London has been plagued by ghosts for more than half a century. Those with hauntings turn to psychic investigator agencies to help them. Several such agencies operate in London. Lucy Carlyle came to London in hopes of joining a prestigious agency to fight the spirits. But....she ended up at the low end of the industry. Lockwood & Company is the smallest and most beleaguered agency in the city. In fact, the company has one last chance to prove itself, or be defunct. Their last chance is a doozy -- spend the night in one of the most haunted residences in London and come out alive.

Can they do it?

I'm not going to give away much of the plot....no spoilers from me. But I will say the story moves at a steady pace. The action and scares are wonderfully fun. The humor is witty and the characters engaging. This book was just fun to read, especially now that the weather is cooling down and I'm starting to think Halloween-y thoughts. This was a nice book to kick off the fright season. :)

The Screaming Staircase is a great start to the Lockwood & Company series. Witty humor, scary ghosts, and mysteries to solve -- a great mix for a middle grade book series! There are currently four books in the series, with a fifth book, The Empty Grave, coming out soon. My 6th grader wanted to read something scary this Fall leading up to Halloween. I'm definitely steering him towards this series. I think he will love it! Nice mix of humor and scary. :) A fun read for any age....I'm definitely going to read the rest of the series. :)

For more information on author Jonathan Stroud and his books, check out his website: http://www.jonathanstroud.com/

Fantastic story by an author I admire greatly. I suspect he is at the top of all children fiction authors' must read list. His word choices are so succinct and yet fully immerses you in it's great descriptive powers. Such a unique story idea, flawlessly plotted and executed. Great characters and character development. It has the feel of an instant classic. You owe it to yourself to read it !

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Lockwood and co are made up of a trio of kids who help fight the "Visitors" thst plague England. For 50 years, these various ghosts have threatened people from dusk to dawn. Only young people can see them. Unlike most companies, Lockwood has no adult supervisor. Just himself, George and our storyteller Lucy. The premise is geeat, the characters rich and the storytelling engaging. It reminds me a bit of the Jackoby series by William Ritter. Really good and I will be out hunting down the rest of the series!

I wasn't a fan of the Bartimeaus Trilogy, but I got sucked right into this series. This isn't my usual genre either. All these ghoulies and ghosties and horror stories are not my favorites, but this one was really well done, and not in the spooky kind of way.

The characters are great. These kids are entrepreneurs up against bigger agencies, and trying to convince adults that they are fully capable of running a successful business without adult supervision. I liked their personalities, especially Lucy, our brave MC. This is another great book that puts a woman (girl) in a strong position, and - no romance!!

I recommend this for fantasy & mystery fans. This is kind of like those young Sherlock Holmes type books out there.

I'm loving this. I can't believe I've passed over this before, based on the author's other books.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Most everything that I look for in a book is right here. To-die-for atmosphere, great snarky real characters, a dash of humor, creepy chills, and just brilliant writing all around.

Lucy, Anthony, and George make an odd group. Anthony Lockwood has recently begun his own agency of operatives to deal with Visitors - things that go bump in the night. It seems that over the past 50 years, the Problem of phantasms, specters, and other ghostly visitations has become very difficult to live with. Only youngsters have the psychic ability to detect and deal with Visitors, so agencies provide supervisors to coordinate missions while the agents are actually school-aged. But this agency is different - there are no adults running things, just Lockwood, his deputy George Cubbins and their new assistant, Lucy Carlyle.

Lockwood reminds me of a cross between a young Sherlock Holmes and Fox Mulder. He is impatient with the authorities, certain that his team can handle anything it comes across, and even does a bit of skulking about in disguise to gather information. George is more of a stocky researcher who also does field work. He could happily spend days going through records at City Hall or old files in the library, putting together floor plans, photos from the newspaper archives, and restocking equipment. Lucy is new to the team, dealing with the trauma of losing the last team she worked with to a very devious Visitor, and determined to prove herself. When the three of them are commissioned to clear the most haunted house in England, even their combined strengths may not be enough to see them all safely through the night.

A great read for those who enjoy supernatural thrills and chills, detective work, ensemble casts with a variety of personalities, and some sword work, too.

I had not previously read any of Jonathon Stroud’s books but I will definitely be reading more after finishing The Screaming Staircase! What a fun read! Loved the three main characters and the premise and am looking forward to starting the next book in the series and adding these to our elementary library.

I believe this is a book of ghostly adventures, it is thrilling, intriguing, compelling and scary but exciting and full of suspense. The storyline is okay and the characters although a few are annoying are good. Lucy, George, and Lockwood wade their way through these adventures with what I believe is sheer luck on their side. The stories are very interesting, thought provoking, and sometimes intense, this has been an exciting and interesting read.

I always enjoy Jonathan Stroud's dry wit and while this book is rather tame compared to his Bartimaeus series, it is a fast paced jaunt into the land of spirits. Lucy, George and Lockwood run a ghost chasing agency in London where most of the day is spent preparing for some unusual nights. They don't carry plasma blasters like the ghostbusters we are used to but instead favor salt, iron and sabers. The agency is not doing well after a botched case resulted in a large fire so the trio is forced to take on a case no one else wants with some really nasty ghosts. Their journey leads them to an old estate with a screaming staircase, mean dead monks and other murdered spirits who will make their night most unpleasant. The characters are wonderful and remind me of Sherlock Holmes with a kick butt female sidekick in addition to the usual Dr. Watson. Scary without being gory this is one summer adventure that will have the kids reading by flashlight staying up all night to finish just a bit jumpy from looking for spirits that lurk on the other side of the covers

Excellent beginning to a series. I don't usually like scary books, but I really like this one.

Love Jonathan Stroud! This is the first book in an amazing series. If you love paranormal and mystery with a little Sherlock Holmes type brilliance, read this book!

I absolutely adore the Lockwood & Co series. They are billed as childrens books but they are so much more than that. In a slightly skewed version of today's London several ghost hunting agencies work tirelessly to fight 'The Problem'. Ever since the end of the Second World War ghosts have been causing havoc. One of the ghost hunting agencies is Lockwood & Co, and it is run by a charismatic teenager called Anthony Lockwood. He is assisted by two other teenagers, Lucy Carlyle and George Cubbins. Now, you may be wondering why 'The Problem' is being tackled by children and not adults. The simple answer is that adults cannot see ghosts and spirits. As the children age, and by the time they reach their late teens, they will loose the ability to see too. Sometimes adults run the agencies but they all employ children and teens to do the 'dirty' work. The Screaming Staircase is the first book in the Lockwood & Co series and is a great introduction to the fantastic characters. I particularly like George for his dry wit and sarcasm, and his love of cake and other sweet treats. The London in the book is supposedly present day but it has a slightly olde worlde, Victorian, and slightly dismal feel to it which adds to the eerie atmosphere. There are enough scares and twists to keep readers of any age engaged in this series. I really like the humour too and the friendship between the three main characters is lovely. Every year I wait with bated breath for the next instalment of this fabulous series. Hopefully I haven't got too much longer to wait.