The Meddling Ghosts

Book excerpt: In turns both hilarious and tragic, two worlds collide in The Meddling Ghosts. A cast of inept ghosts, some of them centuries old, and a modern, dysfunctional family, hooked on technology and social media, co-habit Cuckoo House, a former inn. Meet the Berridges: Elaine and Hugh – teetering on the brink of a marriage break-up – and their teenage children, Leah and Jake. Elaine is chronically depressed, and spends most of her time asleep or on Facebook. Hugh has become dependent on alcohol. Leah seeks solace in a perilous online world, Jake on his Xbox. The ghosts – a disparate bunch led by Colonel Pine, who still looks at everything as a military operation – have a mammoth task on their hands to stop the Berridge family from self-destructing. But will their meddling be enough?