The Glass Guardian by Linda Gillard

I'm rather late to the party with this review.  I read it on my computer which is in the hottest room in the house so I've had to read it in small sessions.  Worth every drop of sweat though.  


What I love about Linda Gillard's writing is that she gently pulls me out of my comfort zone, and my reading world is broadened by the exposure.  Ordinarily I would never dream of reading a book where the hero is a ghost who died in WW I at the Battle of Loos in, I believe, 1915.  Thankfully since Gillard wrote it, I plunged right in quite happily and promptly fell in love with Hector the ghost.


Another thing I like about this writer is that she doesn't shy from a challenge.  The heroine of this tale has come to her late aunt's house on Isle of Skye to recover from her grief over the deaths of her partner and her beloved aunt.  She spent much time in that house as a child; at that time Hector appeared to her frequently and was her protector.  Now that she has returned as an adult, and is again in need of Hector, he appears again.  Now how do you write a love story, including sex, between a human and a ghost?  Look no further than The Glass Guardian to learn from a master how to write such scenes beautifully and believably, well close enough anyhow.


There is a bit of a mystery in that she finds evidence that her aunt, a composer, didn't actually compose one of her most famous pieces.  A Canadian scholar wants to come to Skye to research her works; should she allow him to come?


This is a gem of a book in which the house and garden are perfect settings for a unique story about a woman who learns about true love and what makes life worthwhile.


Source:  a gift.  Highly recommended reading.