Presenting a delicious mix of romance and supernatural suspense, Carl (Ashes to Ashes) delivers yet another immensely readable tale. History graduate student Amanda Witham is working as the caretaker at Virginia's historic Melrose Hall and takes on the role of one of its 18th-century inhabitants, giving tours to visitors. Archeologists working on the site find a man's skeleton buried in the garden; that same night a ghost appears to Amanda in the house. The apparition is the dashing and handsome British officer James Grant, who supposedly died in battle during the Revolutionary War. But the way Grant died was actually quite different, and Amanda finds herself promising the ghost to help find out the truth behind his death. She also must figure out a way to pass on her "special" knowledge of Grant to those working on the house and grounds without revealing just how she knows who the skeleton really is. Amanda finds herself increasingly attracted to the ghost, but how can she fancy herself in love with a dead man? The trail to the truth behind Grant's death leads Amanda to Scotland and the Grant family's ancestral castle, where Amanda finds a very real Grant who just may hold the key to her future. If, that is, her ghostly lover will be willing to let go of the past. Carl has created an engaging cast and a very entertaining plot, spicing the mix with some interesting twists on the ghostly romantic suspense novel. (Dec.)
Forecast:Readers may be put off by the high price ofCarl's novel—one of the first original titles from Wildside, a POD publisher of primarily SF, fantasy and horror—but supportive blurbs from Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold and Carole Nelson Douglas could help offset sticker shock.
