In The Evil Wizard Smallbone, Neil runs away from the uncle who beats him and the cousin who bullies him only to find himself on an evil wizard’s doorstep. Getting away proves impossible, but perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. The Whispering Skull is the second book in the ghost-ridden Lockwood & Co. series. (Jonathan Stroud has been added to my Favorite Authors list.) And Wild Boy is the fourth book in the Rowan Hood set (each member of her outlaw band is getting their moment.)
C. J. Milbrandt 