Bailey Ruth Raeburn series
Ghost at Work, 2008
Merry, Merry Ghost, 2009
Ghost in Trouble, 2010
Ghost Gone Wild, October 2013
Ghost Wanted, October 2014
Ghost to the Rescue, October 2015
Ghost Times Two, October 2016
Ghost on the Case, October 2017
Ghost Ups Her Game, August 2020
Books in the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series are available from your favorite bookseller
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Bailey Ruth Raeburn series
GHOST GONE WILD
Berkeley Hardcover, 320 pages, Oct. 1, 2013
Carolyn Hart’s “irresistible cozy sleuth”* is back—good-hearted ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn just can’t say no to an earthly rescue, even when maybe she should…
Bailey Ruth loves to return to earth as an emissary from Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions. Problem is, she’s a bit of a loose cannon as far as ghosts go—forgetting to remain invisible, alarming earthly creatures—so she’s far from the top of department head Wiggins’s go-to list for assignments.
That’s why she’s surprised when the Heaven-sent Rescue Express drops her off at a frame house on the outskirts of her old hometown, Adelaide, Oklahoma, where a young man is playing the drums. What kind of rescuing does he need—drum lessons? But when a window cracks and a rifle barrel is thrust inside, only Bailey Ruth’s hasty intervention saves Nick Magruder from taking a bullet. When she materializes to reassure him, she finds she can’t go back to vanishing. What gives?
It turns out she’s been tricked by Nick’s late aunt—Delilah Delahunt Duvall—to come to the young man’s rescue, which means she isn’t back on earth in service of the department. Wiggins has no idea where she is—and now she may be trapped in Adelaide forever. Unless she can help Aunt Dee snare the person who wants her nephew dead…
*Publishers Weekly
Berkeley Hardcover, 320 pages, Oct. 1, 2013
Carolyn Hart’s “irresistible cozy sleuth”* is back—good-hearted ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn just can’t say no to an earthly rescue, even when maybe she should…
Bailey Ruth loves to return to earth as an emissary from Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions. Problem is, she’s a bit of a loose cannon as far as ghosts go—forgetting to remain invisible, alarming earthly creatures—so she’s far from the top of department head Wiggins’s go-to list for assignments.
That’s why she’s surprised when the Heaven-sent Rescue Express drops her off at a frame house on the outskirts of her old hometown, Adelaide, Oklahoma, where a young man is playing the drums. What kind of rescuing does he need—drum lessons? But when a window cracks and a rifle barrel is thrust inside, only Bailey Ruth’s hasty intervention saves Nick Magruder from taking a bullet. When she materializes to reassure him, she finds she can’t go back to vanishing. What gives?
It turns out she’s been tricked by Nick’s late aunt—Delilah Delahunt Duvall—to come to the young man’s rescue, which means she isn’t back on earth in service of the department. Wiggins has no idea where she is—and now she may be trapped in Adelaide forever. Unless she can help Aunt Dee snare the person who wants her nephew dead…
*Publishers Weekly
This is award-winning mystery author Hart’s fourth novel featuring Bailey Ruth. She is an emissary from heaven who returns to her small hometown to help people, but the usual protocol has been bypassed by a ghost who wants Bailey to aid the ghost’s troubled nephew, Nick. She sends the unwitting Bailey, who, because of the breach in protocol, is stripped of her usual powers once she arrives. Bailey pushes Nick out of the way when someone shoots at him, but she has no money, identification, or even clothes, which hampers her investigation into discovering who wants him dead. Nick resents Bailey’s help even after realizing his Aunt Dee sent her. The greedy Cole tries to blackmail Nick so he can have the land that Nick wanted to buy, but Cole is killed by a rifle when the two get into an argument. Nick is the main suspect, and Aunt Dee comes to Earth to help Bailey clear him, resulting in a fun partnership. History and hidden treasure add interesting elements to the plot. Fans of Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Ghost of Granny Apples series will also enjoy this entry in an amusing, clever series.. Amy Alessio for Booklist
Hart returns to a beloved character and the mishaps that inevitable follow Bailey around and pens a very entertaining paranormal mystery with many laugh out loud moments. Bailey is in more trouble that usual when she discovers heaven didn’t send her to help Nick. His deceased aunt is the reason Bailey is stuck in Oklahoma. With so much at stake, it’s a good thing heaven’s best detective is on the case. Ghost Gone Wild is another clever addition to Hart’s “spirited” series!
From Reader to Reader -- Read More
Author Carolyn Hart has done her usual in writing another fun-filled story of suspense, murder, humor and spirits. Oh, did I forget to tell you that Bailey Ruth is a ghost? From time to time she is allowed to descend upon earth to help a person in danger. This is normally done through Wiggins but in this case the person, or should I say ghost, that sent Bailey Ruth to earth is Dee, Nick's aunt who decides she has to keep an eye out and make sure Bailey Ruth does everything correctly to save her nephew. Problem is, with Dee being the one to send Bailey to earth, she has no control over her abilities to appear and disappear, so once Bailey Ruth appeared, she was unable to disappear and with Wiggins not knowing of her descent, she became OF the earth and not ON the earth.
This series is one that I keep an eye out for the next Bailey Ruth story to hit the shelves. The characters are always so real, including Bailey Ruth, to the point that you actually feel that you know them as neighbors. Now I "patiently" wait for the next volume to see what Bailey gets herself into next.
From A Book and a Dish -- Read More
Bailey Ruth is trapped on earth, with no money, no ID, and worst of all, in her opinion, no change of wardrobe. And, she's stuck with an angry young man who returned to his hometown to get revenge. But, someone is determined to cause trouble for Nick, and his long-running feud with a former high school enemy can only end up in tragedy. Bailey Ruth has to rely on her her own ingenuity, although sometimes Dee is a reluctant assistant. Nick may be obnoxious at times, but he doesn't deserve to be framed.
Carolyn Hart always finds new ways to surprise readers. If it isn't a ghost as a sleuth, it's another ghost riding in on a black horse to try to save the day. Ghost Gone Wild combines humor with an intriguing mystery. Why is someone out to get Nick Magruder, and who is the real killer? In this case, the humor adds so much to the story. Bailey Ruth and Dee bicker throughout the story; Bailey Ruth can't rely on Dee to be there, and they make an unlikely team. Despite her plans to send Bailey Ruth to earth, Dee is a stickler for the rules, Wiggins' Precepts for Earthly Visitations. Bailey Ruth can easily break three of the Precepts in her first twenty minutes on earth. And, then there's Bailey Ruth's preoccupation with her appearance and her wardrobe. She delights in the ability to change her wardrobe on a whim, and her inability to change her clothes is probably her biggest complaint about being earthbound. And, Bailey Ruth interacts with people on earth in ways that Wiggins' would never approve.
From Lesa's Book Critiques -- Read More
An interview with Bailey Ruth Raeburn
Read what Bailey Ruth had to say when she was interviewed by The Quillery
Bailey Ruth Raeburn series
Reviewed by Joe Meyers for Connecticut Post
The Bailey Ruth stories play with the form of crime fiction in a delightful manner, allowing Hart to add amusing supernatural elements to the sharp plotting and social observation in her other novels….
A premise that might sound rather twee — as the Brits would say — has enabled Hart to add hefty dollops of “Topper” and “Heaven Can Wait” to the screwball supernatural humor the author finds in Bailey Ruth’s visits to Oklahoma.
From Books and Musings from Down Under
While a cosy, GHOST IN TROUBLE is an engrossing mystery with a delightful cast of characters. Carolyn Hart tells her story well, taking the reader through the list of suspects, giving you insight into each of them and their possible motives. The paranormal aspects are well done as Bailey Ruth zips from place to place, can go straight through a ceiling, choose what “age” she wants to be, and can appear and disappear at will . As funny as the story can be in parts, Carolyn Hart never lost sight of the fact that murders, yes there are more than one, have been committed. She built the tension nicely and kept me on the edge of my seat, not knowing who did it until it was revealed at the very satisfactory ending.
Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth for BookLoons
Ghost in Trouble is a fun book, starring the most delightful ghost you are ever likely to meet. She’s smart, too.
From Publishers Weekly, 8/10/2009
Merry, Merry Ghost Carolyn Hart. Morrow, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-087437-7
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.)
Reviewed by Kathleen Gerard for Reading Between the Lines
Not since Clarence Oddbody (It’s a Wonderful Life) and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future (A Christmas Carol) has there been a more charming character than Bailey Ruth Raeburn in MERRY, MERRY GHOST written by Carolyn Hart….
MERRY, MERRY GHOST is a well-constructed mystery that will keep you guessing. The story, while dealing with serious subject matter, is leavened with a blend of wit and nuances of the supernatural. Bailey Ruth is a likeable, reliable narrator, and the ingenious strokes by which Carolyn Hart paints her protagonist, flaws and all, make her an incredibly fun super sleuth to pal around with on the page. Bailey Ruth loves fashion and good food and, having been given the power to make herself visible and invisible to achieve her ends, she cleverly stuns members of her old hometown with wry hilarity.
Reviewed by Diana Troldahl for Fresh Fiction, January 5, 2011
A lighthearted mystery cozy-lovers will appreciate, previously published in hardcover.
From Romantic Times, November 2009
Merry, Merry Ghost Carolyn Hart.
There aren’t many heavenly rules that impetuous ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn won’t overlook, if not break outright, to help her human charges. Hart’s celestial messenger is a hoot; funny, outrageous, fashion conscious (even a ghost has to look good, whther she’s seen or not), and readers will chuckle out loud at her antics in this heaven-sent Christmas mystery. An entertaining addition to your holiday reading.
Listen to an MP3 podcast to learn more about Ghost at Work
From Publishers Weekly
Starred review
Ghost at Work: A Bailey Ruth Mystery
A ghost turns sleuth in the intriguing first of a new series from Hart (Death on Demand), who’s won Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards. When Bailey Ruth Raeburn and her husband die on their cabin cruiser during a storm, Bailey joins the heavenly host. Later, she returns to earth via the Rescue Express to her hometown of Adelaide, Okla., to help the rector’s wife, Kathleen Abbott. After finding the body of a dead man on her back porch, Kathleen fears either she or her husband might be accused of the crime. Bailey Ruth helps her to move the body, inaugurating a search for the killer that proves difficult as the victim was despised by many. As Bailey Ruth uncovers more than one crime, she must contend with her own violations of the Precepts for Earthly Visitation and adjust to her powers on earth. Hart blends an enjoyable fantasy with realistic characters and an engrossing plot that’s sure to charm even ardent materialists.
From AMERICAN CHRONICLE
Reviewed by Nancy Eaton
November 03, 2008
Ghost at Work: A Bailey Ruth Mystery
Carolyn Hart has written many entertaining mysteries over the years. She has written a clever mystery with Ghost at Work by incorporating the idea of Heaven´s Department of Good Intentions. Carolyn Hart is one of the best at writing the cozy mystery and this one has everything needed to make it successful – humor, suspense, and great characters. Bailey Ruth is a very likeable character that will keep the reader interested in her antics. Ghost at Workis a novel all mystery fans will want to add to their reading list. The book ends with “Next time…” which means we will be hearing from this ghostly sleuth again in the future. We can only imagine what Mr. Wiggins will have Bailey doing for her next assignment!
From Armchair Interviews
Reviewed by Elizabeth Bright
Ghost at Work: A Bailey Ruth Mystery
It looks like Carolyn Hart has a new, must-read series. Enjoy!
From Armchair Interviews
Reviewed by Caryn St. Clair
Ghost at Work
Armchair Interviews says: Author Carolyn Hart spins a fun tale with this unique main character.
Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves for A Book and a Dish
Author Carolyn Hart has done it again with her Bailey Ruth series. I’ve followed her with the first book Ghost at Work. Then on to Merry, Merry Ghost. Carolyn Hart has again combined murder, mystery and humor to create yet another light hearted read with Ghost in Trouble. And I have to admit, she surprised me with the ending. By page 85 I just knew I had discovered the killer. I changed my choice around page 240 just to find out at the end that I was wrong in both cases.
