Lockwood & Co: The Empty Grave

This series has been so fabulous! So clever, such great storytelling and characters. And this one is brilliant. No spoilers but read the others first to get the most out of it. It had the feeling of a final installment but I'm hoping it's not! Highly recommend 👌

It's a beautiful book and I loved reading it, and throughly enjoyed it all the way through, I recommend it more than I can possibly say.

Jonathan Stroud is one of my favourite orders, and for the very good reason that he is a genius! He has been writing for many years but when he wrote his Bartimeus series he unlocked a rare and hilarious talent for humour, deep and clever plot, great characters and all in a snappy, fast paced, action packed young adult adventure.The Lockwood series was more of the same. A beautifully imagined alternative contemporary London haunted at night by ghosts that only children and young adults can see, but that will happily kill anyone who crosses their path.Lockwood runs an independent psychic detective agency that struggles for survival against large corporate interests, various crooked characters and legions of ghosts. Through their adventures we got to know first Lucy, the books narrator, who has an extremely rare talent for hearing and even communicating with the ghosts. We also encountered George, the dogged and often egg stained researcher, and then came Holly, Flo Bones, the skull in the jar and a wonderful cast of other actors.In this book the agency finally square up against the mighty Fittes agency. They start off by breaking into agency founder's Marissa Fittes' grave, on the hunch that the long dead founder of the agency may not be quite as dead as everyone thinks. That experience sends them hurtling down a path with many twists and turns and some extraordinary discoveries and even more extraordinary danger.This is a stunning and thoroughly enjoyable climax to the Lockwood series. I will be sad to see it end (although perhaps the author left the possibility open that we may meet some of the characters again in a spin off).Few books have me laughing out loud, but this one did. Jonathan Stroud's writing is real treat and these books are thoroughly recommended.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and am sad it has come to an end. I bought the first book in this series for a my best friend's 12 year old son. I liked the premise so decided to get a copy for myself too. A 41 year old woman is probably not the target audience bit I thoroughly enjoyed it. Changes are afoot at Lockwood and Co. Lucy Carlyle has left and the Problem is worsening. A great end to the series.

After being disappointed by the Netflix decision to cancel the excellent TV series, I decided to read the books. So glad I did. Well written, action packed, scary and witty. I think the Skull had most of the best lines although generally, there were great one liners.

This review is for the whole series. I bought the whole series after watching the Netflix season.Hopefully, someone will adapt the rest of the series as it is excellent.No spoilers here except to say that Netflix adaptation is good but doesn't catch the full depth of the books.Well worth reading.

I has,been a long time since I was so hooked (and spooked) on any books. I kept reading till small hours and as a result had to call my dog to keep me company at night! It is fast pacing, original with an incredibly twisted plot. Mind you, this is not the most scary of all 5 books, but a stunning conclusion with an unexpected plot twist.

I came to these books via the TV adaptation which sounded fun for my daughter and I to watch together. As usual, the books are waaaay better. I’m a 47 year old woman so I’m really not the target audience but I wolfed them down greedily. Rather like a ravenous ghost I suppose, sucking every drop of energy and excitement from the story. I read all five books in three days and will enjoy them again at a more leisurely pace as I’m not ready to leave the world of Lockwood & Co just yet.As for my daughter, I’m not sure she’s ready the read them yet. At least not when it’s dark outside!

I love this series and am now feeling a post series melancholy. I love the characters and the unique story, and the ghostly and beautiful setting. This wrapped up the series in an exciting, terrifying, and most fulfilling way. What a fantastic series, I read it non-stop, and I would highly recommend it to others. It has everything lovable characters, mystery, plot twists, humor, adventure, action, thrills. It is masterfully written.

J’ai adoré du début à la fin!Je recommande vivement on a des frissons tout le long de la lecture!

The book arrived well. 5 stars for the purchase

Partiamo subito dal presupposto che la saga della Loockwood & Co scritta da Jonathan Stroud è composta dai seguenti romanzi:1 - The Screaming Staircase (primo libro della saga, dove tutto è iniziato, scritto anche in italiano)1.5 - The dagger in the desk (più che un libro diciamo che una storia molto corta che si colloca tra il primo e il secondo romanzo, per il momento soltanto scritto in inglese)2 - The Whispering Skull (il secondo libro della saga, lo potrete trovare scritto anche in italiano)3 - The Hollow Boy (terzo libro, versione soltanto in inglese)4 - The Creeping Shadow (quarto libro, versione soltanto inglese)5 - The Empty Grave (quinto ed ultimo libro della saga, versione soltanto in inglese)Ho iniziato questa recensione in questo modo perché è bene sapere che the empty grave è il capitolo conclusivo della saga e per come è strutturata la storia non ha molto senso leggerlo se prima non avete letto i precedenti romanzi.Quando cala la notte Londra è invasa dai fantasmi, essere tanto misteriosi quanto pericolosi. Le agenzie investigative composte per lo più da adolescenti (gli unici in grado di vedere i fantasmi) lavorano incessantemente per risolvere gli innumerevoli casi di apparizioni che ormai sono sempre più frequenti.I romanzi seguono le avventure della Lockwood & Co, una piccola agenzia investigativa indipendente che si occupa di cacciare i fantasmi.Possiamo dire che i precedenti romanzi siano si autoconclusivi... ma allo stesso tempo gettano le basi per quella che si può definire come un'unica trama che lega ogni libro e ogni storia.Con the empty grave, ogni domanda lasciata in sospesa nei precedenti volumi avrà una risposta andando di fatto a chiudere definitivamente questa serie.Ho imparato ad amare questa serie, le ambientazioni, i personaggi, le fantastiche atmosfere della Londra notturna e sopratutto la genialità con cui è stato costruito il personaggio del teschio parlante. Tutto splendidamente orchestrato nei libri scritti da Jonathan Stroud.The empty grave è il degno finale.Se siete arrivati a leggere fino a qua e non avete ancora avuto la fortuna di leggere i romanzi della Lockwood & Co vi consiglio vivamente di iniziare adesso!Come i due libri precedenti, anche qua non c'è la traduzione in italiano, ma è scritto in modo semplice e di facile comprensione, quindi anche per quelli meno pratici con l'inglese non penso ci saranno problemi nella lettura.

Mit zwei weinenden Augen habe ich den fünften und letzten Band der Lockwood-Reihe zu lesen begonnen. Mit zwei lachenden Augen habe ich ihn beendet. Ich hatte vermutet, dass mir der Abschied schwerer fallen würde, aber Jonathan Stroud hat ein rundum gutes, versöhnliches Ende gefunden.Die Geschichte unterscheidet sich in ihrem Aufbau nicht auffallend von ihren Vorgängern. Inhaltlich schließt sie nahtlos an den vierten Teil an. Einem Verdacht des sprechenden Schädels folgend, bricht die Agentur Lockwood & Co. nachts in die Gruft der verstorbenen Agenturchefin Marissa Fittes ein, mit der vor Jahren das Problem begonnen hat. Innerhalb weniger Seiten baut sich die unheilvolle Spannung auf, die ich an der Serie so liebe. Die Spukszenen waren für mich immer die Highlights jedes Bandes. Auch dieses Mal nimmt sich Stroud dafür genug Zeit. Bevor es auf die alles entscheidende Konfrontation hinausläuft, dürfen sich Fans über einen grandiosen neuen Einsatz in einem heimgesuchten Revue-Theater freuen.Es ist offensichtlich, dass Stroud sich der vielen Fragen seiner Fans bewusst war und sich um Antworten bemüht hat. Wird das Problem Geisterplage gelöst? Findet sich dafür eine Ursache? Werden Lockwood und Lucy ein Paar? Immerhin: Andeutungen gab es genug. Welches Ende hat sich Stroud für den sprechenden Schädel und die übrigen Figuren erdacht? Ich wage eine Prognose und schätze mit dem Finale werden die meisten gut leben können. Einige Enthüllungen haben sich über die Jahre angebahnt und waren für mich nicht mehr überraschend, aber Stroud hatte ein, zwei Asse im Ärmel, mit denen ich nicht unbedingt gerechnet hatte.Rückblickend hat die Serie nie mit einem komplexen, ausgetüftelten "Universum" geglänzt. Vieles blieb trotz klarer Spielregeln schwammig. Die Stärken lagen woanders: es waren die fantasievollen Einfälle, der Mix aus Krimi und Geisterjagden, die unheimliche Stimmung, die gemütlichen Zusammenkünfte in der kleinen Küche, die unterhaltsamen Sidekicks, der Humor und die sprachliche Eloquenz. Durchweg amüsant waren auch die Charaktere, die mit den Jahren an Tiefe gewonnen haben. Die Entwicklung war meiner Ansicht nach mit dem vierten Band abgeschlossen. Aus einem Haufen charismatischer Einzelgänger ist ein Team geworden. Im Finale arbeiten nun alle Hand in Hand. Jeder bekommt vor dem Showdown noch einmal seinen Platz, vor allem der zynische Schädel, der inzwischen fast zahm wirkt, fast. Überraschenderweise hat sich George - neben dem Schädel - zu einem meiner liebsten Charaktere gewandelt. Er hatte mich am meisten überrascht und ich fand seine Cleverness immer klasse. Gemocht habe ich sie aber alle!Fazit: Wenn man ehrlich ist, hätte die Handlung wohl auch in drei Bücher gepasst, aber wer hätte das gewollt? Ich jedenfalls nicht! "Lockwood & Co. - Das Grauenvolle Grab" ist ein Abschluss der viele Antworten liefert, aber nicht alle und den Abschied von der Reihe vielleicht gerade deshalb leichter macht. Stroud glänzt noch einmal mit den ihm eigenen Stärken, liefert ein actionreiches Finale ab, unterhält mit unheimlichen Spukszenen und einem Team, das vielen ans Herz gewachsen ist und fehlen wird.