After Lucy’s sudden departure of Lockwood and Co., she’s been doing well as a freelance operative. When Lockwood shows up at her house to ask for help for a special case, Lucy doesn’t know what to say. But Penelope Fittes wants them, and them alone–and that includes Lucy.

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Why this book?: I’ve been loving this series from the get go, and I couldn’t wait to dive into this one.

While I enjoyed the first three books, the events I wasn’t enjoying in them weren’t going away. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this one because if they were just repeating the same problems as before, than it wasn’t worth it. Also, I didn’t see where Stroud could go with Lockwood & Co. if the original trio was broken up.

WOW, did Stroud shock me.

There was a small time skip between The Hollow Boy and The Creeping Shadow, but this was one of the few time skips that was well placed. More often than not, time skips are unnecessary or annoying, but Stroud developed the past to bring color to the present without overdoing it. Along with that, he heightened the emotions between the characters by continually referencing the events that caused both my anger in The Hollow Boy as well as added to Lucy’s resigning. It was hilarious but also stressful, because it made the story more life-like and realistic. The characters were hurt and bitter, and they acted like humans rather than caricatures.

Stroud seems to be getting a hang of the events of the book better. In the earlier books, I struggled because he tried to connect two events that had no relation, and it just seemed implausible and a rushed job. In this one, though, Stroud actually connected them well. He left hints where the hints needed to be, but held back enough to keep me engrossed. I needed to know how these hints connected, as well as the few hints we had gotten from the earlier books.

And then Stroud wrapped it all up, bringing everything to light, connecting everything that I was questioning earlier. I was so shocked that I ended up staying up way past my bedtime just to listen to the rest of the book. I couldn’t stop reading, because I needed to know what would happen and if things were happening the way it sounded to be happening.

Final Rating: ★★★★★

Overall?

Overall, this was probably the best one of the series (so far). The little hints that Stroud left throughout the earlier books of the series finally accumulated and left me in shock. I’m almost afraid to read the next, because this one left off on such an ominous note. 

Would I Recommend?

Honestly, I would recommend struggling through the first three books just to get to this one. Maybe you’ll enjoy those more than I did, but I definitely believe that the effort Stroud put in to connect these to the over-arching plot was commendable.

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Additional Information:

Published: September 13th, 2017

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Page Count: 464

Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Paranormal

Synopsis: via Goodreads

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. . . .