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

Hello! I’ve been reading Maureen Johnson’s Shades of London series since book one, The Name of the Star hit UK shelves back in 2011. I was emotionally devastated by how she chose to end The Madness Underneath – book two in the series, and so I awaited the arrival of book 3 with bated breath. The story of American exchange student Rory and her ability to see the dead has been one of my favourite YA series for ages, and it’s one of the rare supernatural series in the Teen market to not include generic forbidden romance and other clichés. When The Shadow Cabinet finally arrived in my shop, it didn’t even hit the shelves, I bought it right away… Perks of the job, after all.

Bless Hot Key for keeping the jacket pattern going, even though this is their first published.

WARNING. This is the THIRD BOOK in the Shades of London series, and so my review will contain some spoilers for the first two books. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The Shadow Cabinet picks up exactly where The Madness Underneath left off, with the supernatural police squad of Stephen, Callum and Boo shattered and lost. They may have rescued Rory from the clutches of the nefarious therapist turned occultist Jane, but at what cost? And they still have no idea what Jane’s end game is, or where Rory’s missing schoolmate Charlotte is. With their leader Stephen trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead, the squad have no direction and no leads. Under the instruction of their direct superior, the elusive and ever professional Thorpe, Rory and the squad decide the best course of action is the most immediate one – track down Charlotte and find out what Jane has in mind that she’s willing to drug and kidnap school students to achieve. As the team begin to unravel the trail left behind, they stumble upon a thirst for power and knowledge older than them, older than civilization itself, stretching back to the very beginning of humanity when the worlds of the living and the dead and the magic that weaves between them were better understood. They stumble upon the legend of Sid and Sadie and the murders they committed to try and live forever, only to be trapped in the in between of the worlds, and eventually they realise what Jane plans to do… And the dire consequences that it will have not just on London, but on the world. But it might also offer the only chance to save Stephen from his fate too. Sometimes the biggest victories require equally big losses.

Book one, the Ripper themed The Name of the Star.

Once again, Maureen has managed to perfectly blend a feeling of sticky, oppressive southern American gothic atmosphere with a chilling, ancient and dour English one, creating a unique feeling in the Shades of London universe that oozes with melancholy. At the centre of all this is the series main protagonist, Rory, who is back on perfect form with her mix of sarcastic humour and passionately emotionally driven behaviour. She’s a girl who thinks and acts with her heart, and it leads to some dark, but ultimately necessary places. One of the main things I love about these books is the way Rory relates to the strange, ghostly English world around her using anecdotes and flashbacks to her Louisiana childhood, which includes big, brash and eccentric family members that she recalls with a fondness that always makes me smile. All the old favourites from the first two books are back, much like the start of a new season of a TV show you look forward to so much. I think I’d have liked more from Callum and Boo, but I think their absence lends The Shadow Cabinet it’s broken and desperately lost feeling. The new editions to the cast are fantastic though, with the enthusiastic and staggeringly knowledgeable Freddie being a great breath of fresh air into the downbeat and dejected characters. Sid and Sadie shine through though, for me – they’re the epitome of Crowley inspired occultism, all dreamlike spirituality with an unspoken undercurrent of menace and a lethal streak that comes out with sudden unexpected bursts of violence.

Book two, the emotionally devastating The Madness Underneath.

I loved the way the plot opened straight up into the driven climactic chaos of book 2’s ending, before losing momentum and choosing to give way to an almost dreamlike shift in tone, completely derailing the reader and creating a great sense of unease despite with the unexpected path change towards the unknown. It allows the book to study the main characters of Rory and Stephen in a separate environment, where the focus is very much on them, before ripping them back into the urgency and harsh nature of reality, building up the tension and action once more for a brief climax – perhaps too brief? I wanted more, but then I always do. Maureen also begins to touch upon the more ancient mythology of the Shades series, moving towards Greek mythology and some esoteric, unknowable ancient evil that I always love, and I look forward to it being a bigger focus of the next book.

Speaking of the next book… When, erm… When could we expect it? I need it because reasons.

Thanks for Reading!

D

You can buy The Shadow Cabinet here.

You can follow Maureen on Twitter (if you dare) here.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

Hello all! I’m writing this review whilst sat on a balcony in my parent’s apartment in Dubai, so hopefully I won’t pass out from heat exhaustion.

So, The Madness Underneath is the second book in Maureen Johnson’s The Shades of London series, which kicked off with the World Book Day title The Name of the Star, & takes place some months afterwards. Spoilers for the first book will be beyond this point! You can read my review for it HERE.

The Madness Underneath, UK Jacket.

We meet up with Rory, our American leading lady, after she has recovered from her brutal attack from the Ripper. However, she’s still undergoing therapy to cope with the events of the stabbing, her parents & psychologist overwhelming her with worry. She’s also struggling without being able to tell anyone the truth: After a near death experience (WELL, choking in the school canteen), Rory can see ghosts. She discovers the world of the Shades, a small, mysterious arm of the British Police Force who deal with Ghostly Phenomenon, include the Ripper, a homicidal ghost with a taste for those with the second sight. But she can’t tell her parents, can’t tell her school friends, can’t tell ANYONE, & it’s driving her mad. When suddenly, her therapist suggests perhaps the best medicine would be for Aurora to return to the school where the attack occurred, & finish out her school term there, she jumps at the chance. She’s soon whisked back to London, to Wexford School, & her friends. More importantly, she’ll have a chance to talk to the only other 3 people who know what really happened to her; The Shades – Stephen, Callum & Boo. Rory soon finds that she’s behind on schoolwork, she’s behind on social life, & she’s not quite as over the Ripper attack as she thought, so she turns to a new Therapist, the much more down to Earth, relatable Jane, who she can be much more open with. She also begins to come to grips, with the Shades’ help, with her new ability, seemingly a result of the attack, to destroy ghosts on contact, making her a very valuable resource to the division, & explaining why they orchestrated her return to Wexford. Amidst Aurora’s academic life collapsing, her increasingly unusual therapy sessions, & her failed romantic attempts, something is brewing under London, & Bedlam has broken free…

US Jacket! Shiny…

The Madness Underneath is clearly intended as a bridging novel between The Name of the Star & whatever Maureen’s devious brain is cooking up next, & that means one thing is paramount: Character Development. On this, she does not skimp. Aurora starts to really mature as a character, becoming much more decisive, as well as much more aware of her surroundings. Sat at an awkward age, when she no longer knows where her future will take her, she’s reckless, but as funny as ever, learning from her mistakes, & refreshingly far from perfect & glamorous. Her therapy sessions & periods of defeatist depression are heartbreaking & well written, managing to put across her chatty, funny nature despite the context. Great background characters have less development, but are still classic staples. I’d love to have seen more of Alistair, the library ghost, & of Boo too, but I can understand that this novel is all about driving Rory into a mature, passionate individual, giving her much more to strive for emotionally in the next story. Stephen, head of the Shades division does garner some development as well, with small chunks of his background & nature teased out throughout.

The thing I’m most looking forward to in the next novel in more detail is the idea of Bedlam, an old psychiatric hospital with some horrific patient treatment, with criminally insane ghosts pouring out of it. A brilliant horror setting, & the first ghost encountered by Rory & Stephen in the pub basement is genuinely pretty unsettling, great use of descriptive text & haunting visuals/sounds. And, as this is a bridging novel, the ending really ramps up the tension, the tragedy & leaves off on a heart wrenching cliffhanger… You have been warned! It’s like The Empire Strikes Back all over again…

The Previous book, The Name of the Star, was just £1 for WBD!

Maureen’s writing manages to be engaging, funny & relatable yet again, with enough twists, turns & shocks to keep readers hooked & eager for part 3 in the series. A great blending of horror, drama, comedy & romance.

Right, I’m off to get on with my holiday!

‘Till Next Time Pilgrims.

D

P.S. I advise following the author on Twitter, she’s a hoot! @MaureenJohnson

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

So, despite being interrupted by Michael Grant last week, I’ve finally finished one of our £1 World Book Day titles for teens, the rippertastic Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. Of course, it says that in the title, so I suppose I’m just repeating myself… But I’m setting up the review, ok?! Don’t judge me!

The Name of the Star's UK Jacket

So, the Name of the Star is a paranormal thriller following a young American girl who is attending the prestigious boarding school Wexford, all the way across the pond in London, England. Aurora (Rory to her friends), is her name, and she arrives in London at around the same time murders have started to take the city by the throat. Why? Because these murders appear to follow the traits, dates and even locations of the infamous works of Jack the Ripper back in 1888. A killer so brutal and mysterious, that his legacy lives to this day, and his identity is still shrouded in mystery. This of course, is a minor side note to Rory, who is busy settling in to her new life, the classes, her roomate Jazza, and all the usual suspects that come with living in a private boarding school. During one particularly animated conversation during mealtime though, Rory chokes, and despite narrowly avoiding death, this little accident will change Rory’s life forever. Suddenly, she’s the first person to see someone on the night of a Ripper murder. Someone no-one else can see. She’s the first witness since the murders began, and that makes her a likely target. Soon, she’s brought up to speed by the Shades, a shadowy trio of special police officers, all of whom have the sight. They, like Rory, have had near death experiences, and ever since then, they have been able to see and communicate with ghosts. Some ghosts are simply harmless shades, confused and in need to help to reach peace. Others however, like the Ripper, are far more malevolent all together, and it’s down to the Shades to stop them. Rory can’t tell anyone, but she has to help the Shades in their search, and they have to protect her, as the Ripper makes in perfectly clear that he only wants Aurora as his final victim…

The US Jacket

One part murder-mystery, one part supernatural thriller, with dashes of humour and romance thrown into the mix to bring a fast, funny, scary and touching book. Rory is an instantly familiar character, using humour and an animated sense of interaction that make her both instantly endearing and also help give her the attitude that too many female characters fall short of in teen literature. Her supporting cast are also superb, with the particular gems in my mind, being the members of the shades: Stephen, Callum and Boo. Each one has had some kind of near-death experience, leading to their gift, and each one is a twisted psychological back story waiting to be spilled. The promise of later books to develop the characters is tantalising, knowing that these great caricatures with their shadowy history will be further teasingly revealed is a great incentive to keep reading these books. The romance is kept short, and doesn’t dominate the plot, which is a nice break from the normal way it’s handled. Rory is no sap, that’s for sure.

The story telling is first rate, pacing itself brilliantly, using each of the dates of the original Ripper murders as a keystone to major events driving the story forward. The sense of bleak isolation, even in such a bustling city as London is well explored through characters both alive and dead, and Maureen Johnson is fantastic at using the idea of mass hysteria to create a sense of epic proportions and panic towards the later stages of the novel.  The plots drops and twists help keep the reader guessing until right near the very end, and there are more than one tense stand off moments that make putting the book down literally impossible.

So, in short, The Name of the Star is a thriller and a chiller, with strong characters and a wry sense of humour. It promises to kick start an interesting paranormal mystery series!

Enjoy!

D