Barnaby Grimes  The Barnaby Grimes series is written by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, and follows the title character of Grimes the "Tic-tock lad" (a young courier messenger specialising on very fast deliveries, as he takes the most direct route over the rooftops) and his various adventures - mostly with a supernatural spin to them. The fictional city in which the action takes place is never mentioned by name, but it appears to be rather large, with several named neighborhoods and areas;  The series seems to take place in England during the late Georgian era, with much use of historical slang and reference to various fashions and conventions of the time. This time period is further confirmed in "Phantom of Blood Alley" with the advent of early experiments in photography being central to the plot. The city has a clearly defined rich/poor divide, with opulent town-houses and offices to the East, and factories and poor slums to the West of the city. The story is narrated by the hero, with a spin to it that suggests he is telling the tale from the perspective of a long while afterward. The reader gets the sense that Grimes is a very busy character, as he refers to separate adventures happening during lulls in the current escapade, where other writers might simply use phrases like "two weeks later..." The series mainly follows the formula of a mystery, leading to a supernatural horror twist when the hero discovers the evil behind the mystery. Supernatural elements seem to be common in Barnaby's fictional world, although they are rarely referred to by other characters, suggesting that this is not common knowledge.