York: The Clockwork Ghost

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York: The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby

This is the sequel to York: The Shadow Cipher which I reviewed HERE. If you don't want anything spoiled about the first book, then don't read this review. It's going to get real.

An amazon summary, "It was only a few weeks ago that the Biedermann twins, Tess and Theo, along with their friend Jaime Cruz, followed the secrets of the Morningstarrs’ cipher further than anyone had in its century-and a-half history—and destroyed their beloved home in the process.

But the Old York Cipher still isn’t solved. The demolition of 354 W. 73rd Street only revealed the next clue in the greatest mystery of the modern world, and if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to discover what lies at the end of the puzzle laid into the buildings of New York by its brilliant, enigmatic architects, they will need to press on.

But doing so could prove even more dangerous than they know. It is clear that the Morningstarr twins marshaled all the strange technology they had spent their lives creating in the construction of the Cipher, and that technology has its own plans for those who pursue it.

It's also clear that Tess, Theo, and Jaime are not the only ones on the trail of the treasure. As enemies both known and unknown close in on them from all sides and the very foundations of the city seem to crumble around them, they will have to ask themselves how far they will go to change the unchangeable—and whether the price of knowing the secrets of the Morningstarrs is one they are willing to pay." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

At the end of the last book, Tess, Theo, and Jaime watched as they solved another clue to the cipher, their apartment building collapsed that they've been fighting to save the entire time. ...which also revealed another clue to the cipher.

Now, Jaime is living in a new apartment building across town, while Tess and Theo are staying with their Aunt. They're still on the hunt for more cipher clues to solve the cipher, but they keep running into more twists and turns that reveal more and more about the history of the Morningstarrs...and also the mystery.

It's also very curious how the Morningstarr machines seem to have a mind of their own. They seem to be working towards some bigger picture, but what that bigger picture is, no one knows.

Someone else more sinister is also trying to find the cipher, and they do not have the kids best interests at heart.

That's enough summary.

This is book 2 of 3. As such, I think it did a lot to evolve the mystery of the Morningstarrs more to the point where I'm still intrigued enough to read book 3, satisfied with a few of the answers I have now, but I still want to know the riddle of the Morningstarrs themselves. There were more inventions, more enemies, and more adventures; everything I was hoping from a sequel and it delivered.

I really liked how each of the kids show their own strengths. Jaime with his sketching and piecing together some of the clues, Tess and Theo also figuring out pieces of the cipher, and also kind of wondering if they're doing the right thing along the way. I also like how the kids are wary of the technology, they kind of sense something bigger is going on as well, but also have no idea what (much like us).

There's also the danger from some of the adults trying to figure out what the kids know. However, they're given kind of an odd spotlight so it's hard to speculate about their ultimate goals too, especially with why the chimeras are involved. We're given just enough clues to be curious and know it's important, but not enough to know why it's important or how it fits into the story.

Even though this is providing more clues to the cipher's answers, it just makes me look forward to book 3 even more to see how it all comes together in the end. I suspect when book 3 comes out, I'll need to reread books 1 & 2 to pick up all the details in book 3. I'm looking forward to it.

Happy reading!