THE HEIRESS BRIDE

Last blast of passion and splashy action in Coulter's "Bride" trilogy (the paperback The Sherbrooke Bride and The Hellion Bride) featuring the good works of a 16th-century ghost (who's picked up a partner) to help out a new bride with her Scots bridegroom, a castle, and assorted nasty beings. Colin Kinross, seventh Earl of Ashburnham, sets out for London (in 1807) to find an heiress and save his people from dire straits. There, at a ball, young Sinjun (called "Joan" by Colin because it's more feminine) spots the "massively built" Scot and proposes herself as Colin's heiress and wife-to-be. They marry, and it's off to Colin's Scottish castle after a family fuss and other matters—only to be followed by the rumor that Colin did in his first wife and pitched her over a cliff!. In the castle greeting Sinjun: two stepchildren who are hostile as hornets; a terrible Aunt; and, nearby, a feuding neighbor, brother of Wife #1. Also, sex (page after warm page) is a chore until enlightenment comes. Meanwhile, there'll be deaths, lots of chirping and charging about by Sinjun, masterly roars by Colin, and an ectoplasmic duet by a brace of helpful ghosts. Silly and cheerful.