Andromeda (Andie) has to break away from her “old” life.  This is a woman who, for the last ten years, has tried to reinvent herself after leaving the husband she truly loved.  North Archer is a fantastic man…underneath the entire “hard-working lawyer” facade that he has a tendency to hide behind.  During their short-lived marriage, he had to protect the family firm and found himself constantly sitting behind his huge desk, making decisions for the company and for his family.  Unfortunately, Andie – his brand new wife – was the one member of his family that he seemed to forget all about.

 

As our story begins, Andie is back in that dreaded lawyer’s office handing North back all the alimony checks he’s sent to her for the past ten years.  She is in love with someone else now, (sort of), and she wants to marry him and begin a new life by cutting all ties with her past.  The problem is that Andie and North seem to be unable to let that past go.

 

During their meeting, North begs Andie to go down to southern Ohio and take care of a little “problem” he has down there.  He has inherited two children from a distant cousin who has passed away.  He needs to be able to bring these children to him, but the kids seem unable, for some strange reason, to leave the house they are living in.  He’s sent all kinds of nannies down to be with them, but the last one mysteriously fell over a railing and died.  He knows that his strong ex-wife can fix this problem for him and, deep down, he knows it’s a way to keep Andie in his life for just a little while longer.  For reasons unbeknownst to her, Andie accepts the job and heads down to this old, frightening mansion with no idea what or how she’s going to accomplish this task.

 

This house was actually brought over from England, piece by piece, and set-up in America in the 19^th century.  The house provides battlements, turrets, and all things that scream “ancient castle” – especially…the ghosts that haunt every single room.  Andie meets up with the children – Alice and Carter – and notices that there’s something very strange about the way they act.  She soon begins to “see” and “hear” the things that are keeping the children tied to the house and making it so they can’t even leave the grounds.  An old governess that has been around for hundreds of years has her ghostly “claws” into the young girl named Alice, and refuses to let anyone take the girl away from her home.  Not only that, but the ex-nanny who has recently succumbed to death is also “dancing” around the large house, talking to the children, and refusing to let go and walk into the light.  Add to that, an angry man who very much likes to be the king of his castle, and the show begins.

 

This wonderful author has once again created a wild and extremely funny novel that takes the reader into all types of hysterical situations.  From the love that is re-blossoming between North and Andie; to the children’s adventures with the “things that go bump in the night,” every page is filled with just about everything a reader is looking for in a novel.  Characters are introduced that include North and Andie’s moms, who like to “face off” with each other about what the other one’s child did to theirs; a brother who likes to carve notches in his belt where women are concerned, who has recently hooked himself up with a television reporter who wants to revive her career by getting the “scoop” on the poor children stuck in the haunted house; and, a psychic extraordinaire who is absolutely sick and tired of the “real” humans constantly knocking on the door while she’s trying desperately to hold a séance.  (Which, by the way, is one of the funniest scenes in any novel I’ve ever read).

 

I am a fan of Ms. Crusie’s books, but even I can tell you that this one is a “home run.”  Readers who want romance, humor, drama, sci-fi, history...basically everyone, will enjoy this book from page one straight on through to the end.  And the END?  Well…let’s just say that you’ll get the surprise of your life!  I think Ms. Crusie should be tied to her keyboard so I can be lucky enough to receive at least one of her books every single month.