Constable & Toop

Gr 5–8—Sam Toop can see ghosts. That in itself is a bit of an issue, but the real problem is they can talk to him and are constantly asking for his help in making amends with the living. But a Talker is what Victorian London could use as the Black Rot begins to seep into haunted houses that have lost their ghosts. Mr. Lapsewood, a clerk from the Ghost Bureau and woefully unprepared ghost himself, is sent to investigate in the living world. What he discovers is a much larger plot than he could have imagined and he finds himself working with Rogue ghosts escaping from prison, and coming very close to his death at the mouth of a hellhound. Meanwhile, aristocratic and unconventional Clara believes that a mysterious Reverend Fallowfield is not merely performing parlor tricks in the fancy houses around the city, but performing real, and cruel, exorcisms on unsuspecting ghosts. This might turn out to be the key to the problems of both the spirit and human world, and all of these characters come under one roof to solve them. The characters, particularly of the ghosts, including the Marquis de Sade, are humorous and unique. With the popularity of novels such as Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008), this story is sure to tickle the funny bone and satisfy the taste for some gruesome adventure while appealing to both girls and boys. A fun read that includes intrigue, murder, mystery, and a young damsel who rescues them all.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA