Book 6 of my Archibald Lox series went on sale at the start of this month. It brings the second volume story arc to a nice, tight close -- my aim with the three volumes in this series was to write them in such a way that each could stand independently of the others. Sure, the best way is to start with book 1 and read the subsequent books in sequence, all the way up to book 9 (which will see print next year), but if you wanted to start with book 4 -- which is the beginning of the Volume 2 arc -- you could read that, along with books 5 and 6, and enjoy those three books as a self-contained story.

There was a review for Book 4, Archibald Lox and the Forgotten Crypt, on the Books, Films & Random Lunacy blog a few months ago. George Bastow, the blogger behind the mask, is one of my favourite reviewers. He's erudite and eloquent, and his reviews are always both informative and amusing. This review neatly sums up the book (without including any major spoilers) and captures its spirit, providing a real taste of what it's like. In one of my favourite passages, having mused that I've successfully channeled John Le Carré, George then notes:

"Believe it or not, fantastical undercover work, face-shaped locks and regal ructions are just the tip of the iceberg as Archibald Lox & the Forgotten Crypt contains more layers than a planet-sized onion."

If you only read one review of a book today, I sincerely believe it should be George's review, which you can find by clicking here: https://gdbastow11.wordpress.com/2021/06/25/a-book-review-archibald-lox-the-forgotten-crypt-by-darren-shan/

Afterwards, if you'd like to read the book on which the review was based, you can find convenient direct buying links, for book 4 as well as the other 5 books in the series which are currently available (the eBook of the first book is FREE to download), in the September issue of my monthly newsletter: https://darrenshan.com/news/shanville-monthly