A Plague of Bogles (How to Catch a Bogle)

Jem Barbary has a score to settle with Sarah Pickles, his old boss. When he is given an opportunity to be a bogler’s boy to Alfred Bunce, he knows this is the perfect chance to find Sarah. But, soon Jem and Alfred notice that the area around Newgate Prison is swarming with bogles, too close to each other to be natural. They search for the source of the bogles while Jem struggles with a tough dilemma: leave his thieving ways and give up his quest for revenge, or lose the only family he’s ever had?

This book is not as fun as its predecessor, or as engaging. Jem is whiny, weak, and annoying, and, much to my disappointment, so is Birdie, the heroine of the last book. All Jem can do is snivel about getting revenge; this is central to the plot, because if Jem doesn’t want revenge, there would be no need to look for Sarah (who is key to the plot in other ways). But, his drive is unrealistic because he has been betrayed many, many times before. Birdie is completely unnecessary to the plot, and was just thrown in to make fans of the first book happy.