The Shadow Cabinet: A Shades of London novel

The third in the popular Shades of London series, the action picks up barely minutes after the last book ended – Stephen, Rory’s mentor, has just died, but Rory’s convinced that her skills have brought him back as a ghost. The team are determined to find him, but there’re other mysterious deaths and disappearances demanding their attention. A dangerous cult moves to resurrect their leaders after 40 years and will stop any nothing to defeat death. They are determined that Rory is key to the ceremony, and Rory has to work out whether to work with the enemy – she could save Stephen, but she could release the dead

Rory remains a vibrant narrator, chatty without being intrusive to the reader’s experience. There are intriguing new characters, in particular the delightfully chilling Sid and Sadie, and the emotional attachments between characters intensify and the action spreads beyond London. Because of this, The Shadow Cabinet is more serious book and some of the light humour from the previous books is less obvious. However, many readers are likely to enjoy this increase of pace. Some of the later parts of the novel may feel a little confusing as a result, as Greek mythologies clash with almost pagan magic, but the final scenes are likely to make fans eager to get their hands on the finale.