The Hollow Boy

Starred review from December 1, 2015

Gr 5-8-As in the previous volumes, The Screaming Staircase (2013) and The Whispering Skull (2014, both Disney-Hyperion), the latest escapades of Lockwood and Co., a ghost-hunting agency staffed by the crack team of Anthony Lockwood, George Cubbins, and Lucy Carlyle, start with a hair-raising scene of murder, mayhem, and ghostly apparitions. Narrator Lucy finds herself on shaky ground as her ability to speak to ghosts grows ever more powerful and more dangerous, while changes to the agency in the form of a tidy, Type A assistant named Holly Munroe seem to spell doom for Lucy's future with the company. Meanwhile, The Problem grows exponentially worse and a fading, famous department store holds more horrors than Lucy has ever seen. A series of disturbing discoveries, building on revelations in the earlier books, make it clear that there is a more malevolent human force than The Problem at work in London, and Lucy, George, and Lockwood are drawing ever closer to its source. As always, the descriptions of the hauntings are genuinely frightening, especially that of a spindly, humanoid creature that crawls on all fours and whispers Lucy's name. VERDICT. Fans of the series will anxiously await Lockwood and Co.'s spine-tingling adventures in the next installment.-Elisabeth Gattullo Marrocolla, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2015
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* In the latest captivating volume of the Lockwood & Co. series, a new ghostly threat has forced officials to evacuate London's most afflicted area, which is now swarming with psychic investigators as well as apparitions. Lucy, one of the three intrepid investigators at her firm, returns early from a holiday to find that an administrative assistant named Holly was hired in her absence. She takes an instant dislike to the attractive, highly efficient, and now firmly ensconced newcomer, whose presence both Lockwood and George clearly enjoy. When a crisis takes all four to the center of London's worst paranormal disturbance, Lucy struggles to control her feelings, which the supernatural entity uses to magnify its fearsome, destructive powers. From the banter among the young associates at Lockwood & Co. and the flaring of unruly emotions to the well-choreographed fight scenes involving monstrous spirits, Stroud brings his considerable storytelling skills to bear in this riveting sequel to The Screaming Staircase (2013) and The Whispering Skull (2014). Written from Lucy's point of view, the narrative has excellent pacing, fine descriptive passages, and a wry sense of humor. An unexpected development at the story's end will leave fans wildly impatient for volume four.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2016
Lucy Carlyle, psychic investigator at the independent teenage agency Lockwood & Co. ( I make my living destroying the risen spirits of the restless dead ), is back in her third adventure. As in previous series entries set in a ghost-infested alternate London (The Screaming Staircase, rev. 9/13; The Whispering Skull), Stroud masterfully balances thrilling action scenes of perilous encounters with more introspective character development, as Lucy (in her tart yet vulnerable first-person voice) establishes herself as an operative and feels out her relationship with the enigmatic but attractive Anthony Lockwood. Although this book meanders at the start, it quickly gathers steam and focus, and tension builds as the agency finds itself at the center of an investigation into a major outbreak in Chelsea. Meanwhile, Lucy is disgruntled and off-balance after Lockwood hires a new member of the team: the infuriatingly perfect, efficient, and feminine Holly Munro. Fortunately, Stroud moves beyond the potentially trite jealousy theme to dig deeper into mysteries of Lockwood's past and future, and the book ends on a completely unexpected yet true-to-Lucy cliffhanger. Readers are once again treated to inventive world-building, memorable characters, and edge-of-your-seat pacingwith dashes of sardonic humor (cue the skull in the jar) and signature snacks (cue the cheap sausage rolls, bacon-flavored chips, and chocolate fudge cake). martha v. parravano

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)