(Book #1 in The Ghosts of Christmas Series) Muriel Johnson has the misfortune of inheriting the grotesque wealth of her late husband Bell Johnson, the most celebrated singer in The Havens. On top of handling her grief, Muriel spends her Christmas expelling snooping journalists and fans from her large house. Usually, she'd escape to her favorite cafe, where that pesky artist would smile and wave at her whenever they crossed paths, but it is no longer enough. One night, she is visited by a stranger in a top hat and a suit that smells of dog. His name is Harold, he says, and he's sort of like death. Every night of Christmas Eve, he comes to collect the souls that will die on Christmas Day, and send them to their own special heavens. This is the work of a herald, that is, the Ghost of Christmas Death. This night he has come for Muriel. He is her only chance at final bliss. Muriel reluctantly follows Harold to his carriage pulled by two polar bears, and finds that she is not the only soul being collected from Little Apple Rose. Among others, Christopher, that nosy artist from the cafe, is coming along. Unlike the others, however, Harold hasn't told him how he dies. And so Muriel finds herself speeding across star-speckled tundra with an obnoxious, rude ghost and an annoyingly upbeat and excitable Christopher. As they get further along the journey, Muriel begins to suspect that Harold is not telling them the whole truth and the journey becomes more fraught. She teams up with Christopher to help themselves and the other souls survive the trip to their heavens before they're lost to the frozen wilderness for good. Muriel tells herself all the trouble will be worth it once she finally reunites with Bell. But will she manage to find Bell? And will it matter if by that time she's already fallen in love with someone else? *** This book is for those who crave a little haunting in their romance tales. A book that is the sweet spot between Halloween and Christmas.
3 parts