The Whispering Skull — I kinda love the skull-jar

Howdy! I’ve been binging the Lockwood and Co. books lately, and as of writing this I’ve just finished #3 (and looking forward to the rest).

Book 2 in the series, The Whispering Skull, ramps up a lot of the things the first book set down, running with them in some really clever ways. We once again are back in the mind of Miss Lucy Carlyle, now having to grapple with her ever-evolving powers.

She and her friends have to battle new problems, and in doing so, resist new enemies. They have a close brush with the London underworld, do some questionable auction-browsing, and manage to not only piss off the already-angry spirits they cross, but the living as well. Lucy and her group both clash and combine arms with several other groups (some rival agents, some shady folks) before several close-cut brawls and an eerie (but really cool) climax draws everything to a temporary close. As always, I’m trying to avoid spoiling this book, as I feel it’s best experienced on your own terms.

Some light spoilers here———————————————————

I absolutely love the dynamic between Lucy and the obnoxious ghost she starts toting around. They two hate each other, but the banter within that hate is genuinely so enjoyable to read. The ghost egging her on while she’s two steps from dying is particularly funny to me.

Spoilers end here——————————————————————

If you get a chance to read this book, do it! If you’ve read the first one and were unsure of how it would continue, give it a shot! I’m loving this series so far. I’ll be talking about Book 3: The Hollow Bow quite soon. Until then!