Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost

KikrusIntrepid veteran Hetty Hyssop, her young amanuensis Tom and their moody, slime-oozingspectral associate Hugo nearly meet a fiery doom in this smoothly translated import, the secondepisode of four originally published in Germany. Responding to the summons of a seaside hotel'smanager, the Ghosthunters expect to find only a minor fire ghost to snag-but are instead confrontedby a huge GILIG (see title), a spirit so powerful that The Big Ghost Encyclopedia warns readers toavoid contact at all costs. Standing fast as the hotel takes heavy damage and guests flee in terror (someof this last, to be sure, caused by Hugo's pranks), the Ghosthunters discover the GILIG's weaknessjust as they're about to be turned into ash, and the day is saved. Funke closes with a manual forprospective ghosthunters, plus an elaborate taxonomy of ghostly types, from ASG (Averagely SpookyGhosts, which is Hugo's category) to FOFUG (Foggy Fug-Ghost). Replete with both spooks and withcomically cluttered illustrations, this will win many new fans. (Fantasy. 9-11) SLJGr 3-5-In this sequel to Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (Scholastic, 2006), the phantom-fighting team is summoned to the remote Seafront Hotel to deal with another case of otherworldly mischief. The clues-hot water, steam, and sulfurous odors-seem to indicate the presence of a harmless Fire Ghost, but when Tom and Hetty Hyssop try to tackle the sizzling spook, they discover that there is a much more dangerous entity involved. Then Seafront guests begin disappearing, and the duo realize that they are outmatched. Only the third member of the crew, Hugo, an ASG (Averagely Spooky Ghost), has the occult skills to battle the sinister Lightning Ghost before it incinerates the hotel-and everybody in it. The Ghosthunters are delightfully diverse: nine-year-old Tom is a cool-headed, cautious type; Hetty is a feisty, no-nonsense senior citizen; and complaining, pouting, ego