Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to read this book until long after the publication date. That's sad, because I really enjoy the adventures of Bailey Ruth. This one is as good as any of them in the series. So I won't be writing a full review for the blog. Here, however, is a sort of list of what I like about Bailey Ruth and these stories:

o Bailey Ruth is smart, impulsive, and inventive.
o She wants to help in the worst way--and, often, due to her impulsivity, her attempts are the worst way to get the job done under the rules she's supposed to working under.
o There are evil people in these stories and murders and such, but somehow the bulk of the story is happy, fun, and upbeat. We don't get our noses rubbed in evil and depravity. I like that. (I know, that's part of the definition of a cozy mystery, but this series is even better at it that most cozies.)
o The complexity and subtlety of the mystery is not overwhelming, but at the same time, the author doesn't really give anything away. The solutions at the end are satisfying. (I'm not one who works hard to figure out the killer; I enjoy just waiting to the story to work its way to the end. If I DO guess the killer, then my respect for the author declines. I shouldn't be able to guess the killer without even trying or even wanting to.)
o The supernatural part--Bailey Ruth is an angel of sorts--is present, but not overwhelming. We just get the premise that she's an angel who works in a celestial department that helps the living with bad problems and the department has rules that she often breaks. Given that, the story works through to a solution without a lot of foolishness adding to the premise.

So, go get a copy of this book (and the others in the series) and enjoy yourself.

Cozy book about a ghost who comes to earth to help out humans. Think of Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life". Carolyn Hart is a prolific writer of several series. This book is about the third in the series.

Ghost on the Case is an exciting and suspenseful installment in the Bailey Ruth series. I enjoyed her interactions with the human characters, and found the mystery as a whole to be full of twists and turns.

Ghost on the Case by Carolyn Hart is the eighth book in A Bailey Ruth Ghost series. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a heavenly emissary, is thrilled when she gets a message from her supervisor, Paul Wiggins to report to Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions. Wiggins has a new assignment for Bailey Ruth. She gets to return to Adelaide, Oklahoma (her home town) to help Susan Gilbert. Susan receives a $100,000 ransom demand for her sister, Sylvie. She is told to steal the money from her employer’s safe and wait for their return call at midnight—she never gets a call. The next morning, Susan heads to work and discovers the place crawling with police. Susan’s boss, Wilbur Fitch was found dead in his study and Susan is at the top of the suspect list. Bailey Ruth sets out to unearth who knew Susan could open the safe and why they wanted Wilbur dead. Can Bailey Ruth get Susan set back on the correct path?

Ghost on the Case was an entertaining novel. Bailey Ruth is a firecracker. I enjoy her fashion sense, wit, intelligence, and determination. While Ghost on the Case is the eighth book in the series, it can be read alone. All the background details on Bailey Ruth are provided in the book. I found Ghost on the Case to be nicely written and to have a good pace. I like how Bailey Ruth works with Sam Cobb, the police chief, to solve the case. There was just the right amount of humor in Ghost on the Case. My rating for Ghost on the Case is 4 out of 5 stars. The mystery had some great elements. I wish, though, it had been a little more challenging. There was repetition of details regarding the case that I wish the author had eliminated (we do not need reminded so often). I liked how Ms. Hart included my favorite childhood restaurant (The Spaghetti Warehouse) and several wonderful novels. I will be continuing with A Bailey Ruth Ghost series. If you are looking for a light and entertaining cozy mystery, pick up a copy of Ghost on the Case.

Bailey Ruth is a delightful character, who is a fashionista and a detective. She is a ghost, however, sent from heaven to solve a kidnapping case which then turns into a murder investigation. This is a fun read where one suspends disbelief. Lots offashion tips too.

Just couldn't get into this book. Sorry, maybe I needed to read book one to get the concept. Character is dead and in heaven solving mystery. Just seemed a bit ridiculous to me. Too lighthearted for me, I like a bit more substance.

A lighthearted read, just lay your theology aside. This is a series, so Bailey is in Heaven. She died, probably back in book one. Anyway, she has a job in Heaven. She works in the Good Intentions Department. (The last time I checked that was headed somewhere else, so keep your sense of humor going.) Apparently she gets mission, where she can go to Earth and work "cases". This is where things get humorous. There's murder and mystery and over all, it's a pretty light and fun read.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Heavens to Murgatroyd: How on earth have I missed this series? For sure, it's an oversight that won't happen again. The late Bailey Ruth Raeburn is a delightful character, and I'm already looking forward to her next sleight of body experience.

Bailey Ruth, you see, died in a boating accident years ago. Now, she's in Heaven, working for the Department of Good Intentions in 27-year-old form (her choice of age to remain forever and ever). She's also got impeccable fashion sense; part of the fun of the book comes as she chooses - and describes in detail - the outfit she's picked to fit each occasion.

Those occasions, though, provide the real story. Her job as an Emissary for the Department takes her to earth via the Rescue Express to help those in need of investigative intervention. On terra firma, she's able to travel invisibly to and from anywhere at will as well as appear as a human being (the latter ability is frowned on by the Department except in absolute emergencies). This time out (down??), she's sent to Adelaide, Oklahoma, her old hometown. It seems a young woman named Susan Gilbert has received a phone call claiming that her younger sister Sylvie has been kidnapped - and the fee for her safe return is $100,000. Susan is far from wealthy, but as the secretary to a filthy rich businessman, she has access to the safe in which he keeps at least that much cash on hand plus a few other valuables.

Aided by calls from the kidnapper telling her exactly what to do and when, Susan manages to steal the money - with the intent of confessing the theft to her boss and promixing to pay it back over time. But shortly thereafter, the businessman is found dead - murdered - and his safe is open and empty. The police investigation centers on Susan - especially when the box containing the money turns up in her car's trunk and other items from the safe are found elsewhere on her property.

Bailey Ruth, of course, is convinced that Susan is innocent and being framed - and she sets out to prove it. Her efforts put her back in touch with an old friend and police officer, one of the few earthbound humans who knows who she is and what she now does for a "living" (no doubt they have a history from previous books in the series). Together, they conclude that only a handful of people who were at a party at the murdered man's home the night of the theft could have had sufficient knowledge to pull off the murder and shift the blame to Susan. But which one? And is there a ghost of a chance that Bailey Ruth will figure it out before her own boss yanks her back to her Heavenly home and Susan is charged with the murder?

Ah, you'll just have to read it to get the answers to those questions. This is the perfect book (and series) to pick up when your head needs a break from psychological thrillers and heavy-duty murder mysteries. The publisher, via NetGalley, was an angel for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This series is getting more ridiculous with each book. Easily three-quarters of the reiteration could be removed and you would be left with a decent, though not great, novella. Granted, the multiple outfit changes have been reduced, but to take its place, Carolyn Hart is under the belief that her readers cannot retain plot points and characters and needs to re-explain each every other chapter.

Since excessive detail goes into informing the reader who Bailey Ruth Raeburn is and her job as an emissary, there is no reason that you have to read this series in order. Each book follows the same tired format of a good person caught in a bad situation needing help and Paul Wiggins from ‘Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions’ picks Bailey Ruth to return to earth to help but she must follow the ‘Precepts for Earthy Visitation’ or the “Rescue Express” will come smoking in and pick her up before her task can be completed.

Yet again, using various disguises, identities, and outfit changes, Bailey Ruth saves the day. The case is solved, the outfit is on point and those bumbling around the Adelaide, Oklahoma police department would not be able to save their town or citizenry without the help of the perpetually twenty-seven year old that always knows where to find passwords, extra handfuls of candy, or the perfect booth at Lulu’s.

Review goes live on Butterfly-o-Meter Books on Sept 29 at 00.00 am gmt+2 and will show up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: Absolutely aweomse
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: Oddly enough, we start pretty much in Heaven – literally. But our star is an Adelaide, Oklahoma native and the story takes us there.
Characters: Bailey Ruth was funny, witty, and seemed nice. She was also a lover PIs, and how much cooler can it get than that? I loved her practical sense and quick wit. On top of that, all her sayings about how to deal with are hilarious – and pretty much on point, if you ask me, lol. I really appreciated how determined and resilient she was, doing all the heavy-lifting necessary to get the job done.
Sam was a good guy too, and I liked them working together when they did.
Plot: The ghost amateur detective mystery is engaging and well paced. Sylvie’s kidnapping is just the tip of the iceberg, and it was great how story got more and more layered. Bailey Ruth’s investigative method seemed to me a bit reminiscent of Hercule Poirot’s, in that she gleamed info then used logic and psychology to build the case step by step for herself and the reader alike. And yet who the culprit was remained a mystery until close to the very end – also in the vain of Poirot mysteries, imo. Very good tension buildup and active pace of events.
Writing: First person, past tense narrative, Bailey Ruth’s POV. Conversational style, that was very easy and fun to follow. I truly loved the easy humor and wit of her voice.
Curb Appeal: Nice cover, hooking blurb – impulsive buy material for my amateur sleuth cravings.

Considering the fact I came into this series with novel #8 and it was a smooth entry, lol, I say you guys give this a try even if you haven’t read any in the series so far – like I hadn’t. It’s well-worth your time, and it makes it on my list of fav reads of the year, receiving my Bomy Award of Excellence.
I recommend Ghost on the Case to fans of ghosts and MCs, amateur sleuths with a paranormal twist, and well-built characters and murder mysteries that involve a lot of fun and happy endings.

Heaven is a nice place to live but Bailey likes her earth visits, too. Playing detective can be fun. She's sent to comfort a sister who is worried about her younger sister. She never came home the night before and she has been contacted by a kidnapper.

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published October 3rd.

This is a cozy mystery about a very rich man that is murdered. The sister gets framed by the murderer. Now Bailey has to find the killer and prove it was not the older sister. It's not easy.

She's not supposed to show herself on earth but she's friends with the police chief. And she couldn't comfort the sister without a physical form. Still, being able to do things invisibly does sound attractive. Until you bump into someone or try to read the newspaper...

She has plenty of suspects. The rich man fought with his lawyers, workers and family. He had a lover and was looking at another. His ex-wives weren't responsible, they live too far away. While the sister stole money to get the younger one back, she didn't take the coins and someone left the door unlocked for her. The more facts Bailey finds out, the more confusing it gets.

Another person is murdered. The sister is arrested. Bailey has to get moving. And when she finds the murderer, it's a good thing she's already dead. The killer wants to kill her again.

There's plenty of action, budding romance, lots of weeding through suspects, and it takes a faint attempt at blackmail to prove who the killer was. It'll keep you on your toes.

Here’s another series that I dropped down into without having read the earlier entries. I requested this one from NetGalley because I used to read Carolyn Hart all the time. I was especially fond of the Death on Demand series, until it became so formulaic and annoying I gave it up. I could not stand to read one more description of Max as “Joe Hardy, all grown up and sexy as hell.” Even so, I still enjoy Hart’s breezy, casual, tongue-in-cheek style of writing which is certainly evident in Ghost on the Case.

Bailey Ruth is a ghost. She died and went to heaven when her cabin cruiser sunk in the Gulf. Bailey seems to enjoy being a ghost because she can change her outfit at will, and appears as though she’s 27 (which was a very good year!). In Hart’s Heaven, ghosts are assigned to various “departments.” Bailey is assigned to the Department of Good Intentions, which means she gets sent back to Earth occasionally to help right a wrong which seems to involve investigating a crime. Here we find Bailey sent to her hometown in Oklahoma to help a woman who is forced into committing a crime in order to rescue her little sister, who is being held captive. Hi-jinks ensue, and through Bailey’s assistance, the bad guy is caught.

This is a perfect beach read – fast paced, clever, and fun. It doesn’t make you think too much, but certainly provided me with a couple hours of uninterrupted, enjoyable reading time. Is it a classic? No. But if you enjoy cozy mysteries with a sassy protagonist, give Bailey Ruth a shot. I’ll be going back to check out some of the earlier entries in the series.