The story: combine Sherlock Holmes with the Ghostbusters, and what do you get? Jackaby! Here's an old-fashioned detective who knows more about a certain subject than anyone else on earth: Jackaby can recognize and identify supernatural beings, even when they're well disguised and completely invisible to everyone else. You'd think that would make him the best friend of every policeman in the county, but no: they all think he's crazy. Even so--if a legendary evildoer is using magic to do his evil, you'd better find the best person to spot him (even if he IS a little crazy). And that would be...Jackaby, accompanied by his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook.
June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG-13; Violence PG-13; Sexual content PG; nudity PG; substance abuse PG; magic and the occult PF-13; GLBT content G; adult themes (murder committed by scary supernatural forces) PG-13; overall rating PG-13. (However, because it's historical fiction with a sort of Dickensian style of writing, MS readers will find it kind of slow going--probably better for HS mystery fans.)
Liz's comments: This reminded me of Jonathan Stroud's "Lockwood and Company" series, just with characters who are a little older. I liked it a lot--but trying to sell historical fiction to middle school kids is a hard slog. Hopefully the gruesome murders and ghostly intruders will help in the process!
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