Well written, well-plotted, good characterization. Liked the main characters. Breezy read. Engaging. Was a bit disappointed that the ghost part is minimal but that's okay. A solid mystery. ( )

Marcie Ducasse is the assistant editor for Roaming New England Magazine, a publication one of the characters she interviews accurately describes as '...one of those fancy magazines that are full of pretty pictures of trees and make a big fuss about seafood'. It also publishes stories about local history and local hauntings. Marcie hopes that a story about the ghosts of three men who were hanged in a barn will be good material for her 'Weird Happenings' column.

This is Marcie's third mystery and her first solo business trip for the magazine. Her senior editor, Amanda Vickers, can't come this time. It turns out that the hanged men were murdered and the murder never solved. The man who is trying to sell his story has very inflated ideas about what it's worth and Marcie can't meet his price. He claims to have another potential buyer. Marcie is all set to give up and leave town for her next interview in the morning. Her plans change when the would-be seller is found dead.

Amanda may not be around, but Marcie teams up with Kevin Murray, a stringer for the newspaper his father owns. Kevin won't work for his father full time until he feels he's proved he's good enough to have gotten the job even if he weren't his father's son. Kevin thinks this story could be his big chance. Marcie needs only the ghost aspect of the story, so she willingly teams up with Kevin.

Marcie already knows what it's like to be facing death because she's come too close to what a murderer doesn't want her to find out, so she's more cautious than Kevin. Will she be cautious enough or will she be in deadly peril yet again? (Well, duh. Even a cozy heroine has to expect mortal danger.)

Ghosts From the Past reminds a bit of many Elizabeth Peters mysteries where the supernatural aspect is only a small part of the whole. If you're looking for a good ghost story, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a good cozy with a hint of spookiness, this book should be satisfactory.

Eugene M. Mollica is the artist for the brown-colored barn on the right and stormy-looking sky above it cover. ( )