The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co., #3)

by Jonathan Stroud

[pamela]

Jonathan Stroud has done it again. The new Lockwood & Co. The Hollow Boy is as fun and as great as the two that came before.

Like always, Stroud is masterful in his character development and world building. He creates a fast paced plot with some genuinely creepy moments, and his characters are all individuals at the same time flawed, yet perfect. In this instalment he introduces a new character in the form of Lockwood & Co's new assistant, Holly, and with perfection shows the stresses and anxieties that occur when a new entity is thrown head first in to a tight knit group. The relationship between Lucy and Holly is fascinating, without making one or the other seem like a bad person Stroud manages to truly encapsulate the tension when two opposing personalities are brought in to contact.

Stroud's Lockwood & Co makes reading exciting. I haven't been this excited by a series since Harry Potter and John Connolly's Charlie Parker series. What I would like to see in further instalments, which I'm sure Stroud has planned, is a bit more exploration in to the history of 'the problem' and why ghosts are overwhelming London, and I'm certainly excited to see how Lucy's talent will develop. I will be impatiently waiting for the next Lockwood & Co. I plan to follow Lucy, George and Lockwood on all their future adventures!