Publishers Weekly
05/10/2021
In MWA Grand Master Hart’s enjoyable 10th Bailey Ruth ghost novel (after 2019’s Ghost Ups Her Game), spectral sleuth Bailey Ruth Raeburn saves Adelaide, Okla., antiques dealer Frances Loring from drowning, only to find Frances accused of murder. Frances has been captured on security camera footage taken shortly before the discovery of the body of wealthy Sylvia Chandler. However, Frances was on the scene to head off her volatile artist half-brother, Travis, who had a beef with Sylvia, and Sylvia’s stepchildren and their spouses stand to gain from her death as prospective heirs to the sizable estate of Sylvia’s dying husband. Determined to find the culprit, Bailey Ruth squares off against the acting chief of police, who’s more concerned with ingratiating himself with the mayor and the well-heeled Chandlers than running a thorough investigation. Another death complicates the case, and a subplot with Frances and the widowed detective Don Smith adds poignancy. With the warmhearted and stubborn Bailey Ruth, Hart pleases longtime fans and should win new readers. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary/ICM Partners. (July)
From the Publisher
Infectiously happy crime-solving - Kirkus Reviews
Fans of paranormal mysteries will appreciate this case, a template for a traditional mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. The likable Bailey Ruth should appeal to fans of Cleo Coyle’s “Haunted Bookshop” mysteries - Library Journal
With the warmhearted and stubborn Bailey Ruth, Hart pleases longtime fans and should win new readers - Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
07/01/2021
When there's danger, Wiggins, stationmaster for Heaven's Department of Good Intentions, sends an emissary to intervene. There's an emergency in Adelaide, OK, so he calls on Bailey Ruth Raeburn to return to her hometown, where Fran Loring is drowning. Bailey Ruth saves Fran, then notices her fixation on a lit-up house nearby. Bailey Ruth heads toward it and arrives at the Chandler mansion just as Sylvia Chandler's body is found. Sylvia's husband is dying, and the family has gathered to learn if they are his heirs; that's when Sylvia is killed. Instead of investigating the influential family members' possible motives to murder Sylvia, Adelaide's acting police chief finds Fran's footprints in the Chandlers' yard and concentrates his investigation on the outsider. With her friend the actual police chief out of action, Bailey Ruth is on her own to find Sylvia's killer and save Fran from becoming a scapegoat. There's even time for a new romance for Fran, who's a grieving widow. VERDICT Fans of paranormal mysteries will appreciate this 10th "Bailey Ruth Ghost" case (after Ghost Ups Her Game), a template for a traditional mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. The likable Bailey Ruth should appeal to fans of Cleo Coyle's "Haunted Bookshop" mysteries.—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN
AUGUST 2021 - AudioFile
Narrator Ann Marie Lee dramatizes this cozy mystery in which Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a ghost, investigates another murder, her tenth case for Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions. The do-good specter returns home to Adelaide, Oklahoma, where she saves a widow named Fran from drowning and then helps Detective Lot untangle secrets that haunt Fran’s family. Lee projects big emotions as she portrays each character and describes each scene, no matter how inconsequential. Distinguished by her Oklahoma twang and her ever-changing costumes, Bailey Ruth investigates the convoluted case. With Lee’s verbal push here and incorporeal Bailey Ruth’s physical nudge there, the clues come together, and the mystery is solved. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-04-14
A love story mixes with murder to be solved by a heavenly fixer.
Bailey Ruth Raeburn is one of the most accomplished members of Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions despite her rebellious ways. This time out, the redheaded firecracker is deposited in Adelaide, Oklahoma, just in time to rescue Fran Loring and her sister-in-law Jennifer’s dog from drowning. Not far away, Fran’s brother, Travis, a self-absorbed artist, enters the library of the gracious Chandler family home to find his wealthy patron, Sylvia Chandler, lying dead in front of the fireplace, covered in blood. The rest of the Chandler family is at home because the patriarch, Arthur, is on his deathbed. At first Bailey Ruth isn’t worried, since her old friend Chief of Police Sam Cobb can be trusted to sort things out. But Sam’s on leave, and acting chief Howie Harris is a self-satisfied incompetent who immediately seizes on Fran, who left distinctive boot prints nearby, as the obvious culprit. Fran’s side is taken by handsome police detective Don Smith, who believes she’s being set up. In her alter ego as Detective M. Loy, Bailey Ruth questions Arthur's children, who stand to inherit a lot of money if their stepmother, Sylvia, died before their father, in her quest for the killer and a happy ending for Fran and Don.
Bailey Ruth’s infectiously happy crime-solving makes up for her series’ repetitive storylines.
