The Shadow Cabinet
FlumeAward – The Shadow Cabinet The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson
I’ve read about a quarter of the book and I am enjoying it thus far. I didn’t read the first two so thought I’d try it to see if it stands alone. I’m very interested in what happens to the main characters, but I do have the feeling that there are important parts that I am missing. The story gets by without it but character backgrounds have some holes.
Sylvie – Nesmith PL
According to Library Journal, this one’s a sequel – as Caitlin pointed out, so it’s not a contender.
Gr 9 Up—This latest series installment picks up right after the events in The Madness Underneath (Putnam, 2014)—the leader of the ghost police squad, Stephen, has just died. Rory was holding his hand, believing that her touch could keep his ghost nearby, but it’s nowhere to be found and she’s starting to despair. Then his body disappears. Meanwhile, Rory’s classmate Charlotte has been kidnapped by their shared therapist, Jane, who turns out to have a colorful past as a member of a cult obsessed with the Eleusinian Mysteries, mystic rites that blur the lines between life and death. Johnson introduces new villains and expands her world’s mythology as Rory, Callum, and Boo try to rescue Charlotte, navigate the Stephen situation, and eventually get caught up in saving the world. Enough background is given that the book could work as a stand-alone, but that would mean readers would be denying themselves the pleasure of the first two titles. Heavily laced with humor and genuine creepiness, this well-crafted thriller is a winner.—Stephanie Klose, Library Journal –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Lisa Houde
Rye Public Library
Although I’d been anticipating reading what happened to everyone, especially Stephen, this book didn’t hook me in quite the same way the previous books in the series did.
Three new characters are introduced -Freddie another ghost-seeing girl, and Sid and Sadie, seers from a previous era, upon whom, it seems, the next book in the series, at least, will focus. I didn’t like the twins, and I don’t think I was meant to, but their inclusion may be what makes me lose interest in what was one of my favorite series.
Anyone interested in London, or the folks who can see and manage the ghost population in London, would do best to start with the first book in the series: The Name of the Star. It was wonderful!
Still not sure it’s a stand-alone book, but fans of the series will like it. Also, it really didn’t compare to the first book for me, which, in my mind, makes it Flume-unworthy, regardless of its autonomy, or lack thereof.
-Kirsten Rundquist Corbett, Sandown PL