Tunnel of Bones by V.E. Schwab, published in 2019, is the second installment in the City of Ghosts series. The story follows Cassidy Blake, a girl who can cross the Veil between the living and the dead, as she travels to Paris with her ghost-hunting parents for a new episode of their TV show. But when Cassidy accidentally awakens a dangerous spirit beneath the city, she must unravel its mystery and help it move on before it causes real harm.

Plot Summary

In the underbelly of Paris, where bones line the walls and shadows remember, Cassidy Blake walks with the dead. Her parents, cheerful and oblivious, film their TV show, The Inspecters, capturing haunted legends across the world. This time, they’ve brought their ghost-savvy daughter to the City of Light. But Cassidy knows better than to be lulled by sunlight and sweet pastries. Beneath every beautiful place lies something forgotten.

Cassidy doesn’t walk alone. Jacob, her ghost best friend, trails her like a living shadow. Bound together since the day he saved her from drowning, Jacob is sarcastic, protective, and slowly changing. Each day in the land of the living gives him more substance, more strength – a fact that neither of them knows how to handle. A camera hangs around Cassidy’s neck, an old thing that captures more than it should, and tucked in her pocket is a mirror pendant from her friend Lara, another in-betweener. Cassidy can slip into the Veil, the realm where the restless dead replay their final moments. And lately, the Veil has been calling.

In Paris, Cassidy senses something is wrong almost immediately. The Veil is heavier, its pull sharper. Her first glimpse of the supernatural comes not in the shadowy corners of an ancient city, but in the fiery hallucination of a burning palace. Stepping into the Veil near the Tuileries garden, she stumbles into a forgotten moment – the Palace of the Tuileries engulfed in flames, chaos erupting. There she meets a ghost with eyes like coal and soot on his hands, a spirit not just haunting a memory but reaching for Cassidy’s lifeline. She narrowly escapes, banishing him with the mirror pendant, but something lingers. This ghost – this poltergeist – follows her out.

Cassidy names him a poltergeist because he doesn’t stay where he belongs. Unlike the others she’s helped pass on, this one has clawed his way into the world of the living. At first, it’s a whisper. A shadow. A shiver of cold. Then come the accidents. A nearly fatal swing of a metal hook at a café. The awning tearing loose at just the wrong moment. Every near miss sends a message – someone, something, is watching.

The trail leads Cassidy into the tunnels beneath Paris – the Catacombs. A network of twisting corridors, stacked wall to wall with skulls and femurs, the city of the dead beneath the living. The deeper they go, the louder the Veil beats, dragging at her bones like a tide. There, Cassidy falls through the Veil again, only to hear voices – scattered, lost, calling for help. A child’s voice, clear and playful, counts in French: un, deux, trois. Something young, but not innocent.

The poltergeist reveals himself not as a bitter man, but a boy named Thomas – a spirit who died in a tunnel collapse and never moved on. Thomas is powerful, more so than Cassidy expects. He’s not just haunting a moment, he’s absorbing energy, growing stronger. Each trick, each scare, each near miss makes him bolder. And worse, he isn’t alone anymore. Cassidy soon realizes that her slip in the Catacombs did more than awaken Thomas – it unlatched a door.

Strange things begin to happen across Paris. A Ferris wheel spins too fast. A swing set moves with no wind. Ghostly images flicker in Cassidy’s camera lens. Her parents don’t notice, lost in the gleam of filming locations and the chatter of local legends. Only Pauline, their Parisian guide, seems to sense the wrongness – though she insists she doesn’t believe in ghosts, she clutches her protective charm tighter each day.

Cassidy reaches out to Lara for help. Through scattered messages, Lara urges her to identify the ghost’s true story, to understand what binds him here. Thomas’s mischief isn’t just noise – it’s rooted in memory. She must unravel his past if she wants to send him on. So Cassidy follows the trail through the places he might have known – the Luxembourg Gardens, the Pont Marie bridge, the Eiffel Tower. Every stop yields clues, every ghost story folds into Thomas’s puzzle. Bit by bit, she pieces together his life – a boy who disappeared underground and was never found.

But Thomas is no longer content to haunt quietly. He follows Cassidy through the city, his presence cracking through the veil that separates life and death. When he nearly causes a full collapse in a haunted theater, Cassidy understands that he isn’t merely lost – he’s angry. Angry to be forgotten. Angry to be alone. And in his frustration, he threatens to tear through the boundary that holds the world together.

With Jacob at her side, Cassidy returns to the Catacombs one final time. The place where it began must be the place it ends. She descends into the tunnels with the mirror in hand, her lifeline burning bright within her chest. The Veil welcomes her like an old nightmare. And there, in the place of endless bones, she finds Thomas again.

But Thomas doesn’t want to be saved. He wants company. Cassidy’s lifeline, pulsing and warm, calls to him like a beacon. He lunges, desperate to tether himself to her light, to cheat the silence of the Veil. Jacob intervenes, shouting, distracting, protecting. And Cassidy speaks the words she has learned by heart, the ritual passed down by those who have walked this line before her. She holds the mirror high and forces the spirit to see himself – not as he was, but as he is. A boy lost in the dark. A boy who never got to say goodbye.

Thomas’s lifeline, dim and frayed, unravels in Cassidy’s hand like ash in the wind. The Veil ripples, the Catacombs go silent. The poltergeist is gone.

Cassidy staggers back to the surface. Paris is bright again, the sky wide and blue, the shadows thinner. Her parents chatter about the next shoot. Pauline clutches her charm a little less tightly. Jacob, quieter now, fades a bit more around the edges.

But Cassidy knows the truth. The Veil never sleeps. Beneath every light lies darkness. And somewhere, another ghost waits to be seen.

Main Characters

• Cassidy Blake – A curious and brave young girl who can step into the Veil, a shadowy in-between world filled with ghosts. Ever since a near-death experience, she’s been tethered to the ghost world and feels a sense of responsibility to help spirits move on. Her journey is driven by a mixture of adventure, duty, and a growing awareness of the danger her abilities carry.

• Jacob – Cassidy’s best friend and loyal companion, who also happens to be a ghost. Protective, sarcastic, and often reluctant, Jacob struggles with his own place in the world, especially as he grows stronger the longer he stays on the living side of the Veil. His bond with Cassidy adds emotional depth and tension to their supernatural adventures.

• Lara Chowdhury – Another “in-betweener” like Cassidy, Lara is more experienced in ghost-hunting and serves as both mentor and critic. Though not physically present in Paris, her presence lingers through messages and the tools she’s provided Cassidy, such as the mirror pendant used to banish ghosts.

• Cassidy’s Parents (The Inspecters) – A quirky duo who host a ghost-hunting reality show. Cassidy’s mother is the believer, a romantic and passionate storyteller, while her father is the historian and skeptic. Though they remain unaware of Cassidy’s true powers, their presence sets the stage for each haunted adventure.

• Pauline Deschamp – A Parisian cultural guide assigned to help the family during their filming. She is skeptical and proper, yet her subtle nervous gestures and superstitious charms suggest a deeper fear or awareness of the ghostly world.

Theme

• Life and Death – The story is fundamentally about navigating the border between life and death. Cassidy walks the Veil, encountering ghosts who haven’t moved on, and must confront what binds them to this world.

• Responsibility and Purpose – Cassidy wrestles with what it means to have her powers. Is she a ghost-hunter, a protector, or something else? This question shapes her arc, especially as she faces increasingly dangerous spirits.

• Friendship and Loyalty – Cassidy and Jacob’s bond is central to the novel. Their friendship is tested by fear, frustration, and the risk Jacob poses the longer he remains. Yet, their loyalty to each other remains unwavering.

• History and Haunting – Paris itself becomes a character in the novel, with its catacombs, legends, and haunted past enriching the atmosphere. Each ghost story reflects a piece of history, blending cultural myth with supernatural tension.

• Growing Up and Identity – As Cassidy navigates the Veil and the living world, she is also on a path of self-discovery. She’s not just learning how to deal with ghosts, but also how to trust herself and grow into her role.

Writing Style and Tone

V.E. Schwab’s prose in Tunnel of Bones is sharp, atmospheric, and emotionally attuned. She writes in the first-person voice of Cassidy, lending the story a close, introspective feel. Cassidy’s narration is quick-witted and self-aware, filled with dry humor and snappy dialogue—especially in her banter with Jacob. Schwab balances the whimsy and warmth of middle-grade fiction with the tension and darkness of ghost stories. Her language is accessible but never simplistic, drawing young readers in with a confident narrative tone that never underestimates their intelligence.

The tone dances between eerie and endearing. Schwab builds suspense through vivid descriptions of haunted spaces and ghostly encounters, while never letting the fear overwhelm the emotional heart of the story. The balance of light and dark—chilling catacombs and cozy family breakfasts, spectral hauntings and snarky text messages—creates a rich tonal tapestry. The story is paced briskly, with each chapter pushing Cassidy deeper into mystery and danger, yet always grounded by her voice, which remains relatable, honest, and brave.