The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson + Contest

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
"After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux 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."- summary from Amazon

I really enjoyed Johnson's first book in this series and had been looking forward to this book basically ever since I finished Name of the Star. This book does not disappoint at all. I absolutely loved it.

First off, I like that Johnson's signature voice is still on display even with all the creepy, thriller stuff going on. There's quite a bit of humor that made me giggle out loud while reading. Rory is a wonderful character and her voice is just really compelling and fun. I loved being able to see all the secondary characters again; Johnson always does a great job making all her characters memorable.

The plot takes a lot of twists and turns, and where the story ends up is not where I expected to be when I started the book. It's interesting how Johnson plotted this whole story arc and it was great fun to be along for the ride.

Overall, please check out this series if you haven't already. It's simply awesome, funny, and creepy. The book is out next Tuesday, and Maureen is doing a pre-order campaign where you can win some great prizes. Check out her website for details!

I also have a copy of the book to giveaway, courtesy of Penguin! Just leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, Feb 27 at 9pm EST if you want to be entered. US residents only! If there are any questions, let me know.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.