This came together well as an ending to the series. There were a couple of surprises - Charlie's sister, the identity of The Dire King (I pretty much figured this out), and a few loose ends that were never wrapped up - Douglas stays a duck? Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series.

If pressed, I think that the second book was the weakest. The historical urban fantasy element was fun, and I would read more books with sort of an aesthetic - it reminded me a little bit of the Fantastic Beasts franchise from a visual sense - merging early American elements with paranormal investigation and a strongly feminist sensibility.

There is some room at the end for additional books in Jackaby's world of New Fiddlesham, but whether William Ritter stays in the familiar place he's created or moves to write about someplace else, I'll give whatever comes next a try!

This is a series that I really enjoy, and it's hard to believe it's taken me this long to pick up the last two books! Abigail Rook and Jackaby are still hard at work as the only paranormal detectives in New Fiddleham, and in this installment of the series they are going to solve a murder - the murder of Jenny Cavanaugh, the resident ghost at 926 Augur Lane. The only difficulty with that prospect is that the murder happened a decade ago.

Jenny Cavanaugh has been one of my favorite characters in a series full of favorite characters, so having her take center stage here was enjoyable. Jackaby and Abigail solve one of the central mysteries of the series, and this third book sets us up for the final book, The Dire King, which I will be starting today.

Today is a work holiday, and I have nothing on my schedule, so my plan at this point is to curl up and read most of the day. I've just put a coffee cake in the over, so my house is filled with aromas of cake and cinnamon, I have a full cup of coffee, everything is warm and bright inside (as opposed to grey and rainy outside).

Oh my goodness, this series is so much fun! I loved this second book every bit as much as the first. It was great to see Abigail assert herself more and get to flex her paleontology muscles and get a glimpse of what might have been had her first fateful dig not failed so miserably. Still, I can’t be anything but grateful for the failure that set her on the path to employment with Jackaby. These two may be my favorite duo of supernatural investigators.

I don’t think I’m going to be able to review this without squeeing inarticulately and dropping heaps of spoilers, so I’ll just say it’s a quick (too quick! I want more!), fun (so much fun!) read and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.

I read this for the Halloween Bingo 2018 Shifters square.

So it may help to read the first one in order to grasp a bit of understanding of the character relationships and the overall plot (there’s a main one underneath the layers here)

***Possible spoilers here you’ve been warned***

I loved the first one, really liked the characters and Jackaby’s quirkiness. With this one though, it’s a different type of case, albeit still with a supernatural/fantastical element but it felt like you were reading an Indiana Jones type of adventure. Which is all right and it made things different and interesting but I was looking forward to something a little more darker and spookier.

However, the adventure aspect with the missing bones was still well written and enjoyable to read. It took more of a comedic tone and I enjoyed the fighting between Lamb and Horner over the bones while poor Charlie seems to be always stuck in the middle of each argument. Abigail really shined in this one with her passion of dinosaur bones, she was in her element and showed how much she loved doing the job despite the obstacles she had because of her father and society. She really stepped up and developed a lot in this book.

And yes! She breaks the tension with Charlie!!! Finally! It was all throughout the novel until she finally took matters into her own hands. I like them both together. They seem to complement each other well enough even though it seems she has a much more determined and strong minded temperament whereas Charlie is more mellow and laid back. Well maybe Abigail will slowly bring him out of his shell?

What I enjoyed the most about this plot is there’s an even deeper and darker story underneath and this was just a diversion. That pale man is creepy and I hope it gets explored more in the next book as it features Jenny’s story too. This was a fun read but I’ll be happier going onto much darker things in the story.

Abigail Rook is our main character.

R.F. Jackaby is her eccentric employer. 

Charlie Cane is a junior detective in the police force.

Marlowe is Charlie's boss and head of the police force.

Commissioner Swift is Marlowe's boss. PIC.(Person In Charge)

Abigail Rook is a naïve young woman that has left her parents to answer to a flier that said "EXCITING OPPORTUNITY". It shortly fell through, as anyone could guess, and she ended up buying a ticket on a giant ship. There is no way this girl would let her parents win. She has been denied adventure all of her life. Now, the reigns are in her hands.

When she ports, she goes to a bar and a man approaches her, asking her all about her travels, like he was on the ship riding next to her the entire time. Instead, she asks and he informs her that he is some type of investigator. When he leaves the bar, she asks around who the man was.  They all tell her that he's R.F Jackaby. And that he swears by mermaids.

She starts looking for a job and everyone tells her to go to the Post Office. There, she finds another flier…….

This one reads: INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES NEEDED.

So, she takes a ticket and goes to the address.

It's Jackaby.

From here on out it's crazy werewolves and cute detectives. Friendly ghosts and human ducks.  And a law system that is slowly falling apart……..from the top down

If you can appreciate an unexpected turn of events all of a sudden, you will be in for a treat. This book will deliver.