Stroud, Jonathan. Lockwood & Co.: The Hollow Boy. New York: Disney Hyperion, 2015. 978-1484709689. 385p. $16.99. Gr. 5-8.

This is the much anticipated third volume in the Lockwood & Co. ghost thriller series. Lockwood & Co is the psychic investigation agency (ghost-hunting) led by Anthony Lockwood Esq., and assisted by George Cubbins, the round mound of research, and the gifted Lucy Carlyle, who can hear and communicate with the dead, and narrates the story. For the last 20 years London has had an enormous uptick in paranormal activity and giant agencies staffed with adults are assisting the government’s DEPRAC – Department of Psychic Research and Control – in beating back the attacking ghosts and apparitions at night, enforcing a curfew, cordoning off whole sections of the city, and trying to solve what has caused these clusters of disturbances which in some cases cause loss of life. But, only kids can truly hear and see the ghosts and their warning signs, making the teenage team at Lockwood & Co. almost always successful. In this volume, Stroud introduces the uber-efficient assistant Holly Munro, and she shakes up the group dynamics established in the first two books.  THOUGHTS: Haven’t read the first two Lockwood & Co. books in this series? No worries; jump right in! I did and didn’t feel lost at all, just thrilled, as I turned page after page and read this whopping book in two sittings. If Harry, Ron and Hermione were ghost-hunters, Lockwood & Co. would be their agency. Similar to the Harry Potter series, the writing is crisp, witty, and masterful.  The world is fully inhabited with real people and otherworldly beings readers can visualize, and Stroud has created a full universe with its own reality and vocabulary.  There is a ghost glossary at the end to help readers navigate this complex world. Highly recommended for anyone grade 5 and up.

Paranormal Fantasy    Kathie Jackson, Plymouth Meeting Friends School