Withering Heights

By Dorothy Cannell

Ellie and Ben Haskell travel to Yorkshire to return Ben's runaway 13 year old niece, Ariel.  Ariel begs them to investigate what is really behind all the strange accidents at their newly purchased gothic manor.  Ariel's stepmother, Betty, is convinced that the manor is haunted by the missing husband of the previous owner.  Meanwhile, Ellie's oddball housekeeper, Mrs. Mallory, tags along to reunite with her long lost sister, who also lives in Yorkshire.  And if that isn't enough, Ben's old childhood friend appears and obviously wants to be more than friends.  Ellie just wants to quickly solve the mystery and get her husband home.

This is a cute series, but as is apparent from the above synopsis, there's a little too much going on.  I like the silly characters, and everything seems to fit together towards the end, but it's rough going keeping up with all the characters & plot lines.