Reviews of The Twilight Prisoner:
Greek myth meets modern high school in this gripping sequel to the Edgar Award-winning "The Night Tourist." Jack Perdu can still fly, see ghosts and pass for dead in the dim underworld he visits below New York City. This time, though, he hopes to impress Cora, his secret crush, by taking her with him. Smooth move, Jack. The two soon find themselves hunted by Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog, blackmailed by a media mogul and helped and sometimes hindered in their escape by a prickly girl ghost. Cora is even denied her favorite gum lest she be doomed forever to the shadow world like Proserpina, the pomegranate-seed-eating goddess. Ghostly cameos provide mordant fun and glimpses of lesser-known historical figures. Jack and Cora talk poetry with W.H. Auden, disrupt a manners seminar by Emily Post and dance the Lindy Hop with its creator, George "Shorty" Snowden. The allusions to ancient gods may draw fans of Rick Riordan's popular series "Percy Jackson and the Olympians." However, the dark humor and poignant exchanges between the dead and living put this novel closer in tone and sensibility to "The Graveyard Book," by Neil Gaiman. Like that Newbery winner, "The Twilight Prisoner" will keep kids reading late into the balmy nights ahead.
-- Washington Post Book World Summer Reading Guide
In this quick-paced sequel to The Night Tourist, Marsh returns readers, and her hero Jack Perdu, to the New York City underworld. In an effort to impress his classmate Cora, Jack takes her to the underworld, but heightened security leaves them without a return route. Jack and Cora dodge underworld authorities as they track down the civil engineer who may hold the key to their escape, while piecing together a mystery involving Euri, the ghost Jack befriended in the previous book (readers needn't have read it, as Marsh provides sufficient background). The hallmarks of The Night Tourist remain: the historical trivia and humor Marsh weaves through her text (ghosts at the Bloomingdale asylum learn the limbo, as part of their therapy), appearances by notable deceased figures (Emily Post, W.H. Auden) and the influence of Greek myth. (This story takes cues from the story of Persephone, in which the goddess is abducted by Hades and brought to the underworld.) Readers should be drawn in by the complex relationships between Marsh's protagonists and Jack's continuing existential struggles, caught between the worlds of the living and the dead.
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
Marsh proves immune to the sophomore jinx in this sequel; after a quick reset of The Night Tourist (2007), this briskly paced story soars. Fifteen-year-old Jack Perdu, ghost whisperer and the series’s hero, is smitten by fellow Latin Club member Cora Flores. He musters up the courage to ask her out, but school heartthrob Austin Chapman tags along. Determined to one-up Austin, Jack suggests an underground tour of Columbia University. Actually, the tunnels are portals to the Underworld and Jack recklessly leads Cora and Austin into the ghostly realm. A second romantic thread spices the tale when Euri, Jack’s deceased friend from the first book, appears. Jealousy crackles between the living and dead girls. The more pressing problem is that the trio must find an escape route within three days or join the ranks of the dead. Cerberus, mythology’s vicious three-headed dog, relentlessly hunts the real-world humans while time mercilessly ticks away. The plot is lavishly draped with snappy dialogue, realistic teen characters and clever didn’t-see-it-coming twists. An outstanding story with wide appeal.
-Kirkus Review
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