Captain Daniel Gregg is the sea captain ghost of Gull Cottage. When the widowed Lucy Muir decides to get away from her meddling in-laws, she has to deal with a very cranky (but sexy!) ghost while navigating life and love.

Captain Gregg is very, very well done in the book. His harshness and brutal honesty combined with his inner softness is fantastic, making him a great character to spend time with. He meddles more in the book, but that serves to make him even more fun. Plus, he's there a lot more than he is in the movie!

Lucy is a little more gullible and annoying in the book than she is in the movie, but still extremely likeable. I wanted to slap her while she was having her affair with Miles Fairley (who is a rather different person in the book- still slimy and foul, but worse), but I was so pleased she came to her senses rather quickly! I love her sustained desire for independence, even though she is tested by both Miles and her in-laws.

Another addition to the book is Lucy's son, Cyril, who is as dry as a nun's... you know. I was glad he was omitted from the film, as he would have just been too much to deal with. For the purposes of the book, he worked to complicate matters and cause friction, which helped to drive the plot along.

Overall, this book was quick and fun to read. It's not amazingly written and you can see why it spent time out of print, but it's not bad. The characterisation is perfect but the writing lets it down a little. I still prefer the movie, but I'm very glad to have finally got to read the book that began it all!