I loved the first Lockwood book but didn't enjoy book 2 quite as much so wasn't sure about continuing the series. I’ll also just mention that Holly is black – which is relevant given the recent awareness of lack of black characters in chidren’s books, and given that all the other major players at Lockwood are white.

Stroud even gives us a definitive time period, when he has a character establish that the Victorian era was "over a century ago.I'm not saying that you have to throw out snarky Ghostbusters jokes every few pages, Stroud, but at least give me something? There's a hint of romance, but I really appreciate it being a slow burn so it doesn't risk being sappy. Lockwood remains adult-like and hard to know; George, clever and kind (in his own rough way); and, in general, all characters keep their essence, though Kipps and his team develop an intriguing, more positive side, and the Skull In The Jar gets more time in the spotlight (Yay! We're at the third installation of what is at least a four-book series, and Jonathan Stroud is finally starting to deviate just a little bit from his established formula.

There are hints here and there that Lucy is starting to lose sight of what's important, and also that Lockwood may not have the team's best interests in mind, but Stroud is either waiting for later books to develop those ideas, or he just couldn't be bothered. On the character treatment side: there’s a new assistant girl at the agency, but, fortunately, there’s no silly love triangle (at least, not outside Lucy’s mind). As a fan of dark humour and horror this book works perfectly for me in both genres, although you don’t need to love horror to enjoy it as it is such a great adventure.There are some great action sequences (including a haunted house with a giant open stairwell that extends from the basement all the way to the attic, and a high-stakes chase scene at a parade - this series is just begging for a film adaptation, and I think it could also make a decent TV series), the ghosts and hauntings remain genuinely scary, and the dialogue is still clever and snarky as hell. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.