Review of The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
980399256608 pub Harper Collins Sept 2011
Deceptively appearing initially as a simple copy-cat murder mystery, The Name of the Star takes a surprising turn when Rory discovers why only she has seen the prime suspect. The Ripper impersonator is a ghost.
Avoiding the all-out supernatural, Maureen Johnson weaves Rory’s school work, friends and romantic interests in amongst the thriller moments of murders and shades and secret ghost-hunting agencies, and the way in which we learn about Rory’s life through her little asides about Cousin Diane and Uncle Will make her seem real in a way that many authors forget to do once they are swept away in the fantasy world of ghosts.
Excellently written, I would happily read about Rory and the Shades of London many times over.
By Becky Steels
