At the Sign of the Jack O'lantern

Newlyweds Dorothy and Harlan Carr arrive at their inherited country home full of hope: Harlan will write his novel in peace, Dorothy will tend her farm. What they find is Uncle Ebeneezer's mansion, full of quirks, drafts, and something far stranger. Dorothy is certain the old man's portrait follows her with his eyes. A woman who resembles a character from Harlan's unpublished manuscript appears on their doorstep. Eccentric relatives descend, claiming inheritance, while the superstitious housekeeper whispers about a cat that may have returned from the dead. Beneath the house's decaying grandeur lies a mystery: Uncle Ebeneezer's hidden treasure and a scheme for revenge from beyond the grave. What begins as a hopeful fresh start becomes a delightful nightmare of mistaken identities, mounting suspicion, and the peculiar terror of trying to make a home where the past refuses to stay buried. Reed writes with tongue-in-cheek wit and keen observation about the anxieties of early married life, wrapping genuine suspense in the warm blanket of turn-of-the-century domestic comedy.