The Lady in Residence

Pittman (Loving Luther) introduces in this excellent time-swapping inspirational three women who are in some way connected to San Antonio’s Menger Hotel. In 1915, Hedda Krause checks into the Menger when her stepsons evict her from her home after the death of her husband. She quickly begins looking for a new benefactor and sizing up single guests, but it’s the ghost of Sallie White, a murdered Menger housekeeper, who seeks out Hedda. When Hedda’s room is ransacked and robbed, she fails to convince flirtatious detective Irvin Carmichael that the culprit was the ghost of Sallie. In the contemporary story line, magician Dini Blackstone leads ghost tours of San Antonio, part of which includes Hedda’s and Sallie’s stories. Quin Carmichael, the great-great-grandson of Irvin, arrives in San Antonio hoping to make sense of a shoebox full of memorabilia his ancestor sequestered away. After taking Dini’s ghost tour, Quin becomes convinced Dini can help him find the answers to his questions. Quin and Dini separate fact from myth and enjoy a blossoming relationship as the mystery of how Hedda became the Menger’s Lady in Residence, as well as the truth about Sallie’s ghost, are revealed. Though faith elements are light, readers who enjoy Tracie Peterson will love this. (Mar.)