Superb characterisation makes Stroud's LOCKWOOD series one of the best out there. Ideal for older middle grade readers who don't mind a bit of spooky horror, all wrapped in a well crafted mystery. The ghosts-walk-among-us world Stroud built early in the series maintains its intrigue right through this book, and I can't wait for the next in the series.

The Creeping Shadow opens with Lucy doing ghost-work on her own, finding her role in ghost-busting less than satisfying.  All those inept supervisors who want to micromanager her.  Luckily for her, her extreme talents are in demand, and she joins her old team for the case of the Brixton Cannibal.

This fourth book in the series is more than ghoulish, ghostly, and things that go bump in the night.  This is Silence of the Lambs territory, and I had to stop reading after tea-time, knowing I'd have nightmares if I carried on.  It's not just that it's a cannibal of a ghost, it's the detail. Maybe kids today have stronger minds than me.  I would seriously recommend any parent whose kids loved the first 3 to make sure they read this one first.  

After we dispose of said cannibal, the story rocks on to what I would describe as 'normal' territory in ghost hunting.  And 'rocks on' is the best I can think of - in a good way!  The story is atmospheric, detailed, clue-ridden, tense and exciting, just as you expect from this excellent series.

Despite the lapse in taste , The Creeping Shadow is an excellent read, well worthy of the series, and takes us on to the next Lockwood & Co book with a tantalising revelation in the last scene.  Not really a cliffhanger... just an entree!

The new Lockwood book is something I always eagerly anticipate. I have been reading Stroud since The Amulet of Samarkand for his witty repartee and darkly sinister plots_ a sort of comic Mervyn Peake.

Plotwise this adds more political intrigue as one of the renowned agencies gets involved in questionable events and there is a major plot twist about a character.

There are tensions in the relationships between Lucy and the agents of Lockwood and Co. There is also the usual funny banter.

Best of all is the Skull in the Jar who wants to be Lucy's new partner ! HIs one liners are like those of the sarcastic Bartimaeus in The Bartimaeus books.
A spine tingling read balanced with wit and humour. Another winner for Stroud . I can't wait for the sequence finale!

I love these books. Even though they stop me sleeping sometimes, it's worth a bit of a scare to read the beautiful writing and adventures that Lockwood & co. partake in. I love the relationships between the teammates the best. The way they fit together as an oddball family with their thinking cloth and addiction to cake. They're quirky and work well together and the addition of Holly hasn't changed that.

I loved the way that Lucy came back to the team as well. The way that she insists that she's not really back while helping them with cases, even though it's obvious right from the start that she's going to go back to them. Because what is Lockwood & Co. without Lucy?

I also missed the sarcasm of the skull. As much as Lockwood & Co. isn't Lockwood & Co. without Lucy, it also lacks a lot without the skull's sarcasm. The time without it changed the feel of the book a lot. That was really the only downside to this book though. I enjoyed it just as much as the others.

This is a fantastic young adult mystery solving book i loved it ive read all jonathons lockwood and co books i love them and this one was no exception brilliant writing.

Fortunately the fourth part is not only about Lucy’s permanent wailing: our main heroine peacefully returns to Lockwood & Co, and they are fighting together against ghosts and evil people as well.

At the end of the latest part Lucy left Lockwood’s team and became a freelance agent, so the beginning of the book is about the beauty of being a freelancer. She can freely pick up the good jobs and she can select his partners too, but obviously one is worse than the other. But her senses are evolving: her hearing is sharpened and she can feel the ghosts’ feelings better and better.

Not much time elapses while Lockwood knocks on Lucy’s door… The author’s humor is the usual: Lucy’s underwear is in a transparent pack on the doorstep, her room is in a mess, and she is scruffy and sleepy… Lockwood asks her to join his team again for only one job, which is ordered by the powerful Penelope Fittes, and she obviously agrees.

From this point, there’s not so much novelty in the book, but the author successfully refreshed the story lines with interesting new details. Illegal traders steal the skull from Lucy, so Lockwood & Co goes out again to an illegal auction to get it back. Great new places are introduced: underground train stations, and later a rural village, where they are asked to explore the Rotwell agency’s research center. The biggest enemies are not the ghosts, but the humans, as usual, but at least Lucy now gets along very well with Holly, and in a very frightening moment Lockwood even holds her hands! There’s a new team member too, Kipps joins the team, who is more than 20 years old, but he can see the ghosts with special eyeglasses. They discover new, exciting things about the world of the ghosts as well, and they have amazing adventures again.

The end of the book is an extraordinary cliffhanger about the living and the dead – it’s hard to wait until the next part will be published and this new discovery will be explained…

This is hands down my favorite book of the series yet. I probably say that about every book in this series so I don't know how reliable I still am at this point. But we have truly reached a new peak with The Creeping Shadow because plotwise and worldbuilding-wise we have learned many new things in this book, things I am so excited to see unfold in the next book.

I truly enjoyed to be once again united with Lucy, Lockwood, George, the skull and Holly (I liked her in the third book where Lucy was kind of a bitch). They are a funny group and it's always fun to accompany them on their adventures. And, boy, do they have adventures in this book. Un. Believable.

With all the revelations in this book I very much look forward to the next book which will be published in fall 2017 and which will also, alas, be the final book of the series. I am sad that I will have to say farewell to this lovely group of characters but we get to experience the hopefully epic conclusion and for that I am excited.