Lockwood & Co.: The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. (4))

Lockwood & Co.: The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co. (4))

After leaving Lockwood & Co. at the end of The Hollow Boy, Lucy is a freelance operative, hiring herself out to agencies that value her ever-improving skills. One day she is pleasantly surprised by a visit from Lockwood, who tells her he needs a good Listener for a tough assignment. Penelope Fittes, the leader of the giant Fittes Agency wants them--and only them--to locate and remove the Source for the legendary Brixton Cannibal. They succeed in their very dangerous task, but tensions remain high between Lucy and the other agents. Even the skull in the jar talks to her like a jilted lover. What will it take to reunite the team? Black marketeers, an informant ghost, a Spirit Cape that transports the wearer, and mysteries involving Steve Rotwell and Penelope Fittes just may do the trick. But, in a shocking cliffhanger ending, the team learns that someone has been manipulating them all along. . . . Review PRAISE FOR THE HOLLOW BOY *". . .Stroud brings his considerable storytelling skills to bear in this riveting sequel to The Screaming Staircase and The Whispering Skull. . .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."-- Booklist (starred review) PRAISE FOR THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE "Stroud shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action, and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood & Co. invigorates the story (along with no shortage of creepy moments)." -- Publishers Weekly PRAISE FOR THE CREEPING SHADOW "Stroud's scene setting and storytelling are second to none, but it's his ability to create credible, idiosyncratic characters and relationships that creates avid fans of the Lockwood & Co. series."-- Booklist (starred review) PRAISE FOR THE WHISPERING SKULL "Stroud shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action, and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood & Co. invigorates the story (along with no shortage of creepy moments)."-- Publishers Weekly PRAISE FOR THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE "A pleasure from tip to tail, this is the book you hand the advanced readers that claim they'd rather read Paradise Lost than Harry Potter. Smart as a whip, funny, witty, and honestly frightening at times, Stroud lets loose and gives readers exactly what they want. Ghosts, kids on their own without adult supervision, and loads of delicious cookies." -- Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal PRAISE FOR THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE "This story will keep you reading late into the night, but you'll want to leave the lights on. Stroud is a genius at inventing an utterly believable world which is very much like ours, but so creepily different. Put The Screaming Staircase on your 'need to read' list!" -- Rick Riordan PRAISE FOR THE WHISPERING SKULLL *"An occult portal and its spectral guardian nearly cut short the careers of three rising young ghost hunters in this madcap sequel to The Screaming Staircase (2013). For all their internecine squabbling, the three protagonists make a redoubtable team-and their supporting cast, led by the sneering titular skull in a jar, adds color and complications aplenty. Rousing adventures for young tomb robbers and delves into realms better left to the dead." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) About the Author Jonathan Stroud (www.jonathanstroud.com) is the author of four books in the Lockwood & Co. series as well as the New York Times best-selling Bartimaeus books, and the stand-alone titles Heroes of the Valley, The Leap, The Last Siege, and Buried Fire. He lives in England with his wife and three children.