If The Ghost and Mrs. Muir Ended Differently

Good Spirits, B.K. Borison

I ugly cried at the end of this.

For years, Nolan Callahan, formerly a 19th century Irish fisherman who drowned during a storm, has been one of a cadre of "Ghosts of Christmas Past." They visit people who have, like Ebenezer Scrooge, done something bad in their past and who need to atone for it. It adds a little interest to his colorless afterlife. But then he's assigned to Harriet York, a free-spirited, mouthy young woman who runs an antique store (having displeased her rigid lawyer family for years with her career choice). He can't see what on earth Harriet has to atone for; indeed, after several visits to her past, he starts to feel that several of the people in her life need to atone to her!

In return, Harriet is suddenly making Nolan do things he hasn't been able to do since his death: taste, smell, feel. He has no idea what's going on, especially when his trips with Harriet into what's supposed to be her past turn out to be excursions into his past.

I really liked Harriet and hated her simply awful family, trying to press her into a mold she simply didn't fit into. Nolan is also a great character, especially in his interactions with his supervisor, the enigmatic Isabella. The antique store and its contents are almost another character in themselves; I'd live there!

Especially for fans of the television series of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, this is a touching paranormal read.