The anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor

John Holdsworth, in the beginning of 1785, was a successful bookseller. Then in a series of unfortunate events, his world spirals downward into despair with the drowning death of his young son, Georgie. Then his poor wife, Maria, who can no longer bear the loss of her son, drowns herself. With the melancholy upon him, John Holdsworth loses his business and his home.
When a proposition to catalog a deceased gentleman’s library is presented, he regards the position with some distrust. Why hire him, when there are others equally qualified? Lady Anne Oldershaw does indeed have an ulterior motive in hiring him. Her son, Frank, while away at college, has seen the ghost of Mrs. Whichcote, which has completely unhinged his mind. John Holdsworth has written a smallish book, “The Anatomy of Ghosts” pointing out that there is no scientific evidence of ghosts. Lady Anne wants Holdsworth to save her only son, Frank and return him to her fully restored to his old self. John Holdsworth, to save Frank, soon realizes that he must find out what really happened to Mrs. Whichcote. Was her death suicide, an accident or was she murdered?
Andrew Taylor has a website: http://www.lydmouth.co.uk/