Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Summary from Goodreads:

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 . . .

Review:

So we actually listened to another audiobook first on our trip to Chicago. We listened to Jackaby by William Ritter, but since I’ve already read and reviewed it on this blog I figured I’d skip to the next book in my pile…I’ve fallen a bit behind in my blogging and my book pile is threatening to fall over.

Sadly, I got rid of most of my Children’s audiobook collection this past year at the library. They just weren’t circulating. I set a few aside for the long road trip that I thought my husband and I might both like. This was one of them. A ghost story with sword fighting on the front cover? Why not? Sometimes I can be so right with my book suggestions it’s frightening. Not only did Nick and both love this book, but we are already about to begin book 3 at home (not even in the car). I had no idea there were 5 in the series! We also both loved Jackaby. But, this book just ended in such a spot where we had to keep going….

I also have to give props to the narrator: Miranda Raison. She is fantastic at voices, dead and alive. If not for her remarkable narration skills, we would have had a much worse road trip! 17 hours is no joke.

Anyway, this book is amazing! I cannot believe I have not read it until now. What an amazing read-alike/fantasy middle grade book for fans of Rick Riordan, JK Rowling, Shannon Messenger, and Jessica Townsend. The story is a little bit spookier than some of these other books, but just as suspenseful. And the characters are just as good. Oh, and the cliffhangers! The cliffhangers kill me.

The only thing that kind of annoys me about the books is I’m never sure on the time period….Things like donuts and comic books come up, but there are no cell phones or other modern pieces of technology. Is it a total fantasy world version of London? Or is it decades ago, but with ghosts? Will this ever get explained? Maybe.

The characters in here are unbelievable. You feel like you know them by the end. The ghosts are so spooky. The world is insane. Only kids can deal with the ghosts. It’s kids that fight the supernatural because adults can’t see them. And often kids die fighting them….There’s swords, chains, talking ghosts jars, secret rooms, literal screaming staircases, not so helpful police, rival investigative societies, and so much more. I give this first book a 10/10. I can’t wait to keep reading.