by Jonathan Stroud

Corgi, out September 21

Thanks to an unexpected visit to the Other Side, and the convoluted advice of a talking skull, our intrepid psychic explorers must break in to the most prestigious tomb in the country, hunting for answers to the epidemic of ghosts known rather quaintly as ‘the Problem’. Instead, they find themselves caught in the eye of a whirling, ruinous conspiracy that ensnares the whole country.

The wool has been unceremoniously ripped from their eyes, and the motley crew of Portland struggle to make sense of the web of fear, lies and remorseless scientific curiosity that spans half a century and is buried deep in London’s most trusted organisations. Naturally, some ridiculously powerful people, dead and alive, are willing to do whatever it takes to stop them. It will take every rapier, magnesium flare and megawatt smile they’ve got just to survive.

From the first chapter of the first book in the Lockwood & Co. series, the threads deftly woven into this final conspiracy have been gathering, yet even the most avid of fans will not have predicted the horrifying picture they create. While it is both colossal and terrifying, the breadcrumb trail that has led Lockwood & Co. to their final challenge has been natural and morbidly believable. Within The Empty Grave and the incredible world he has crafted, Stroud has consistently presented us with a relatable, flawed, yet intensely lovable cast of characters, as well as a hoard of ingenious ghosts, grave-robbers and business execs to plague our thoughts and haunt our nightmares. Fortunately, the reader’s terror is regularly soothed by Stroud’s sharp-witted, deliciously dark humour that runs throughout.

Verdict: An expertly crafted concoction of gut-wrenching fear and side-splitting hilarity, The Empty Grave has left me both bereft of such a beautiful series and cautiously optimistic for a follow up. 9/10

Sophie Simpson