A paranormal fantasy-adventure in which death is only the beginning. Ill-mannered spooks and fearsome monsters populate the alternative London of this charming paranormal adventure. When Ben Harvester meets the mysterious Mr. October in London's Highgate Cemetery, he has no idea what a strange and dramatic turn his life is about to take. But Ben soon discovers that Mr. October works for the Ministry of Pandemonium, a secret organization responsible for tracking down lost souls and guiding them to the afterlife. And Mr. October wants him to be his new recruit. As Ben's apprenticeship begins, his eyes are opened to a new world of wonder -- a world where magic is real and ghosts haunt every crime scene, accident site, and hospital corridor. But with the wonder comes horror. Because the Ministry is not the only organization hunting spirits of the dead. The ghoulish Lords of Sundown want those spirits for their own sinister reasons. And as far as they're concerned, Ben's just chosen the wrong side in a very dangerous war.

Chris Westwood was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, the son of a coal miner and a school teacher. He is the author of A Light in the Black, which was a runner up for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, and Calling All Monsters. He now lives part of the time in his native West Yorkshire, part of the time in East London, and the rest of the time in a world of his own.