Nixie is not too happy to see Jed, who she believes is just some two bit con man. But her kind-hearted family immediately welcomes him with open arms. Nixie’s father is a doctor who has big dreams. The local mineral water could draw hundreds of visitors, if only there was a local inn to house them all. Jed agrees to stay on and finish the doctor’s Willkommen Inn.

Nixie is horrified to learn that Jed will be staying on, and even more upset that he’s fueling her father’s dreams. To make matters worse, she finds herself attracted to this man. A man she believes that could never settle down because the traveling life is in his blood.

Caesar Hawkins may be dead, but he isn’t blind. He sees the attraction between Jed and Nixie and is determined to help the relationship along. Of course, Jed and Nixie are fighting him every step of the way, but Caesar was never a man to give up. He’s determined to help his son find happiness.

But it isn’t easy. Nixie has some past pain that she isn’t sharing with anyone, let alone a rambling man like Jed. She is determined to push him away at every turn. Will Jed melt Nixie’s icy exterior? Will Nixie forget the past and learn to trust Jed?

Great Caesar’s Ghost is a nice story with largely character driven conflict. The main source of conflict is Nixie’s past experiences and her inability to get over them. There’s also the issue of Jed’s traveling lifestyle and his dead father’s ghost floating around and causing trouble.

Nixie’s attitude does get tiresome rather quickly. We all know the song and dance: she had some bad experiences with men and therefore all men are scum of the earth and can’t be trusted. She spends more time cooing with her pet bird, Sweet William, than she does getting to know Jed. But then why does she have to get to know him? Aren’t all traveling men cons out to cheat women out of their skirts and hearts? She doesn’t really give Jed a chance to prove himself and show her that her opinions are dead wrong.

What kept me going through this book was Jed Hawkins -- devilishly handsome, charming and totally irresistible. I also found myself feeling sorry for him. He’s a great guy, but he’s hopelessly chasing after a woman who keeps pushing him away and dealing with his father’s ghost that keeps treating him like a child.

Caesar’s misguided antics designed to bring Nixie and Jed together add some light humor to the story, especially since his actions tend to affect the secondary characters. There are quite a few of them, mostly vacationers benefiting from the local mineral water.

I did enjoy Great Caesar’s Ghost on several levels, and Sterling does a nice job of mixing the elements of historical and ghost romance to strike a good balance. But Nixie’s attitude that all men are the spawn of the devil dampened my enjoyment.

--Wendy Crutcher