REVIEW: Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase

Lockwood & Co.
The Screaming Staircase
Author: Jonathan Stroud

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/