An Inquiry into Love and Death

By: Simone St. James

Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown

A young woman searches for the truth behind her uncle’s mysterious death in a town haunted by a restless ghost in this gripping novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases.

Oxford student Jillian Leigh works day and night to keep up with her studies—so to leave at the beginning of the term is next to impossible. But after her uncle Toby, a renowned ghost hunter, is killed in a fall off a cliff, she must drive to the seaside village of Rothewell to pack up his belongings.

Almost immediately, unsettling incidents—a book left in a cold stove, a gate swinging open on its own—escalate into terrifying events that convince Jillian an angry spirit is trying to enter the house. Is it Walking John, the two-hundred-year-old ghost who haunts Blood Moon Bay? And who beside the ghost is roaming the local woods at night? If Toby uncovered something sinister, was his death no accident?

The arrival of handsome Scotland Yard inspector Drew Merriken, a former RAF pilot with mysteries of his own, leaves Jillian with more questions than answers—and with the added complication of a powerful, mutual attraction. Even as she suspects someone will do anything to hide the truth, she begins to discover spine-chilling secrets that lie deep within Rothewell…and at the very heart of who she is.

Critic reviews

Praise for An Inquiry into Love and Death

“I thoroughly enjoyed it!...Simone clearly relishes and is steeped in the traditions of gothic fiction - in the best way. She conjures that secretive, hushed atmospher perfectly, and the story kept me turning pages from beginning to end. At once an intriguing mystery and an eerie ghost story, it had more than enough spine-tingling moments to keep me gripped.”—Katherine Webb, author of The Unseen

Praise for The Haunting of Maddy Clare

“Chilling romantic suspense that evokes the lost era between the World Wars…Simply spellbinding.”—New York Times Bestselling Author Susanna Kearsley

“Compelling and beautifully written.”—New York Times Bestselling Author Madeline Hunter

“An atmosphere that is deliciously creepy and a heroine you won’t soon forget.” —National Bestselling Author Deanna Raybourn

Lovely mystery

This is a romance wrapped in a ghostly mystery set between the world wars. Not my usual flavor.

Very dramatic

I like the supernatural. I didn’t care for the mystery in this one. I thought the main character was irritating.

Simone St. James never disappoints

I really liked this story. There was more regular mystery than supernatural mystery. I still enjoyed it and I love the Narrator. Ive listed to a few books she read.

worth listening to

You are transported to England in the 1920's before October 1929. Into a mystery of who am I and what do I do.

One of my favorites by Simone

I like Simone's period ghost stories so much better than her modern day ones. This one is one of my favorites!