The Shadow Cabinet

I read nearly 3/4 of this book curled up in my easy chair while the kids napped, snow falling softly outside. It is rare that I get that much peace and quiet anymore, so I roared through the book, wanting to finish it before the twins awoke and shattered the peace.

Therefore, any nitpicks I have about anything in the book feeling rushed are no doubt of my own doing, as I manically flipped pages, wanting to find out what happened to Rory and the rest of the gang. When the series is over, I look forward to reading all the books again, and savoring them a bit more.

Needless to say, I loved this book. Definitely my favorite novel to date this year. I am sure Johnson's Shade of London series isn't for everyone, but I've fallen for show more American-based Rory, a transplant in London, who can now see ghosts. It sounds preposterous, but Johnson has made it work- and work well- in all three novels so far. I love Rory, I love her character, and I love the group of people she's come to surround herself in London - far away from the home she knows in New Orleans.

*spoilers if you haven't read the first two books - which you should, immediately!*

In book three, Rory is dealing with the grief of losing Stephen, as the team frantically tries to find his ghost. They are also trying to find her prefect, Charlotte, who was kidnapped by Rory's therapist, Jane. We learn more about Jane and her past involvement in an ancient cult and a likely string of murders. It all involves a much bigger plot involving London's ability to harness its dead, and the existence of a murky, rumored government organization who polices ghosts.

We also meet a new character in this novel, Freddie (a girl), who is quite bright, but of whom I still remain suspicious - silly, perhaps, but it's so hard to trust new people coming into the gang. We see more of Jerome, which is nice, and Boo and Callum, of course. There's actually less focus on actual ghosts than you'd think and more on some big conspiracies, but it all works, really well. The camaraderie of the team, and the way Johnson voices Rory is just lovely, and the book reads so well. Even what should be a crazy plot is made readable and believable through the lens of these developed characters.

As always, I'm left a bit bereft, waiting for the next book. (And, for the record, I finished the last few pages right before the twins woke up. I feel like that's fate, right?) show less

This was a satisfying - and worth the wait.

Maureen Johnson continues to be one of my favourite YA authors, creating characters I genuinely care about and keeping me turning pages when I should be sleeping as I'm so invested in the story.
The longer this series goes on, the more it feels like a modern day slightly older version of the Famous Five, but with ghosts and secret police. This is high praise.
I'm glad that I read everything on a kindle, as the cover totally lets this down.
Although there's a lot of occult stuff in here and some Crowley references, it never gets too dark for younger readers. I would have gone crazy for this as a teen.
I'm interested to see what happens next with Stephen and how the experiences towards the end of the show more book effect Rory. More please. show less

There's a lot to like about this series-the sinister atmosphere, the tour of London you get with each installment, and the narrator. Especially the narrator. I love Rory's voice. If it weren't for Rory's witty observations and her great big heart, I wouldn't enjoy this series half as much. Here are a couple of goodies:

There was a girl...in a black woolen hat covered in tiny reflective gold discs, like jazzed-up snake scales. My granny Deveaux had a shirt covered in something similar, but the effect was different. This girl's hat said "I am reading a magic book." Granny Deveaux's shirt said, "I am going to the casino for dinner tonight."

Alistair was there, as Alistair was always there. Hair ever spiked. Jeans ever slouched. Doc

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Martens ever...Martening.

The story itself took a little longer to unfold than I would have liked, and I'm undecided on the characters of Sid and Sadie, whether I like them as villains any more than I liked Jane Quaint. Guess I'll find out in the fourth and last book in the series. Since it is the last, I'm hoping it will have more romance and derring-do. And please no love triangles. I saw the potential for two here. And a bit more Alistair would be nice too. show less

The finale of the Shades of London trilogy was filled with action and excitement. Jane and the other members of her forty year old cult haven't stopped hunting for Rory so that she can go to the other world and bring back Sid and Sadie. Jane has had that as her goal since a failed ritual in 1973 left them in a half-alive state. To further her aims, she snatches the body of Stephen who is in the same state.

A new character named Freddie makes her appearance as someone who has the sight and who has been studying the same mysterious things that Stephen studied. Stephen was getting ready to recruit her to the ghost squad when he has his accident while rescuing Rory.

I liked the worldbuilding which made London a nexus for ghosts. I liked the show more idea of the Shadow Cabinet as a secret organization designed to protect the living from a ghostly invasion. I loved Rory's character and her voice. She makes a wonderful narrator.

I think that there are still stories to be told in this world and hope that the author does revisit it at some time. show less

How is this the last in the series? I was so confused when things started getting more complicated instead of wrapping themselves up. We have new villains left unaddressed. We have consequences of pretty cosmic actions left relatively unexplained. We have a main and side romance left completely unfinished. How is this the last book???

I mean, the first half was a little draggy but things picked up when mostly dead Stephen returned. I was super annoyed with book 2’s cliffhanger so I’m glad that mess got fixed (so not here for ghost boyfriends).

Maybe this is just an odd series. Book three is vastly different from book one with book two somewhat serving as a rising stakes in between (which is why, I think, it seemed so completely show more disjointed in light of book one but clearly serves a purpose in light of book three). Honestly this series would make a great tv show, because it reads just like an increasingly complicated and suddenly lore filled multi season arc (think Supernatural s1 versus Supernatural s5). show less

The Shadow Cabinet is my favorite of the books in this series. I enjoyed the other volumes as well but felt this one was much darker and edgier than the first two books. This volume delves deep into the occult and brings Jane's true intentions to light. The book opening was one of my favorite parts of the book as it gave the reader insight into Jane's past and introduced us to the Ziggy Stardust Twins aka Sid and Sadie. I loved the introduction of these two characters into the book as they added such a creepy vibe and they were quite interesting. Looking forward to seeing where the series goes next.

A definite improvement over the second book. I'm glad I stuck with the series. We learn a lot more history and I really enjoyed it.