Mrs. Morris and the Ghost

Mrs. Morris Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Traci Wilton

Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlene Morris knew Salem, Massachusetts, had a spooky reputation. But when she decided to open her B&B there, she expected guests - not ghosts....

A grieving young widow, Charlene needed a new start - so she bought a historic mansion, sight unseen, and drove from Chicago to New England to start turning it into a bed-and-breakfast.

On her first night in the house, she awakens to find a handsome man with startling blue eyes in her bedroom. Terror turns to utter disbelief when he politely introduces himself as Jack Strathmore - and explains that he used to live here - when he was alive.

He firmly believes that someone pushed him down the stairs three years ago, and he won't be able to leave until someone figures out who.

If Charlene wants to get her business up and running in time for the Halloween tourist rush, and get this haunting house guest out of the way, she'll have to investigate. Though truth be told, this ghost is starting to grow on her....

©2019 Patrice Wilton and Traci Hall (P)2019 Tantor

Ghosts

This is very reminiscent of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I always loved that story.

It kept enough of my attention that I finished it

It’s a story that has been told by other authors - middle aged lady suffers major life change, moves to a new place to open a historic inn/b&b/bookstore/cafe and can see the ghostly inhabitants.

It was done reasonably well, but there were several comments and attitudes that felt out of place. Most of those anachronisms are directed toward women or the relationship between men and women. The story is supposed to be contemporary - it includes smart phones, Google, and the Black Eyed Peas; however, the characters often think like people would have 100 or 200 years ago. As an example, when discussing why a woman might cheat on her husband, the main character says something along the lines of “She had a handsome husband, who bought her this beautiful house, and provided her with wealth. What more could a woman want?”

The main character is supposed to be an advertising professional. Advertising is the only business she has worked in since finishing her college degree (until this story begins); yet every time she comments on how advertising works, she provides her credentials by saying “I was a marketing major.” As though the 20 years of experience she had in the business was less important than her major in college.

The performance was reasonable, but it took me a long time to get used to the pauses that the narrator inserts in sentences. About halfway through the story, I realized that she speaks like a female Jeff Goldbloom.

As a free book, it’s fine. If I had paid a credit for it, I would have hit the return button very quickly.

GREAT NEW SERIES

A WIDOW, A GHOST, A BEAUTIFUL OLD HOUSE, BUT MURDER? IT MAY SOUND FAMILIAR, BUT CHARLENE, JACK, AND SAM PUT THEIR OWN SPIN ON IT ALL. OH, DID I MENTION SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS? GET THE BOOK. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. NOW, IF ONLY AUDIBLE WILL OFFER THE NEXT BOOK SOON.

Loved It!

Great setting. characters and content. I enjoyed every word! Can't wait until book 2! Great autumn read.

Fun read

enjoyed listening great twist at the end. Hope the next one has more history about Boston and Salem

enjoyed it

enjoyed it. loved the plot and characters. liked the style of writing. Recommend it. done

Not quite there

This book is too similar to the Ghost of Marlow House series by Bobbi Holmes, which is excellent. So many things bothered me about the book. There is little interaction between Charlene and the ghost, yet she has developed strong feelings for Jack. Through most of the book, she is grieving her husband, looks for his spirit, but Jack helps her get over her grief in just a few weeks. Then there’s the big deal about not doing an autopsy on Jack. Since he was healthy, with no previous medical concerns, they would most certainly do an autopsy. Charlene spent all her money on the house, but buys furniture and antiques. The antiques weren’t necessary to open a B & B. And how many times does the author have Sam rubbing his mustache? I know very few men who actually have a mustache with no beard of some kind. Overall, the story wasn’t bad, but I was disappointed in this book.

Couldn’t believe who did it the suspense?

I enjoyed the book kept your attention . I love the ghost how he was so caring of the new homeowner

Pretty good but....

Okay, this book has lots of my favorite elements: good narrator, decent characters, and a ghost! So what’s my problem with it?

Semi- Spoiler ahead:

If a person under 50 drops dead but hasn’t been under a doctor’s care for a medical issue, there WILL be an autopsy performed. Period. It takes ten minutes of research to find this out and a little change in the story, and you have a reasonable possibility. (I know, I know - why do I expect verisimilitude in a story with ghosts? Yet I do.) Especially since Almost any accidental death will also end up in an autopsy - and in this book the supposed medical cause for the accident is one that could ONLY BE FOUND DURING AN AUTOPSY. So yeah, I got cranky with that.

I also found it strange that the protagonist has supposedly spent all her money on this house, but when furnishing it she goes to antique shops, and a store that sells hand-made brass beds and new bed frames rather than going to estate sales or auction houses. But again, maybe that’s just me.

I wouldn't recommend

Not a bad concept and writing isn't bad (although the narration is a little choppy/stilted).
But the business decisions are rubbish and the ending just wasn't worth sticking around for imo