Lucy is a ghost-hunter in alternate-world London. In this alternate world, ghosts of the dead frequently come back to haunt the living, and only children can see them (though adults can sense them to a certain degree). Ghost-hunting agencies then exist to neutralize ghosts, and Lucy has recently joined Lockwood & Co, run by Anthony Lockwood and his assistant George. While working on a case, Lockwood and Lucy uncover an old murder, and begin to look into the murderer. Meanwhile, they are assigned to work a very dangerous case by a rich old man.

That’s a really crappy description of the book. It doesn’t help that I finished reading this over a week ago, and have had a lot happen in the meantime. Despite the stupid description, though, this was a fun book. I listened to it on audio, and had chills down my arms for much of the book. It reminded me of telling crazy ghost stories with my cousins in the basement as a kid – the way we scared each other silly over them. This would have been perfect RIP material. I rarely find a convincing ghost story, but this one was just brilliantly told.

Beyond that, the story was really well done. Great characters, drawn out convincingly, great world-building. The mystery was fun but also not too complex for children. It made a great middle-grade sort of book without feeling like I was being beaten over the head, which I often feel like with children’s books. I think this would be a great one to read to the boys come autumn.

Audiobook, read by Miranda Raison, is phenomenal.