An Inquiry Into Life And Death by Simone St. James

 

The time is shortly after World War II, and Jillian Leigh is one of the few women at Oxford.  She is determined to graduate and is not pleased when she is notified that her uncle Toby, whom she hasn't seen since she was fourteen, has died and she needs to go wrap up his estate.  Her parents are overseas and there is no one else to do it.  Toby was a ghost hunter of all things and he has died in a small coastal village.

When Jillian arrives at the house Toby rented, she discovers that he died by falling off a cliff to the beach below.  The village has a ghost named Walking John who has been there for two hundred years and Toby was in the village to find him and give him rest.  There are mysterious noises in the house, items that move around without human help.  Jillian meets some of those who live in the area and she is mistaken for a woman who lived there twenty years before.  There are rumors that Toby either jumped or was pushed off the cliff.  

That theory gains weight when Jillian meets Scotland Yard inspector Drew Merriken who tells her he is there to investigate her uncle's death.  There is an instant connection between the two and soon Jillian is head over heads in love, even though Drew lets her know from the start that his career is his priority and that he isn't going to settle down for any woman.  Jillian starts to have stranger things happen and soon it is clear that someone is trying to run her out of town.  Can she discover the truth before she is hurt or worse?

Simone St. James is a Canadian author whose background was in television.  She is known for her books that combine mystery and supernatural influences.  In this book, there are several mysteries besides that of Walking John.  Who is the woman Jillian is mistaken for?  What happened during the war that left those few who returned permanently broken?  Why did her parents and Toby fall out when she was fourteen and never patch things up?  As the reader discovers the answers to these questions, the mystery is solved.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.