The Death Collector

What starts as an ordinary picket-pocketing incident in Victorian London unites three teens against a madman. Eddie is the pickpocket; George is an assistant at the British Museum; Elizabeth has a nose for trouble―and all of them are being hunted by Augustus Lorimore. Lorimore is a sinister factory owner, a villain bent on reanimating the dead, both humans and dinosaurs―and one of each is already terrorizing the streets of London. It's up to Eddie, George, and Elizabeth to stop Lorimore's monsters . . . or die trying.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–In Victorian London, Albert Wilkes returns home for tea four days after his funeral. While his shocked and terrified wife rushes to prepare it, Wilkes takes the family dog for a walk and is abducted. His kidnapping is witnessed by young pickpocket Eddie, who becomes embroiled, along with an assistant at the British Museum and a clergyman's daughter, in a deadly plot involving the fragments of a diary, a secret department at the British Museum, and a dinosaurlike creature roaming the streets. Oh, and there are some zombies. This thoroughly absorbing page-turner is a terrific blend of horror and mystery with three teen protagonists. It is a quick read packed with twists, turns, and just enough gore to keep things interesting. A great choice for horror fans.–Michele Capozzella, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. "Four days after his own funeral, Albert Wilkes came home for tea." It's hard to resist an opening line like that one, which sweeps readers right into this highly atmospheric story that invites at least nascent comparison to Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes. However, kids who have read Richards' Ghost Soldiers (2006), part of his Invisible Detective series, can't help but recognize a lot of similarities: three young protagonists (in this case, 19-year-old clockmaker, George; Liz, 18, daughter of an elderly clergyman; and intrepid street urchin Eddie); a foggy British backdrop that provides convenient cover for the activities of both heroes and villains; and a powerful megalomaniac, well on the road to creating monstrous beings that will topple world order. Readers will certainly need to suspend disbelief here, but the creepy combination of horror and mystery picks up speed deliciously with every turn of the page. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Justin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelization or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.

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