Merry, Merry Ghost (Bailey Ruth Mysteries, No. 2) [Hardcover]

Carolyn Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

Being dead can't put a damper on spirited, holiday-loving Bailey Ruth Raeburn.

Christmas is a time for family and giving, and a wealthy woman in Adelaide, Oklahoma, is about to embrace both. Discovering that she has a young grandson, the dowager decides to change her will to leave the bulk of her fortune to the young boy—an alteration that stuns the rest of her family. But a scrooge of a determined heir makes sure she never signs the new document. When she is found dead, it's up to that irrepressible spirit Bailey Ruth, on assignment from Wiggins and Heaven's Department of Good Intentions, to protect a little boy, foil a murderer, and save Christmas.

There's only one teeny hitch: how can Bailey Ruth figure out which family member was desperate enough to kill when everyone has a motive?

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Introduced in Agatha-winner Hart's Ghost at Work (2008), the late Bailey Ruth Raeburn returns to earth on a heavenly mission to help a four-year-old orphan in this delightful sequel. Susan Flynn, the matriarch of one of the leading families of Adelaide, Okla., who's dying from congestive heart failure, discovers she has a grandson after Keith, the child of Susan's soldier son killed in Iraq, shows up at her door one day not long before Christmas. Susan's decision to change her will to leave her estate to Keith causes one of her many greedy relatives to ignore the message of the Christmas season. When murder and mayhem ensue, Hart's ghostly detective gets on the track of a clever killer. Bailey Ruth's pleasure in her earthly wardrobe, her keen observations of the other characters and her unorthodox but expert sleuthing will engage readers from start to finish. Hart is also the author of the Death on Demand series (Dare to Die, etc.). (Nov.)
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Review

A cute and cozy mystery (Library Journal )

“Delightful . . . Bailey Ruth’s pleasure in her earthly wardrobe, her keen observations of the other characters and her unorthodox but expert sleuthing will engage readers from start to finish.” (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060874376
• ISBN-13: 978-0060874377
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carolyn Hart writes the Death on Demand series set in a mystery bookstore on a South Carolina sea island and the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series featuring a lively redheaded ghost. Coming in 2012 from Berkley Prime Crime will be DEATH COMES SILENTLY, 22nd in the Death on Demand series, and WHAT THE CAT SAW, fist in the series featuring Nela Farley who has an uncanny sense of cats' thoughts.

She is also the author of several WWII novels, including ESCAPE FROM PARIS which is now available for the first time in its complete uncut version. Escape from Paris is the story of two sisters who defy the Gestapo to help British fliers avoid capture.

In Ghost at Work, Bailey Ruth returns to earth to help someone in trouble. She moves a body, investigates a murder, saves a marriage, prevents a suicide, and--in a fiery finale--rescues a child who knows too much. In Merry, Merry Ghost, Bailey Ruth protects a little boy from danger. In Ghost in Trouble, Bailey Ruth tries to corral a wilful woman determined to play hunt-the-killer. Coming in 2013 is HIJACKED GHOST which puts Bailey Ruth at risk of ever returning to Heaven.

Letter from Home, a WWII novel set on the home front, received the Agatha Award for Best Mystery of 2003. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers. Thirteen-year-old Gretchen Gilman is working for the small-town newspaper during the hot summer of 1944. Murder occurs on the street where she lives, forever changing her life and the lives of those involved.

Hart was one of 10 mystery authors featured at the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, DC, in 2003 for Letter from Home and again in 2007 for Set Sail for Murder, 7th in the Henrie O series. In Set Sail for Murder (new in paperback March 2008), Henrie O joins a troubled family on a Baltic cruise and death is an unwelcome passenger.

Hart has been nominated 9 times for the Agatha Award for Best Novel and has won 3 times. In 2007 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic. She will be the International Guest of Honor at Bloody Words in Toronto on June 6-8, 2008.

Hart is a native of Oklahoma City, a journalism graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and a former president of Sisters in Crime. She is also a member of Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, and American Crime Writers League.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Merry Christmas and Happy Sleuthing!, October 28, 2009

By 

Dianne E. Socci-Tetro "Books & Chat" (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Merry, Merry Ghost (Bailey Ruth Mysteries, No. 2) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

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!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That Bailey Ruth Sure Knows How to Dress! AND How to Solve a Crime!, October 24, 2009

By 

K. Davis "Kathy Diamond Davis, author" (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Merry, Merry Ghost (Bailey Ruth Mysteries, No. 2) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

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!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angel Antics, November 11, 2009

By 

W. Easley "Opa" (Colorado Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Merry, Merry Ghost (Bailey Ruth Mysteries, No. 2) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

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.