Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby Series #3)

by William Ritter

Overview

Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer R.F. Jackaby dive into the cold case of their own resident ghostly lady to solve her decade-old murder in the third book of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series.

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the services of her detective-agency tenants to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all. Soon Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her down to the mythical underworld and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523524006
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	08/22/2023
Series:	Jackaby Series , #3
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	103,641
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

William Ritter is an Oregon educator and the New York Times bestselling author of the Jackaby series, which received glowing trade and national reviews and was named to many state lists. He is the proud father of the two bravest boys in the Wild Wood, and husband to the indomitable Queen of the Deep Dark. Visit him online at rwillritter.wordpress.com and find him on Twitter: @Willothewords.

Editorial Reviews

"Recommended for fans of Jonathan Stroud’s The Screaming Staircase and Jonathan Auxier’s The Night Gardener."—School Library Journal

"This story has everything covered in its mashup of romance, mystery, adventure, horror creatures, fantasy lore, and gothic atmosphere . . . Readers will not be able to put it down."—VOYA

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—Paranormal detective duo Abigail Rook and R.F. Jackaby are back again, this time with a more serious focus—to unearth the killer of their ghostly landlord, Jenny, and find out what actually became of her missing fiancé, Howard. As the unlikely pair begin to uncover more evidence about the murder, they realize that the circumstances around Jenny's death 10 years ago are still very much relevant to the present. Implicating the mayor and other well-known scientists, Rook and Jackaby's discoveries show that Jenny's death is a small cog in the wheel of a nefarious plan, one involving the Dire Council, which is intent on harnessing magical powers. Decidedly more serious than the previous installment, Beastly Bones, this novel features a fairly somber Jackaby and increasingly mature Rook. Many questions are still unanswered at the end (Is Jackaby still up for this line of work? Will he and Rook stop the malevolent Dire Council before its evil plan comes to fruition?), thus opening up the possibility of another book in the series. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Jonathan Stroud's The Screaming Staircase and Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener.—Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX

School Library Journal

2016-05-04
Past actions and futuristic inventions haunt people in this sequel.Having helped paranormal detective R.F. Jackaby on several cases, Abigail Rook attempts to solve the murder of Jenny Cavanaugh, former resident and current ghost of 926 Augur Ln. Abigail and Jenny's experiments recall details of her decade-old death and her missing fiance, but they also risk hurting host and ghost. Reluctantly, Jackaby relies on the young women's new relationship to solve the disappearances and deaths of scientists (and small animals) plaguing New Fiddleham. While fighting vividly drawn villains, the trio also uncovers a vast conspiracy bankrolled by not-so-benevolent "benefactors." Still adjusting to her new home and the sidelong existence of the supernatural, the white Englishwoman provides stability while Jackaby and Jenny confront their own unquiet spirits as they traverse the 19th-century urban-fantasy, slightly steampunk New England city and other realms. Lacking Jackaby's Seer powers and the shape-shifting skills of her beau, Charlie Cane, Abigail proves self-sacrificing but sensible, wide-eyed but wry. The frenetic pace and whimsy of earlier installments give way to slower personal journeys and complex machinations, yet humorous moments, strong settings, and distinctive, diverse characters buoy the dark story. No easily untangled mystery, this Gordian knot suggests that the battle is won but the war has just begun.A somber turn for the supernatural sleuth and levelheaded assistant but still energetic and entertainingly offbeat. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews