Somehow, Maureen Johnson manages to do funny, scary, and exciting equally well. Do I really have to wait a whole year for the next volume?

I can't wait for the next book. Rory is such a lovely character.

3.5 stars.
Until the last three or four chapters, I was going to give this book 3 stars. Things picked up quickly, though, and I really think we got to see the true effect the Ripper stabbing had on Rory. She went from being the spunky Southerner to becoming more fleshed out, more three-dimensional.

The ending of this book was a bit heartbreaking, and I'm interested to see what will happen next.

Also posted on Rally the Readers.

4.5 Stars

I loved The Name of the Star, the first book in the Shades of London series, so it’s beyond me why I waited so long to pick up the sequel, The Madness Underneath. Especially since it’s been sitting on my shelf since its release, and the third book in the series was published a few months ago. Let’s just say that after reading this, I won’t be waiting too long to start The Shadow Cabinet.

It only took a few pages of The Madness Underneath to remind me why I enjoyed the previous book so much. Rory is a fantastic, lively narrator. She tells the best, and often hilarious, anecdotes. I love her narrative voice, and it’s the heart of the humor in a series that can also be dark at times. While writing my review for The Name of the Star, I felt more than a little weird for admitting that I laughed as I read a book about a ghostly Jack the Ripper copycat. I did laugh, though, because this series is an eclectic mix of comedic and chilling moments. And this particular book almost had me in tears at one point—and they were not tears of laughter.

As much as Rory is still a masterful spinner of yarns and quick with a quip in The Madness Underneath, she’s very much struggling with the aftermath of the events in The Name of the Star. The details of her scrape with death at the hands of a homicidal ghost have of course been skillfully covered up, because you can’t just go around telling everyone that a ghost stabbed you. Not unless you want your sanity questioned. So not only is Rory dealing with the trauma of the attack, but she can’t even reveal the truth about what happened to her to most people. When she returns to school at Wexford, the scene of the incident, she’s unable to focus on her studies and is in danger of flunking out. Rory’s plate is just so full, and it’s tough seeing her go through this.

For all that Rory has to keep to herself, there are three people with whom she can speak freely about ghosts: her friends in the Shades, i.e. the ghost police. I practically cheered aloud when Rory reunited with Boo, Callum, and Stephen. Especially Stephen. See, I’m rather taken with his character. While I wouldn’t call him angst-ridden, he is on the serious side—and most deserving of a spot of happiness.

There were two little things that didn’t work for me: I still couldn’t find Rory and her school mate Jerome convincing as a couple, maybe because I’d love to see Rory with a certain someone else. *ahem* There was also something that I was surprised Rory, who’s usually very perceptive, didn’t pick up on sooner. But, The Madness Underneath was still a thrilling read, and I will be acquiring a copy of The Shadow Cabinet very shortly!

Love. Love. Love. I adore Maureen Johnson's books, have I mentioned that? Can't wait until the next one comes out!

2.5 stars. I really enjoyed The Name of the Star, but The Madness Underneath was incredibly underwhelming. It didn't really even feel like a full story -- just more of an interlude or place holder until the next book is published. Very disappointed!

This review is more of a way for me to get my head on straight after reading. I literally just finished the book about ten min ago and I have no feels. Maybe because I saw where the ending was heading before it got there. Regardless, it was an excellent book.

What I enjoyed most was the honesty in Rory's recovery and character growth. There was just enough going on in her mind for you as the reader to understand that the events of book 1 affected her, but not so much that it became a farce.

I can't wait to sit down to reread this!!

This follow-up was really disappointing. Everything about this sequel felt rushed. The protagonist does a lot of really stupid stuff all in the name of plot. Side characters that were important in the first book are shoved aside for new characters that are hardly set up at all. It really should have been 100 pages longer. There was a lot of tell not show in this book which feels especially weird since it is a sequel and we should theoretically know these characters by now. It also took a really long time for the plot to kick in and then it ends with a cliff-hanger/twist. Since I'm already reading this series for a reading challenge, I'll go ahead and read the next book. I hope it is better than this one.

Rory's voice is so excellent.

Enjoyable but kind of slow. Things only started to really happen in the last third of the book.

Definitely not as good as the first but that being said I am buying the third book as we speak so...