** spoiler alert ** 
 More like 3.5 stars, really. 
 Skulduggery Pleasant and his young assistant Valkyrie take on not only the Guild, but work to stop the entire world from being destroyed by the Faceless Ones. Tough work, especially when you don't get the respect you're due. 
 Valkyrie is growing up fast. I was hoping for more of her "real life" interaction, maybe some twisted plot with her reflection trying to take over her life and becoming independent, but no such luck. There is very little of the normal world in this third iteration. 
 The humor is still there, though for me it was tempered by the violence being cranked up a notch. Towards the end there were some parts that were just downright gruesome---not the best for Trevor. He remarked "how many more people are going to die before we finish this book?!!?" 
 Warren liked it a great deal, however. Note that Trevor laughed, though again, there aren't as many chances to laugh this time around. I do look forward to another one in the series; this ending just begs for a fourth title. In the meantime, we are taking a break from villains and their monologues, injuries and deaths and the extreme violence overall to read about a little mouse. :)