Joan Smith: Old Lover’s Ghost

Charity Wainwright’s father had a special ability to placate ghosts, so they frequently traveled about the country. Which gave her little time to acquire a husband. But when they arrived at Keefer Hall, whose ghost was distressing the Earl of Merton’s mother, there was much more amiss than a ghost. The earl was more than skeptical of Charity’s father—and her—but he could be charming when he wished

I imagine you are as confused by the above synopsis as I was.  I am not quite sure what’s going on there, but noticed quite a few of Smith’s re-releases from Belgrave House have back cover breakdowns that sound–well, broken down.

Regardless, in the spirit of Halloween, ghosts and goblins, I decided to try this oldie but goodie from Smith.

Mr. Wainwright is a ghost-hunter.  I fact checked this, and found an article about ghost-seeking from the Regency era, so this isn’t totally off base.  Even his daughter has her doubts about his psychic “powers”, but she still accompanies him to grand house after grand house taking notes.  They attend, usually at the bequest of the lady of the manor, and Mr. Wainwright works to help identify and counsel the ghosts (free of charge).

This jet-setting, however, doesn’t allow much time for Miss Charity Wainwright to engage the interest of eligible parti and get herself hitched, or practice flirting for that matter, and she fears she is rapidly descending into spinsterhood.

Luckily for Charity, their new destination Keefer Hall comes equipped with two eligible and hunky dudes.  The Earl is definitely a skeptic and a bit of a grump, but also really funny and witty when he wants to be.  His younger brother Winton is hopeless chasing down a romantic identity–he starts off as poet and then quickly decides that Mr. Wainwright’s flowing cape and dramatic flair makes being a ghost-hunter much more attractive.

The romance is everything I like in Reg Rom…two smart sometimes sassy H/h that fall in love through witty banter.  I docked my score by .25 points, because I would’ve liked a bit more of that witty banter.  However, because it was such a unique concept, which was well executed, I was willing to forego a little extra H/h banter time for attention to unraveling the mystery.

The mystery wasn’t very hard for me to figure out…Smith leaves some giant sized breadcrumbs, so the fun isn’t really in the whodunnit, but in how the characters themselves go about figuring it out.  There is also the funny antics of Winton and Wainwright to provide levity and a light touch to the paranormal, which incidentally Smith allows readers to make their own minds up about (or not).

I thought some of the dialogue was particularly hilarious, although I am a sucker for the absurd so others may not find it as humourous.  To me it was a little bit like Northanger ala poking fun at the gothic romance.  Moreso, it reminded me of the traditional Reg Rom classic The Quiet Gentleman; although no one is plotting murder, someone is definitely trying to make Lady Merton mad with guilt.

I thoroughly enjoyed this ghostly romp and will definitely give it another read next Autumn!

5 Stars 4.75 out of 6 A bit of paranormal and romance, a whole lot of fun.

Content Rating/Heat Index
Mature Contentwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Some talk of illegitimate children and affairs.
Intimacywww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
A couple of kisses
Violencewww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Not really unless you count poltergeists.
Overallwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
A perfect Halloween read for most ages filled with more laughs than scares.
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