Synopses & Reviews
For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.
Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice.
Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county..?
Review
"Delaney grabs readers by the throat and gives them a good shake in a smartly crafted story....[T]he twisted horror is amply buffered by an exquisitely normal young hero, matter-of-fact prose, and a workaday normalcy." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"This accomplished and complex story will fascinate middle-school readers. The characters...are fully realized and definitely believable in their fantastic world of boggarts, witches, ghasts, and ghosts." Children's Literature
Review
"While not extraordinary, the writing is competent, and the plotline has enough twists to keep the reader in suspense....Middle schoolers will probably like the edginess of the bound boggarts and hanging ghastlies." KLIATT
Review
"Readers seeking lots of up-close encounters with the unquiet dead and other creepy entities need look no further." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This first entry...is an excellent choice for readers who are looking for a more sophisticated alternative to R. L. Stine's Goosebumps books, and the pacing and edgy illustrations at the start of each chapter will appeal to reluctant readers." School Library Journal
About the Author
Joseph Delaney lives in Lancashire, England, right in the middle of boggart territory. His village has a boggart, called a hall knocker, which was laid to rest under the steps of a house near the church. Most of the places in The Last Apprentice series are based on real locations in Lancashire, and the inspiration behind the stories often comes from local ghost stories and legends.