Whispering SkullBy Jonathan Stroud

Doubleday, out September 25

In this second book in this series following Lockwood & Co. psychic investigation agency, Lucy and George are trying to unravel the mystery of the talking skull in the ghost-jar, but get side-tracked when Lockwood is called to recover a sinister and highly dangerous object stolen from the grave of a mad Victorian doctor. This means having to deal with brutal relic-men, a multitude of malevolent ghosts and a rival team of insufferable agents from the Fittes agency. And, as if that isn’t bad enough, the malicious skull in the ghost-jar is doing its very best to get them all killed.

This book is just as good (if not better) than the previous one in the series – the writing is still superb and the new characters introduced are just as entertaining. The fact that the object was found in an iron coffin (iron being one way to imprison ghosts) leads to questions not only about what has happened to it in the present, but also about what has happened in its past. Having two mysteries in this book (one in the modern-day, one in Victorian times) makes it very interesting.

Another reason that people who have read The Screaming Staircase should read this book is that we find out something about Lockwood’s past; something that will change the way you think about him forever.

Verdict: Another highly entertaining adventure. 9/10

Sophie Simpson

Click here to order The Whispering Skull from Amazon.co.uk

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