After the brutal events at her London boarding school, Rory Deveaux remains the only person capable of seeing the shadow-like secret police that haunt the city’s streets. Haunted by her encounter with a Jack the Ripper copycat, she struggles with post-traumatic stress while being recruited into a specialized underground unit of the Shades. Rory undergoes intense training to identify and neutralize malevolent spirits, but she soon discovers that her unique ability to wipe out ghosts with a touch carries physical consequences for her own life force.
Young adult readers who enjoy urban legends and paranormal mysteries read this for its grounded depiction of trauma and the mechanics of a supernatural bureaucracy. The narrative avoids typical ghost story tropes by treating spectral encounters as a matter of law enforcement and public safety. Readers walk away with a detailed understanding of how Rory balances her psychological recovery with the violent demands of her new position, gaining a perspective on how grief and duty intersect in a dangerous, hidden version of modern London.
- Published
- 2013
- Language
- EN
