The Madness Underneath

January 7, 2013
American-born Rory Deveaux—London schoolgirl by day, hunter of serial-killer ghosts by night—is back in the second installment in Johnson’s Shades of London series. Rory is still recovering from being stabbed by the Ripper ghost at the end of The Name of the Star, while trying to understand her newfound “destroying-the-dead-with-a-single-touch” ability. Despite Rory’s initial skittishness about returning to her London boarding school, she is thrilled to see old friends and her boyfriend, as well as reconnect with Stephen and the rest of the ghost-hunting arm of the London police force. A new murder is committed right off the bat, but the first half of the book is mainly about Rory’s therapy and trauma recovery. While this slows the narrative a tad, Rory’s internal monologue sparkles with the wit that Johnson’s fans (and most of Twitter) will recognize, which is plenty entertaining. The second half will satisfy readers’ craving for what they came for—Rory’s investigation of London’s latest ghost crimes—while laying tragic groundwork for the next book. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, kt literary.

January 1, 2013
A double or triple pun in the title resonates throughout the creepy, clever and ambiguous second volume in the Shades of London series, following The Name of the Star (2011). Aurora--Rory--a Louisiana-bred teen at a boarding school in London while her parents teach in Bristol, is recovering from a stab wound, an encounter with the Ripper and the sudden absence of the Shades, friends who secretly hunt ghosts. Rory narrates in her thoughtful, voluble, acutely aware teen voice: about her boyfriend, Jerome, how he makes her feel and why they break up; about lying to her therapist, her roommate and her teachers; about Stephen, Callum and Boo. They are the Shades, whose job is to prevent ghosts from murdering people. Two more murders occur, and it becomes apparent that the Shades need Rory's own power (she can destroy ghosts with a touch). Rory is lonely and confused, but she also revels in the power she has; her delight is as vivid as her confusion. The story suffers somewhat from a slow beginning, in which readers are brought up to speed from the previous volume, and greatly from a cliffhanger ending that will drive readers up a (ancient, cracked stone) wall with frustration that the next book is not available right now. As always, Johnson wields words with a supple facility that keeps those pages turning. The London minutiae are utterly engaging, the villains satisfyingly weird and numerous. And there is kissing. (Supernatural thriller. 12 & up)

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March 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-This continuation of the series opens as Rory is recovering from a brutal attack by a ghost mimicking Jack the Ripper's grisly murders. She is persuaded by her therapist to leave the family's Bristol home, return to her London boarding school, and resume a normal life. However, life will never again be "normal" for Rory. She discovers that she is a "terminis" and has the ability to permanently extinguish ghosts. The British squad of those with the ability to see ghosts and monitor their activity recruits her help to investigate an unexplained death near campus. It appears that an evil force is moving through the underground, causing death and destruction. The opening chapters bring readers up to date, recapping previous events and characters and, in the process, revealing the plot in The Name of the Star (Putnam, 2011). The action picks up considerably in the final chapters. Readers will remain on the edge of their seats as the leader of a cult that follows the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries drugs and kidnaps Rory, hoping to use her extraordinary powers to defeat death. Johnson's sharp wit is ever-present, and her heroine is the perfect blend of snark and teen anxiety. Rory finds romance, but is it destined to end? Readers will anxiously await the final installment in the series to learn the fate of this Eleusinian cult, and to find out if a girl who can annihilate ghosts has a future with one very hot guy.-Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2012
Grades 8-11 Rory might have escaped death at the hands of a Jack the Ripper copycat in The Name of the Star (2011), but the experience has left her with the skill of a terminus: the ability to dispatch ghosts from our plane of existence. In an attempt to reclaim her former life, Rory returns to boarding school, where she and her friends at a clandestine British government ghost squad stumble upon evidence that the remains of an old psychiatric hospital, right beneath the school, is stirring up otherworldly activity. The propulsive thrills of the Edgar Awardnominated first volume are largely missing here. The hospital idea, a juicy one, never galvanizes into a strong plotline, and Rory's goals as a supernatural operative feel vague. Thankfully, Johnson's handling of the normal problems of teenhoodboys, school, and so onis agile, humorous, and real. Many of Rory's constant jokes fall flat, but, hey, that's realistic, too. The best news? The final 50 pages roar back to life with a turnaround so creepy it bolsters confidence in the next volume of the Shades of London series. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Johnson is one of YA lit's perennial favorites, and an author tour will help keep this series on many must-read lists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)