Ten years ago, ASHLEY HALE left the Inn at Loon Lake, her family’s business, frustrated by her father’s apprenticeship that treated her more like a personal assistant than heir apparent. Her childhood best friend turned husband, CHRISTOPHER LEWIS, stayed behind, breaking her heart. After her father’s sudden passing, Ashley discovers that he changed the terms of the will to include either her or her husband, whoever stays for thirty consecutive days following his death.

To claim her rightful legacy and her only chance at a happy future, Ashley sneaks into the lighthouse behind the Inn with the intention of scaring her estranged husband off the premises by pretending to be a ghost. Unfortunately for Ashley, Christopher knows she’s back. He’s spent the last decade running the business and hating himself for not following her. Her father forbade him from telling her the truth of the Inn’s financial circumstances. In an act of love, he saved the resort and has been supporting her with an allowance ever since.

When Ashley accidentally sets the lighthouse on fire, she runs into Christopher’s arms. He hopes her return means a relationship resolution and a chance to show how much work is involved in managing the property, hoping she will gladly hand over the reins. However, Ashley isn’t giving up, and Christopher doesn’t want her to leave. Convinced the Inn’s lighthouse is haunted, she starts an investigation. Together, they uncover one mystery after another. Will they discover the secret to a happy future and a second chance at love?

Ten years ago, Ashley Hale-Lewis left the family business, The Inn at Loon Lake, to get out from under her overbearing father’s thumb. Her husband, Christopher Lewis, didn’t follow her as expected. Instead, he stayed behind and turned the Inn into a first-class establishment. When Ashley’s father dies, he wills the Inn to Ashley or Christopher, whoever is first to stay on the property for thirty consecutive days.

It’s a bizarre condition, and Christopher, as the Inn’s resident manager, has a head start. That doesn’t deter Ashley, though. She sets up camp in a faux lighthouse on the property, intending to “haunt” it to scare her erstwhile husband away. Her hare-brained scheme quickly falls apart when the lighthouse catches fire, and Christopher himself rescues her.

Now that the two are working together, Ashley finds she’s not as adept at the tasks required to run the inn as she thought. Christopher is the one who has the innkeeping business down cold. Should Ashley bow out and leave her husband as the owner?

And then there’s the lighthouse. Is it haunted for real? A series of inexplicable events makes that seem possible. Christopher, for one, is a skeptic on the matter of ghosts. But, as Sherlock Holmes reminds us in The Hound of the Baskervilles, “The devil’s agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?”

Romantic tension permeates the book from start to finish. Christopher and Ashley still have feelings for each other, and their desire almost literally drips off the pages. But neither can muster the courage to express those feelings for fear that the other will reject them. It certainly complicates working together!

Even though Ashley and Christopher engage in substantial repetitive hand-wringing, the book engages the reader, making it imperative to turn the page and see what happens next. Each chapter consists of two parts: a situation as viewed by Ashley and the same scenario from Christopher’s point of view. I found I liked this technique. It drew me more deeply into the story than I expected.

If you’re up for a romantic story with more than a hint of mystery, The Ghost of Loon Lake is a book you will enjoy.

Rachelle Paige Campbell writes contemporary romance filled with heart and hope. No matter the location—big city, small town, or European kingdom—her feel-good stories always end with a happily ever after. She’s grateful for the support of her family, her robot floor cleaner, and her reluctant writing partner (her dog).