The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2)

Author: Maureen Johnson
Goodreads Rating: 3.86
Pages: 290
Format: ARC from NYCC12

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Deveaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades--the city's secret ghost-fighting police--are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late. In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated THE NAME OF THE STAR, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spectacularly gruesome details to the streets of London that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

This book was absolutely maddening. I really enjoyed how great the first book was, it was an original idea, and put a totally new twist on ghosts. I had to wait to actually write this review because I was super frustrated by the ending, and that severely tainted my view of the book.

I really enjoyed getting back into Rory's world. One of the things that I loved about the first book was the totally unique set of characters and how they all interacted. I loved Stephen and Callum and Boo and Jazza, all the crazy named people that wandered in and out of Rory's life. I was glad that she was able to return and call back into the swing of things with everyone including back in with the Shades.

Its actually been very hard for me to write this review. I read it back in February and was so angry when I finished it that I really needed to sit with it and think on how it made me feel, and now that time has indeed passed, I find that I still really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to the third book in the series. This one had so many great twists and turns and even the new story line of the ghosts made it worth while.

I did feel that the big bad in this particular book was a little too easy to pin point. It was obvious from the introduction that this character was up to no good and that added somewhat to my frustration at this book when I finished it, but I have to hand it to Johnson, she isn't catering to what her readers will what to read, she is writing for her characters even if it leads to things that they do not want to happen. Like Boo getting thrown in front of a car in the first book.

Either way, I am eagerly awaiting the third book and cannot wait to get my hands on such a delicious book once again. 

The Courts Decision: