The Widow of Rose House/ Diana Biller/ 352 pgs

This is a debut book which strongly reminds me of those written by Simone St. James. It's a wonderful combination of historical fiction, romance, and mystery, complete with a ghost. Alva is newly returned to New York, albeit in disgrace. In France, she'd been on the verge of scandalously divorcing her husband (for good reason). In retaliation, he put out rumors that she was all kinds of immoral. But then in a twist of good luck for Alva, someone killed him. In New York, Alva's high society parents snub her. She purchases a dilapidated house outside the city but it turns out it's haunted and the construction workers won't stick around unless the ghost is gone. Much to her chagrin, Alva is forced to turn to the delightful Sam, a scientist/inventor/ghost hunter. Sam and his family are truly the best part of this book. They are amusing, intelligent, fun-loving, and best of all, kind. Sam and Alva fall for each other in the sweetest way, but given her past, it's a long road to a happy ending. This was a wonderful read.