The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) by Maureen Johnson

Publication: February 10, 2015

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Source: Bought/Own

The thrilling third installment to the Edgar-nominated, bestselling series. Rory and her friends are reeling from a series of sudden and tragic events. While racked with grief, Rory tries to determine if she acted in time to save a member of the squad. If she did, how do you find a ghost? Also, Rory’s classmate Charlotte has been kidnapped by Jane and her nefarious organization. Evidence is uncovered of a forty-year-old cult, ten missing teenagers, and a likely mass murder. Everything indicates that Charlotte’s in danger, and it seems that something much bigger and much more terrible is coming. Time is running out as Rory fights to find her friends and the ghost squad struggles to stop Jane from unleashing her spectral nightmare on the entire city. In the process, they'll discover the existence of an organization that underpins London itself—and Rory will learn that someone she trusts has been keeping a tremendous secret.

The Shadow Cabinet is the third book the Shades of London series. I was very anxious to see how things would play out with this one.

***HUGE SPOILER BELOW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE SECOND BOOK!!!***

I didn’t really like how the second book ended. Stephen dying really through me for a loop and I did not see it coming. I kept thinking, how could she end it like that?!??  So when The Shadow Cabinet begins, it basically picks up pretty much where the story ended in book two. Everyone is in the hospital with Stephen, mourning over his loss when Rory makes a desperate attempt to bring back him as a ghost.  Not to mention Rory’s classmate is still missing and she is possibly in danger.  

Because of everything that has happened to Rory, her and the team are secluded; more so Rory than anyone else. Callum and Boo attempt to go around town to see if what Rory did actually worked and Stephen became a ghost. Rory is not one to wait around wringing her hands, so naturally she goes out and tries to find some answers for herself.  Which leads to some interesting and unexpected results.

The Shadow Cabinet starts off a little slow for me.  Nothing  major seemed to happen until almost halfway through the book. It wasn’t a struggle to get through the book though. I wanted to see how things resolved and find out the why behind them. 

This wasn’t my favorite book out of the trio….The Madness Underneath is my favorite, but The Shadow Cabinet was still enjoyable. I am curious what exactly this mysterious groups needs from Rory and how major a part she will play in it. And  what is up with those weird and creepy twins? I was curious, but never a big fan of stories involving ghosts and people seeing ghosts before, however Maureen Johnson has made me one. I am looking forward to her announcement of book four.

RATING: 3½ out of 5.

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The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) by Maureen Johnson

Publication: February 26, 2013
Publisher: Speak / Penguin Group
Source: Bought/Own

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Deveaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades--the city's secret ghost-fighting police--are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late. In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated THE NAME OF THE STAR, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spectacularly gruesome details to the streets of London that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

So Rory is back at home with her parents, trying to come to terms with what happened to her with the whole Ripper thing. But that’s not going so well for her at the moment. Because of the contract she signed, she can’t discuss what happened to her. Though it’s likely they wouldn’t believe her if she did tell them anyways, but still.  One day when she is out around town, she spots a ghost and tries to talk to him, but ends up making him disappear when she touches him...sending him into oblivion...She has become a terminus.

Stephen ends up discovering what she can do, and he pulls strings to get her to come back to boarding school. Once there, Rory begins investigating a string of murders that she believes to be connected, which leads her to some unusual situations and suspicious characters.

Because I liked The Name of the Star so much, I was really hoping to love The Madness Underneath. Unfortunately I did not like it as much as the first book, but I did enjoy reading it. It felt like it took a really long time for the story to pick up and for things to happen. I did like the surprises that popped up throughout the story. The one thing I wasn’t so keen on? That ending. I don’t want to say what happened and spoil it for those who have not read it yet, but I really wish things would have turned out a little differently. That being said, I am curious to see how everything plays out in The Shadow Cabinet; the third book in the series.

RATING: 3 out of 5.

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Waiting on Wednesday #38

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine. The goal is to spotlight upcoming books that I am super excited for.

This week I am waiting on The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) by Maureen Johnson.

Publication: February 10, 2015

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

The thrilling third installment to the Edgar-nominated, bestselling series Rory and her friends are reeling from a series of sudden and tragic events. While racked with grief, Rory tries to determine if she acted in time to save a member of the squad. If she did, how do you find a ghost? Also, Rory’s classmate Charlotte has been kidnapped by Jane and her nefarious organization. Evidence is uncovered of a forty-year-old cult, ten missing teenagers, and a likely mass murder. Everything indicates that Charlotte’s in danger, and it seems that something much bigger and much more terrible is coming. Time is running out as Rory fights to find her friends and the ghost squad struggles to stop Jane from unleashing her spectral nightmare on the entire city. In the process, they’ll discover the existence of an organization that underpins London itself—and Rory will learn that someone she trusts has been keeping a tremendous secret.

What is on your radar for this week???

The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1) by Maureen Johnson

Publication: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Speak / Penguin

Source: Bought

Jack the Ripper is back, and he's coming for Rory next.... Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

Rory is for the first time in her life own her own at a private boarding school in London. A long way from her home in Louisiana. She wants to experience something different, but I’m pretty sure nearly choking to death and developing the ability to see ghosts was not included in her plans. After she accidentally places herself in the path of a sick and twisted killer, she must learn how to stay one step ahead of him.

I loved the interactions Rory had with her roommates Jazza and Boo. There was a nice a mount of humor peppered throughout the story. Rory was smart and funny. There wasn’t any of that mean girls, high school drama happening in this story which I really appreciated.  

I love a good murder mystery and this book had been on my TBR list for a while. That has always been a fascinating case to me. Jack the Ripper. How he was able to commit several murders and was never caught. I think the Jack the Ripper case is something that even 50 years from now people will still find interesting. The premise of this book sounded really intriguing to me when I first heard it and I thought the author was creating a unique spin on the whole Jack the Ripper phenomenon.

There are ghosts, fun roommates, cute boys, kissing, weird secret police, and of course a killer. I wasn’t always on the edge of my seat while reading this book, but it did keep my interest. Once I got past the half-way mark things started picking up a little, and all I wanted to do was keep reading page after page until I finished the whole book and it was well past midnight. And that’s exactly what I did. The ending left me curious about what was to come in book two, The Madness Underneath, which is already out.

RATING: 3½ out of 5.

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