The Screaming Staircase (#1 Lockwood & Co)

Author(s): Jonathan Stroud

Senior Fiction | Read our reviews! | Fantasy & Magic

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . . For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions. Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive. Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

STELLA'S REVIEW


For fifty years, London has been haunted by ghosts, and the only people how can quell these beings are young, talented agents. There are several Psychic Investigations Agencies, but none are quite like Lockwood & Co. For a start they are a small team of three, they don’t have an adult ruling the roost and they do have a reputation for getting into quite a fix every once and so often. They are also extremely good at their job: Lockwood himself is brave, unflappable (you could definitely say he enjoys danger - maybe too much!) and highly skilled; George is the brains of the organisation - the one who will delve into the puzzles behind the ghostly problems finding the key that may quite often save their lives; and Lucy is smart, brave, and has an unwavering ability to tune into ghosts, especially the disaffected and trickiest ones. All in all, it’s dangerous, scary and filled with wonderful details and excellent characters. As the series continues the world of Lockwood & Co. becomes increasingly complex, the ghosts more malign, the apparitions more startling and the machinations and jealousies of the agencies increasingly mysterious. With titles like The Screaming Staircase,The Whispering SkullThe Hollow Boy and The Creeping Shadow, these are not for the faint-hearted. Yet Stroud isn’t all about scares; he uses humour excellently and draws out the relationship between our three heroes with pithy dialogue and the epic values of loyalty, courage and compassion. 

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Product Information

The book sensation of the year from global bestselling author, Jonathan Stroud.

Winner of We Read Award 2015 and Hampshire Book Award 2015 and Hampshire Book Award 2014. Shortlisted for Coventry Inspiration Book Awards: Simply the Book Category 2015 and North East Book Award 2015. Long-listed for Inky Awards: Silver Inky 2015 and Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2014.

"This story will keep you reading late into the night, but you'll want to leave the lights on. Stroud is a genius at inventing an utterly believable world which is very much like ours, but so creepily different. Put The Screaming Staircase on your 'need to read' list." Rick Riordan "The book is genuinely spooky and suspenseful, with appealing characters and great dialogue, and all shot through with Stroud's dry wit." Guardian "A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls" Kirkus "Stroud (the Bartimaeus series) shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action, and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood Co. invigorates the story (along with no shortage of creepy moments)." Publishers Weekly "In a world overrun by evil spooks, can Paranormal Detection Agency Lockwood Co do anything about the ghostly problems besetting London? Suspenseful, supernatural adventure." Metro

Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford in 1970. After studying English Literature at York University, he moved to London, where he worked as an editor in a publishing firm. He is the author of the best-selling BARTIMAEUS sequence, which is published in 35 languages and has sold 6 million copies worldwide, and also of four other novels: HEROES OF THE VALLEY, THE LAST SIEGE, THE LEAP and BURIED FIRE. Jonathan lives in Hertfordshire with his family. He has yet to see a ghost, but is keeping his eyes open.

General Fields

  • : 9780552566780
  • : Penguin Random House
  • : Penguin Books Ltd
  • : 0.332
  • : June 2014
  • : 198mm X 129mm
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Jonathan Stroud
  • : Paperback
  • : en
  • : 823.92
  • : 480