With Lockwood & Co.’s recent success, they’re now overworked, and being constantly separated on jobs to make sure they all get done. When Lockwood and George hire a new assistant, Holly, without Lucy’s opinion, bad blood begins to boil. Even worse, a new outbreak is stretching all agencies to the max, and there is no end in sight.
Why this book?: I’ve been enjoying the series. The audiobooks are amazing as well, so lets hope this one is just as good.
If you’ve been following my reviews for this series, you might realize that, while these books are enjoyable, there has always been something I struggled with. Mainly plot structure and the combination of two coinciding plots. I’ll be upfront with this one, though: I struggled the most with The Hollow Boy than with the other two books of this series. Here’s why.
I knew that there was something going on between Lucy and Lockwood–Stroud makes that very obvious. Considering this was the third book, and with the big reveal at the end of the previous book, I figured something had to happen soon to shake things up with them. So when Holly Munro was introduced, it was fairly obvious what was about to happen. Sure, I got maybe three pages to prepare myself, but it was still annoying as fuck. Holly Munro, as a character, was brilliant. I really liked her, especially the fact that she was a POC in a series that was, so far, very white. She was complex, and very different compared to Lucy. Holly Munro as a plot device, though, made me want to wring her neck, and Lucy’s too.
Holly Munro was created and inserted into this series solely so Lucy could think she wanted to get inbetween her and Lockwood.
Lucy and Holly rarely had a civil conversation, mainly stemming from Lucy thinking Holly was trying to take Lockwood from her. It was annoying as all hell, and completely unnecessary! Like I said earlier, Holly herself was an amazing addition to this series, and I love her. I hate how Stroud used her character just to stir things up with Lucy and create some friction within Lockwood & Co..
Coming off from that, I still struggled with Stroud’s attempt at connecting small problems with a larger, later-tackled problem. The beginning of the novel was just Lockwood & Co. struggling with small time jobs while a big one raged in the background. It wasn’t until the middle of the book that the actual, main problem was brought head-on. It just felt like the beginning of the book was unnecessary, because the only thing that happened was Lucy arguing with Holly.
Final Rating: ★★★★☆
Overall?
Considering the complaining that I did earlier, I will say this: the story was still a solid, enjoyable story, and we got a lot more hints and evidence of something larger going on. The mystery that seems to be weaving this whole series together is very enthralling, and the way that it made a big appearance in this one was very shocking. I can’t wait to read the next one, mainly because I just want to find out where else this will go.
Also, THAT ENDING.
Would I Recommend?
Yea!! This series has it’s ups and downs, but ultimately I really enjoy it. I’ve already zoomed through the next one (The Creeping Shadow) and can tell you this: it gets better.
Additional Information:
Published: September 15th, 2015
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Page Count: 400
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Paranormal
Synopsis: via Goodreads
As a massive outbreak of supernatural Visitors baffles Scotland Yard and causes protests throughout London, Lockwood & Co. continue to demonstrate their effectiveness in exterminating spirits. Anthony Lockwood is dashing, George insightful, and Lucy dynamic, while the skull in the jar utters sardonic advice from the sidelines. There is a new spirit of openness in the team now that Lockwood has shared some of his childhood secrets, and Lucy is feeling more and more as if her true home is at Portland Row. It comes as a great shock, then, when Lockwood and George introduce her to an annoyingly perky and hyper-efficient new assistant, Holly Munro.
Meanwhile, there are reports of many new hauntings, including a house where bloody footprints are appearing, and a department store full of strange sounds and shadowy figures. But ghosts seem to be the least of Lockwood & Co.’s concerns when assassins attack during a carnival in the center of the city. Can the team get past their personal issues to save the day on all fronts, or will bad feelings attract yet more trouble?
Danger abounds, tensions escalate, and new loyalties form in this third delightfully terrifying adventure in the critically acclaimed Lockwood & Co. series.