It boggles the mind! Bogles in the laundry. Bogles in the chimneys. Bogles in the theater. Ever since Alfred Bunce, bogler and go-devil man was hired by the Sewers Office and the Metropolitan Board of Works to kill any bogles found lurking in the sewers, it seems that people are seeing bogles everywhere. With Alfred's original apprentice, Birdie McAdams now training as a singer, Ned Roach and Jem Barbary have taken positions as Alfred's helpers. Although bait might be a better word for it, since the children are what lure the bogles out of hiding so that they can be killed. That might not be necessary for long though, because the gentlemen who have been helping with charting the bogle sightings and trying to analyze the remains of the ones that are killed, are trying to find safer methods to deal with the bogles. In the midst of all this activity and possible progress, the group is still trying to deal with the criminal known as Salty Jack who wants Jem dead, Birdie's guardian Miss Eames has two possible suitors, and Alfred is researching the history of the spear that his bogling mentor gave to him.
I've followed this series from the first time I heard it described as Ghost Busters meets Charles Dickens. Each book is full of suspense, danger, the mysterious creatures called bogles, and entertaining characters. There's crusty old Alfred Bunce, Birdie with her amazing voice and spunk, Jem with his acrobatic ability and shady past, Ned and his loyalty and determination, and all their friends from the more genteel level of society. The descriptions of London during this time - the newsboys, pneumatic tubes being cutting edge technology, laundries still using hot closets like the ones I've seen at Biltmore House (or I suppose they have them on Downton Abbey), and gas street lamps - all create an atmosphere where it seems possible that bogles could exist.
If you enjoy ghost stories or series like Cornelia Funke's Ghost Hunters, tales of suspense and danger, or brave young protagonists, then you should read The Last Bogler and the earlier books in the How to Catch a Bogle series.
I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.
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