Author(s): Jonathan Stroud

Young Adult

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 . . .

This is a really good book. It is all about an alternative London, where there are ghosts about and people need agents for protection. The agents, who are all children, track ghosts down to their source and then surround it with iron and salt, which ghosts can't stand. It all starts when Lockwood & Co put an advertisement in the paper for a very sensitive agent. Lucy, the main character, applies and the story starts twisting and turning its way through the pages. This book shows how exactly ghosts could be, and how seemingly reliable people could even be murderers. The mystery starts with Lucy and Lockwood waiting for the people who have hired them to come and unlock a house so they can cure it of a type one ghost (these are just shades) - or are there type twos (that can actually hurt you) just round the corner? Tension is high. It is very scary and gets scarier and scarier. It is often funny too. I think it is written better than Harry Potter. If you enjoy The Screaming Staircase, then you won't be able to wait for the next book in the 'Lockwood & Co' series. - Cosmo (10)

This is the most exciting new children’s book I have read in ages, and finally it has arrived in the shop!! Much excitement. The first in a series, Lockwood & Co, this is going to appeal to fans of Harry Potter, Lemony Snickett and Cornelia Funke. This is set in London, but not quite as we know it –  there’s a problem – a ghost problem. This isn’t a ghoulish kind of horror, this is sophisticated haunting. The ghosts have been coming back over the last 50 years and the only people who can quell or appease them are agents or Sensitives - children under 15 who have a sixth sense and special abilities. Lucy, our very excellent heroine, applies for a job as an agent with Lockwood & Co. She wins the job and joins a small company that comprises the raffish (and sometimes foolhardy, but always brave) Lockwood and the intelligent but bumbling, George. And then the fun begins…. this is very scary and very funny. (And oh, it’s also well-written.) - Stella

The old cliché, 'I couldn't put it down', totally resonated for me. I was too terrified to put it down!  For more than 50 years England has been plagued by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts, and to fight this outbreak, teams of psychic investigators have sprung up. Lockwood & Co, the agency consisting of Anthony, Lucy & George, make a disastrous mess of one of their cases, and decide to accept an offer to do better by spending the night in the most haunted house in England. I just kept reading until the small hours to find out what happened next, and was pleased to find it's the first in a series. Harry Potter's legions of older admirers will enjoy it too. - Jan

This clever, funny and very scary horror novel would appeal to older kids, young teens and discerning adults alike. Don't read it alone at night! - Lucy

I absolutely loved Lockwood & Co. - The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud, and can't wait to read it again - I'm sure there are some things I missed. It's scary, funny and very well written. - Lucy