Book 4 in the Lockwood & Co series. This review will have minor spoilers from previous books but no spoilers from this volume.

So this book begins a few months after the abrupt end of The Hollow Boy. Lucy is coping – somewhat – with her new independence, and her gifts are getting stronger. Several events throw her and the rest of the Lockwood team together again. Darker plots within plots start to come to light.

I don’t know how long this series will continue, if Stroud has a planned finish or will keep going for as long as people are reading. Either way, I’ve loved experiencing each book as they get thicker into this world and the people that inhabit it. The character development, world-building, and politics are excellently written. Everyone – even minor ghosts – have their unique voice. I’m constantly coming up with theories as I read. Some turn out to be right and others are utter garbage. The whole thing is brilliant fun, and I already can’t wait for volume 5.

Can’t say much more than that without giving away giant series spoilers. What I will say is that this is a perfect spooky ghost-story- RIP series, and I’m so happy that whatever random twist of fate led me to it. (I still can’t remember where I first discovered the books.)

Performance: The first three books are each read by different narrators. Emily Bevan, the narrator for book three, reads this one as well. I’ve had a difficult time with the changes, especially because I adored The Screaming Staircase (Miranda Raison) so much. Perhaps I’d be fine with Bevan’s narration if she hadn’t been the third reader of the series, with the third set of different voices for the characters. Because I heard differently in the beginning, the current voices don’t sound right to me. Not saying they’re bad – just that it’s jarring to me after two other narrators. Still, the series is spine-tingling excellent on audio, so I’ll continue it this way even though the current narration isn’t a favorite.