I got this book, and then watched the first season on Netflix. After finishing the season, I really wanted to read the book. The book follows VERY closely with the series. The story was easy to follow, entertaining, and fun! I enjoyed the characters and their interactions with each other. I am looking forward to the next book.

Incredibly late to the party, Lockwood and Co is a thrilling adventure filled with twists and spooks a plenty!

this book was a good middle grade book. i enjoyed the "mystery" it had and def would recommend to friends who have kids int he age group

Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

The Screaming Staircase came out a WHILE back, but the teachers and students at my school love it! It was even on our Name That Book competition list one year. I recommend to any middle grade and public library!

With thanks to netgalley and the publishers and the author for this ARC

The screaming Staircase is aimed at the younger reader, this aside I still really enjoyed the book, and was happy to tell my nieces and nephews that they would too enjoy this book.

I love supernatural and unique stories that surround the subject. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud is fantastic, fun, adventurous journey, and thank you Netgalley for introducing me to this fantastic world creator. This is the first book in The Lockwood and Company series.
The overall premise centers around the near future of London and other various cities in England. Ghosts are out and about. These ghosts can harm people and mental challenges to the people living in this country.
Another thing is no adult can see the ghosts, only children and teenagers can see and hear them. How does one get rid of or relocate something or someone you can only see? Enter in Anthony Lockwood, who is the head of Lockwood and Company psychic detection agency.
The Lockwood and Company is run by a teenager Anthony. Most or nearly all of the other agencies are run by adults. The one down fall of this, adults cannot see or hear the ghosts. They are apt to question the ghosts that are being seen and heard. Even thu the adults head up some the companies, some of the adults have a hard time believing what their employees are saying to them about the ghosts.
The Screaming Staircase is an unique read. I loved the writing style, world building, and the theme by Jonathan Stroud. Thank you Jonathan for creating a different world for us mere mortals to hide away in, even if it is just a few moments.

My thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for an eARC copy of this to read and review.

While this didn't work for me, I can see it appealing to middle grade readers, as it has a fast moving plot and the leaps of logic will probably be missed by a younger reader. This (much older than the target audience) reader was not able to get past those logic leaps.

Stupid thing that annoyed me that most people won't notice. This takes place in England and one of the MCs can almost taste the "whisky" in the air. Here's my quibble. "Whisky" is spelled as "whiskey" with an "E" in England and all other countries with an "E" in their name, without an "E" in countries without an "E" in their name. Not sure why, it just is. The only exception I know of is Maker's Mark, which is spelled without the "E" as the family came from Scotland and they are honoring their ancestors by leaving the "E" out.

So. Stupid little thing that only a handful of people, most likely adults, will catch, but it annoyed me. No stars docked for that, but worth a mention.

Also, this book takes place in England, but the cookies aren't called "biscuits", they are called "cookies".

Dude, ever since Harry Potter, it hasn't been necessary to "translate" British English for Americans. Yes, we are rather dense, but with the Harry Potter invasion, I would hope we are smart enough to figure out that biscuits are cookies. Sheesh!

This is a stronger pet peeve of mine, so maybe half a star docked. Maybe more, we will see by the end of the review how irked it makes me.

Now, what REALLY irked me, was the TSTL characters. Don't have a character mention how a fellow agent died because they didn't make sure all of their supplies were present and working, then have the SAME THING happen to the MCs a paragraph later! MC h didn't double check the supplies before they left, she trusted the MC H to have done it. He didn't, so now her life was at risk.

I mostly work with paperwork and I triple check EVERYthing. I trust NO ONE. Because we are all human and make mistakes and I want my work to be correct. If my LIFE was on the line? I would DEFINITELY triple check it all.

Also, this version of present day England apparently does not have insurance or Hold Harmless Agreements. This really upset me, that a major reason for the MCs to have to go to a dangerous haunted house was to pay damages for a house they practically destroyed when trying to cleanse it of a ghost.

Also, the MC h is face to face with a ghost. To yell to get her partner's attention could set the ghost off, so she calls to him in a sing-song tone of voice. Does he realize that is unusual and come to the rescue or remain oblivious? Oblivious, of course. Maybe a code word would be a good idea, but also THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE SPLIT UP IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

Aaaaand fat shaming. The thin, handsome one is an idiot, just rushes in without understanding the value of research and the fat one is described as slovenly, gross, etc, but he researches so they have a prayer of survival. I know who I would prefer on my team.

Last one a pet peeve, we never get a solid age on any of the MCs.

So. Would I recommend this? To the right reader, one who is voracious and like series and doesn't mind the logical leaps re: doing stupid things that in the real world would get the kids killed. It's a good series to know about, but I don't think I will continue it. Not horrible, very engagingly written, but not for me per say. 2, not overly happy but not horrible, stars.

The Screaming Staircase is a fun, action-packed romp through a speculative alternative to modern(ish) London. In this version of London, England and the world at large are plagued by a pandemic of phantoms and phantasms. Adults are, for the most part, blind to these apparitions. However, this blindness does nothing to protect them from the malevolent entities. This is how the world finds themselves beholden to the younger generation, who can see and hear and otherwise sense the ghosts. Agencies have been put in place and are fun by adults who directed their more sensitive employee base. However, there are no laws that say gifted children have to work for adults, which is how Lockwood and Co. came to be. Lockwood, still a child himself, runs his own ghost hunting firm with two other children: George and Lucy. When what should have been a simple case goes horribly awry, the company find themselves taking on a terribly dangerous job with very little time to prepare. If they fail, they will lose any chance of future clients, along with the company itself and the house they live and work in.

This was my first encounter with Jonathan Stroud’s writing. I’m a fan of middle grade fiction and have heard great things about both this series and the Bartimaeus series. While The Screaming Staircase was by no means boring, I found myself just trying to push through it so I could move on instead of deeply enjoying it. I thought the best element of the story was Lockwood himself, who came across as a younger ghost hunting version of Sherlock Holmes. Even the fact that we were getting his story secondhand, through the eyes of Lucy, reminded me of Sherlock’s relationship with Doctor Watson. Lockwood was a very intriguing character, and I can see where he and his tiny gang would entrance readers. Unfortunately, I simply wasn’t one of those readers. I wanted more character development outside of merely seeing quirks and chemistry, whereas this book was concerned far more with action and its mystery elements.

While I didn’t love this book, I didn’t hate it by any means. I don’t see myself continuing this particular series, but I’m definitely interested enough in Stroud’s writing to give his Bartimaeus series a try.

2.5/5 I thought this was middle grade. It's not. It's like an episode of Scooby Doo meets the Ghostbusters but zero comedy. The characters are written very dry and so it came across like cardboard. Lucy is the best part of this book. It should be called Lucy & Co.

It took me 5 years to read this book, not because it was complicated, but just for myself.
The story of Lockwood and Lucy (and George) is a somewhat intricate story, about ghosts, and the children that help banish them. Little details - what time is this set on, everything gets solved too quickly - kept this from a higher rating for me, but it wasn't bad enough that I completely hated reading it.

This is a wonderfully down book. Loved that I could read and enjoy it on my own, but I also loved that my son could read and was interested in it, as well.

Rating: 4 stars. I very much enjoyed this book. Being the biggest fan of the Bartimaeus trilogy, I was ecstatic to dive back into this series, and it did not disappoint with snappy dialogue, an intriguing premise, and interesting characters. I will say that I did not enjoy how quickly our heroine seems to "fall" for the hero (insta-love is truly not my thing), but it was mitigated by the more chilling aspects of the plot, which brought an edge to this story. Highly recommended as I am already gearing up to jump into the sequel.

If you don't believe in ghosts already you will after reading this book. This will be my YA recommendation of the month.

This is a really fun book and a great series. After finishing this book, I immediately read the rest of books in the series. The world in which this story takes place is interesting and well crafted. The story is compelling, and includes elements of mystery, humor, horror, adventure, fantasy and science fiction. But my favorite aspect of this book, and what made me want to immediately continue the series, is the characters. The characters and their relationships with each other are hilarious, endearing and delightful. I will definitely be recommending this one.

Imagine a world in which ghosts inhabit the night instead of criminals and your protectors are companies of child age ghost hunters armed with rapiers, chains, and salt bombs and their retired adult age supervisors. The Screaming Staircase follows a ragtag trio of kids and the “ghost-busting” trouble they get into as they try to solve cases and not get their new company shut down.

This takes the idea of ghost hunting to the next level and I loved it. I wanted to read it because it reminded me a lot of Ghostbusters, but this was so unique and doesn’t copycat in anyway. My only complaint is that it took awhile to get to what I considered the best part. I was up many a night very unsettled and spooked while reading this but I always wanted to know more. I can’t wait to continue on in this series.

I loved this book! It kept me on the eve edge of my seat from chapter one! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love juvenile fiction ghost stories! They are just so entertaining to read! I can always get these books into the hands of kids to read at our library,too! It's a bit Harry Potterish, but reminds me more of the Great Ghost Rescue. A bit scarier tho'. I think kids will like this one! Ghosts are taking over London and groups like the GhostBusters are fighting them. It's sheer entertainment for kids! Can't really go wrong with a Disney book, tho' can you? Kiddos will love it!

I love books about British kids, and I enjoy books where kids solve paranormal mysteries, so this was set up to be a win for me. The alternate world was pretty neat and well fleshed out, I'm interested to read more in the world. Although the mystery wasn't particularly complex, it was sufficient for a middle grade novel and surprisingly dark.

Success! I want to read more of the Lockwood & Co mysteries and feel the chill of being ghost-locked. The Screaming Staircase is a good mystery, spine tingling thrill for middle graders. There are a few ghastly descriptions of the murdered victims and circumstances of other deaths. The description of the red room was truly awful. (I write this realizing that the red room description adds to the tone of the book and can't be edited out. But, I did shudder in disgust.)

Stroud does a great job in writing; he tickled my funny bone with quirky details. When the kids from Lockwood & Co. work on solving a mystery they end up on Baker Street, the location of the research library in this alternative London. A sinister ghost plasm in a sealed jar is kept under a polkadot cloth. They bicker over who ate a doughnut, cookie or other treat instead of the danger they will certainly be facing. A table cloth serves as a notepad for pertinent messages as well as the mundane.

Characters:

Lockwood - The teenager, proprietor and all around snarky fellow who runs Lockwood & Co, He seems reminiscent of a crowing Peter Pan, full of bluff and bluster. It seems like he will never grow up and loves a good adventure. If you know someone is trying to kill you and you proceed anyhow in their employ this is the guy for you!

Lucy - The cool headed one, well, sometimes. She gets fairly annoyed with George on a daily basis, but she has fair reasons to be annoyed and there are certain moments with Lockwood as well, such as when he nearly gets one killed. As the most complex character, to date, she is full of angst, self-doubt, insight and is the story teller.

George - Known for his lack of fashion, lack of coordination, and lack of social skills he is essential for his enthusiasm for research. He also is the main maker of tea and fetcher of doughnuts. He seems to be rather dour, though there are no reports of him being ghost-touched.

Here are a couple of quotes to demonstrate the descriptions which fairly tap dance on the tongue:

"The rule here is that each member of the agency only takes one cookie at a time in strict rotation. Keeps it fair, keeps it orderly. Nicking two in times of stress just isn't done." (p. 87)

"As we staggered out under our burden, like three trainee Sherpas back from Everest, he lowered the magazine and regarded us with callous amusement mixed with pity. He touched his forelock in a slightly ironic gesture." (P. 251)

I recommend this book, and believe both boys and girls will enjoy it.