Grim Tuesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 2) (Paperback)
by Garth Nix
ISBN: 0439436559

Price: USD 5.99
120 used & new available from USD 0.10

Picking up right where Mister Monday left off, Grim Tuesday calls Arthur Penhaligon back to the House. This time, Grim Tuesday is demanding that Arthur repay the debts of Mister Monday, to the point of sending his minions into Arthur’s world to take away his family’s money, house, jobs, and generally crash the stock market. The only thing Dame Primus can think to do is have Arthur return to the House, try to find part two of the Will, and depose the evil Grim Tuesday. But can Arthur survive another day in the house that almost killed him the day before?

I have hardly done the plot justice in that short summary, but I don’t want to ruin it for you! Grim Tuesday manages to be both scarily exciting and quite funny (in places) at the same time. Although a few places are a bit gross, the rest of the book manages to shine through brilliantly. As with the first book, this one ends right at the beginning of the next day, so have Drowned Wednesday handy.

Mister Monday (The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 1) (Paperback)
by Garth Nix
ISBN: 0439856264

Price: —
33 used & new available from USD 0.10

Arthur Penhaligon suffers from asthma. On his first day at his new school, he has a nasty attack and collapses. A strange man called Mister Monday and his butler appear and, along with some considerably confusing talk, give Arthur a mysterious key, shaped like the hand of a minute clock. Then they vanish. Arthur thinks it’s all just a weird hallucination, but that doesn’t explain why he still has the key — which Mister Monday will do anything to get back. Monday sends out his Fetchers (particularly nasty dog-faced men) to retrieve the precious item, and a terrible plague breaks out that no one can find the cure for. Arthur is sure he’s the only one who can help. But how?

It might be noted that the plot has much more depth to it than I’ve managed to portray in my summary! I thought it was very interesting. A definite page-turner, though much more intense (at least at the beginning) than I’m used to reading. Overall, I was quite pleased, and I plan to read the next book, Grim Tuesday.