Lockwood and Co 4: The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud

Summary from 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. . . .

Review:

It’ been a while since I’ve written a book review. I’ve been focusing on my work and my art. But, considering how I’m moving again in just over a month, I need to get some reviews out, so I can start packing my books away again! It’ been a while since I read this book, so my mind is a tiny bit foggy on the finer details. I know I LOVED it. I honestly think this is one of my all time favorite middle grade series.

I remember being a little hesitant to start reading this book because Lucy branches out on her own…And so much of the magic in these books stems from the relationships between the characters.  However, this thankfully does not last long. And believe it or not the character with the most guilt trips for Lucy’s leaving is not Lockwood; it’s George! I love Lucy and George’s friendship so much. This book definitely had a strong focus on friendship and the bonds between all of the characters, and I was all for it. It reunites Lucy with her chosen family. It solidifies Holly as part of their team. And the skull becomes one of Lucy’s closest allies whether she wants to admit it or not.  Okay, I guess the details are mostly coming back to me…

I don’t remember a ton of the details about the ghost story/mystery plot. I do know the Fittes Agency got Lucy back involved with the team. And I remember the ending to this one. I wish I could say I was shocked by it, but I had my suspicions for a while about a whole bunch of things. Let’s just say I’m glad the characters are all more in the know by the end of this book, and it’s literally impossible not to jump from this book to the last one if you have them all in your possession.

This book was great for character development. It was was good for much needed answers. It was definitely great for setting up the plot for the final installment. I remember flying through this book despite being a little nervous about it. All in all I give it a 9/10.