I'm finally getting caught up on book reviews. I finished the latest in the Lockwood and Co. books just after Halloween and it was a a great listen. While waiting for my credit I re-listened to The Screaming Staircase and was reminded how much I enjoyed Stoud's writing. Here is a link for Audible's page for the book. The book was narrated by Katie Lyons again and while some of the characters sounded just a little different than before, it was well done. While the first book put our characters in danger from spectral horrors this book threw them into more conventional dangers and villains. There were still specters to worry about, but we also learned about other dangers of being an Agent. The world was expanded more with additional mysteries revealed that they were not able to solve and the book has what might be considered a cliffhanger, but not in terms of the story at hand. Overall I enjoyed it and the way our heroes overcame the challenges before them.
Plot: Lockwood and Co have been doing good business since the last book. However the resources at the hands of the big agencies, Fittes and Rockwell just to name two, has been taking a toll. After a mission goes bad and they are rescued by Quill Kipps and his crew a challenge is issued - the next time they go head to head in a case the loser publicly praises the winner by taking out an ad in the Times. The opportunity comes earlier than they think when an artifact goes missing from a recent haunting. An artifact that may contain the secrets of the world beyond, but that has killed everyone that has tried to use it. DEPRAC has officially hired Lockwood and Co and brought Kipps and his team in to solve the case together. Together isn't happening because the competition is on. Lockwood, George, and Lucy must out smart, out research, and out sense the other agents before the artifact hits the public. They do have an edge though. Somehow, someway, they have a person on the inside. George's skull-in-a-jar has started talking to Lucy again and has told them some things about the artifact that are useful. However, it has also given cause to question Anthony Lockwood's trustworthiness. Who will win and what will it cost them?
My personal favorites: Lockwood, George, and Lucy remain great characters and the world they live in is opened to us. We get to see some of the other side of The Problem, not just the agents, but their antithesis. We get to see how agents fair against non-ghosts. The interactions with the skull were interesting as well - trying to figure out what it said that could be true and when it was messing with our characters. The competition between Kipps and Lockwood was fun, if somewhat detrimental to the overall case.
Considerations: Like the first book there are some tense moments that could be frightening for some. There is also a little language, but nothing inappropriate for a YA audience. Overall, there isn't anything that would cause me not to recommend this book to people who like reading old ghost stories.
As I mentioned earlier, the book does end with a bit of a cliffhanger and with questions unanswered. Stroud does a good job at getting us to look forward to the next book. If he is consistent in his writing schedule these books may become a Halloween tradition. The overall length was 11 and half hours.
My personal favorites: Lockwood, George, and Lucy remain great characters and the world they live in is opened to us. We get to see some of the other side of The Problem, not just the agents, but their antithesis. We get to see how agents fair against non-ghosts. The interactions with the skull were interesting as well - trying to figure out what it said that could be true and when it was messing with our characters. The competition between Kipps and Lockwood was fun, if somewhat detrimental to the overall case.
Considerations: Like the first book there are some tense moments that could be frightening for some. There is also a little language, but nothing inappropriate for a YA audience. Overall, there isn't anything that would cause me not to recommend this book to people who like reading old ghost stories.
As I mentioned earlier, the book does end with a bit of a cliffhanger and with questions unanswered. Stroud does a good job at getting us to look forward to the next book. If he is consistent in his writing schedule these books may become a Halloween tradition. The overall length was 11 and half hours.
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