Description:

Amazon.com Review

Lori Shepherd, niece of one of the most benevolent ghosts in fiction, discovers there's life (and death) after motherhood in this charming, neo-Gothic tale of haunted castles, time-traveling spirits, and hidden treasure. Leaving her twin toddlers at home in the Cotswolds with her husband, an American lawyer working in England, Lori sets off for Wyrdhurst Hall to evaluate a private library for a wealthy client who has given the castle to his niece Nicole and her new husband, Jared Hollander. But a mysteriously open gate leads Lori dangerously astray. Rescued from a potentially fatal accident by a handsome and charming stranger to whom she is immediately attracted, she resumes her journey to the gloomy Scottish estate. Once ensconced at Wyrdhurst, Lori finds the young mistress is terrified by the sounds and apparitions that haunt the castle and equally frightened of her cold and controlling husband. Lori uncovers a secret cache of letters from an earlier era that hint at a tragic love affair and a death that must be avenged before Wyrdhurst's ghost--and its present inhabitants--can rest in peace. With Aunt Dimity's magic journal warning her that danger surrounds her passionate infatuation with Adam Chase, who has his own reasons for wanting Lori to get to the bottom of the mystery, our intrepid heroine traces the ghostly apparitions to their source. In the process she makes the acquaintance of the restless spirit whose love for a World War I soldier was thwarted, but not destroyed, by Wyrdhurst's original owner and provides the happy-ever-after ending to this charming and lively mystery. Nancy Atherton's fans will adore Lori and Aunt Dimity, and readers new to the series will be delighted to discover the fearless duo in this atmospheric and very well-paced story. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

"Plucky women long for action," asserts Lori Shepherd, who finds plenty of mischief, both ghostly and human, at Wyrdhurst Hall in her action-packed sixth supernatural cozy. Leaving husband Bill at home in the Cotswolds with their 18-month-old twin boys, Lori drives to a remote spot near the Scottish border to evaluate an old library for the new residents of Wyrdhurst, newlyweds Jared and Nicole Hollander. Alas, she takes a wrong turn in a rainstorm on the high Northumberland moors and narrowly escapes a landslide that washes her car off the road. Brought unconscious by handsome writer Adam Chase to his isolated hut, Lori later feels strangely attracted to her rescuer. The next day she learns from army captain Guy Manning that she'd driven on to a restricted military area because someone had left open a gate that should have been locked. Her accident may have been no accident. Finally arriving at Wyrdhurst, she has to wonder about her hosts, ascetic Jared and meek Nicole, who admits to Lori that Jared has yet to consummate their marriage. Investigating the library, Lori uncovers love letters between Claire Byrd, daughter of Wyrdhurst's formidable first owner, and Edward Cresswell, a soldier who died in WWI, that point to past tragedy. In the present, Captain Manning moons over Nicole, Adam remains a dangerously attractive presence and Lori's late Aunt Dimity provides sound advice from the beyond. What might be merely silly or ridiculous in lesser hands, Atherton here pulls off with irresistible flair and charm. 4-city author tour. (Oct.)
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