefully find the real killer.

As Bailey Ruth approaches Kathleen, she knows that before she can help her she must first gain her trust without scaring her half to death. This isn't an easy task since Kathleen can hear Bailey Ruth but not see her. The solution to that is to appear but that is frowned upon in the Precepts, which are the rules an emissary must follow.

After Bailey Ruth and Kathleen finally get a grip on the real situation, it's decided that the best thing to do is to move the body away from the rectory. And where would be a better place to deposit a dead body in the cemetery. But doing that will take some imagination from Bailey Ruth. She can't just snap her fingers and have the body moved, so she must find a mode of transportation and the wheel barrow seems to be perfect vehicle. As she and Kathleen wheel Murdoch's body to it's destination, they discover that the cemetery is occupied by a couple of teens who are attempting to remove the greyhound statue that watches over the Pritchard mausoleum. She accomplishes this by grabbing the crowbar away from one of the boys and flinging it out into the darkness. But, Kathleen has already dumped the body on the steps of the mausoleum where it's discovered by the two frightened teens.

Ghost at Work is the first book written by Carolyn Hart in the Bailey Ruth series. In Ghost at Work, Bailey Ruth is an emissary in training and on probation. Following her antics as she tries to follow the rules of not appearing, speaking, nor scaring the living half to death unless completely necessary, I've found Ghost at Work to be humorous and creative. Hart's characters are not only believable but you find yourself completely wrapped up in them, not wanting the book to end. And fortunately, Bailey Ruth is carried forward in Hart's second book in the series titled Merry, Merry Ghost. I've had the enjoyment of reading both of these light hearted books and can't wait for the next.

I've read many series books which spotlight the same character and have found that after a while, the character becomes predictable and over years "aged." Bailey Ruth is one character that I feel that can never happen to. After all, she is a "ghost."

Harper Collins Publishers
2008
290 Pages
ISBN 978-0-06-087436-0 ( )