The Creeping Shadow

Starred review from October 15, 2016
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Though Lucy's making a go of it as a freelance psychic investigator, when Lockwood knocks on her door, asking for help with a case, she's willing to work with the old firm again. Their tasks escalate from eradicating the ghost of a cannibalistic Londoner to descending, unarmed, into a den of brutal thugs and thieves. Soon the four young Lockwood agents stumble upon their most alarming and momentous challenge yet. Dispatching a vicious ghost is one thing, but uncovering a vast scheme of calculated evildoing is quite another. While the novel's epic climax will please any lover of chills, thrills, and explosions, the simultaneous conversational counterpoint is not to be missed. A revelation in the concluding pages will leave readers wondering what dark secret lies behind the plague of spirits terrorizing England for 50 years. The wry first-person narrative is a pleasure, relating the story with an impeccable, understated sense of drama. Appearing at chapter headings, Adams' dark, richly atmospheric, and often ghostly vignette drawings can make even a sandwich look downright sinister. Stroud's scene setting and storytelling are second to none, but it's his ability to create credible, idiosyncratic characters and relationships that makes avid fans of the Lockwood & Co. series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)