Nick of Time by Casey Claybourne is the ninth book in the continuing Time Passages series published by Jove/Putnam Berkley and though the cover may have changed from the familiar layout the content is still of the same high standard.

Detective Nick daCosta is chasing a lead in England as he fights to clear his name after a sting operation went wrong and put his partner Chris in a coma.
 

On receiving the news that Chris is not going to hang on for much longer he races to return to the United States.  But in his hurry he takes a wrong turn and finds himself in a head on collision with some cemetery gates and a headstone dated 1810 marking the grave of a Godfrey Woodbaine.

As his body is burned and battered Nick finds himself conversing with the spirit of Chris, who informs him that his time has not arrived and he is being given another chance.  No one happens to mention to him that his other chance lies in the body of Godfrey Woodbaine who was thrown from his horse near the cliffs of Dover.

Rescued by Godfrey's wife, Nick feels that he must have some mission to complete in the past and decides that restoring Godfrey and Anna's marriage could very well be that task.  Having messed up his own marriage he believes that he must atone for his sins by repairing this one before he can return to his own time.

But Anna's marriage to Godfrey is in a worse state than he could ever have imagined and as he delves into the secrets of their past Nick will need all his detective skills to discover the terrifying truth.

And as the truth comes to light Nick begins to question whether he can allow Godfrey to return to his own life or should he find a way to remain with Anna himself.

But as Nick's body in the future begins to heal with Godfrey inside Nick is torn between letting Godfrey near his family or letting him return to Anna.  Neither option is one he would want but he cannot avoid making a decision.

Added to all this is the problem of Godfrey who knows exactly where he wants to be - he wants to return to the past and nothing Nick can do can stop Godfrey from trying to reclaim his body.

With a unusual twist at the ending it is clear that Casey Claybourne can write time travel romances just as well as her ghostly romances.

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Also by Casey Claybourne:  A Ghost of a Chance and A Spirited Seduction

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