I was intrigued by this novel because it involved ghost hunters. I’m always a sucker that features ghosts! This was a fun fast-paced adventure novel! Lucy was a fun and sassy heroine! I really enjoyed the novel, and I’m interested in reading the rest of the series. I highly recommend this book for fans of Caroline, The School of Good and Evil, and Goosebumps!

I avoid scary movies because I still have the occasional nightmare about the ones I saw as a kid. R.L. Stine and Edgar Allan Poe are the only remotely creepy authors that I've read. And yet I willingly picked up a book called The Screaming Staircase -- and really really liked it.

The only problem? I had to stop reading this book right before bed. I even had to put a moratorium on reading it after dark. Yet the story was so compelling and the writing so witty that I almost felt the book calling me to keep reading it. Creepy, huh --

-- yet, actually fitting. This is a book full of ghosts and inanimate objects/spaces that have a life of their own. It is teenaged protagonist Lucy Carlyle and her partners Andrew Lockwood and George Cubbins' job to get to the root of these hauntings and neutralize them See, in this alternative Britain, there is a Problem, an outbreak of ghosts who bring death with their touch. And it is children, with their increased sensitivity to paranormal (or psychic) activity, who are the nation's first line of defense.

This last notion is a particularly disturbing aspect of the society portrayed, with Victorian workhouse-like conditions described. But Lucy has the fortune of belonging to no one, working at the one kid-only psychic agency in London. Adults in this book are depicted as bumbling at best and violent or even criminally negligent at worst. Kids are the true heroes here, and we see Lucy grow into herself as she, Lockwood, and George tackle some truly nasty hauntings.

Although this is considered a middle grade book, there are scenes of violence and horror that I'm not sure kids that young are ready for. It's also not a book that will spark respect for elders and that sort of thing. But the importance of teamwork and trust, and the value of true friendship and loyalty, run through and through. The other lesson? Ignore the talking skull. And don't pick up shiny objects that don't belong to you. And beware of creeping shadows. (Hence why I stopped reading this after dark.)

I received a digital copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in anticipation of the 5th and final installment of the series last fall, and now I'm hooked. But I may have to wait until broad, shining daylight to dig into #2 and catch up.

I missed Jonathan Stroud's voice! That was the first thing I thought of when I turned the page on the first Lockwood and Co.

Different from some of his other (equally excellent offerings)---such as Bartimaeus, The Screaming Staircase will appeal to fans of Dahl and Lemony Snicket, sure, but also welcome a new readership to the appreciation of Stroud's unique allure.

After reading, I immediately bought the next in the series.

The Screaming Staircase focuses on a girl named Lucy who begins a new job with a fairly small ghost hunting agency in England. This was only after her attempts to join the bigger agencies fell flat. Along with the head of Lockwood & Co and his right-hand man, George, they set out to clear the most haunted house in the country. After some hijinks, lies and one particular case of murder, they find themselves on the winning end of some money and the chance to grow in business.

If you're looking for an easy and fun ghost hunting story, aimed at middle graders, then don't look any farther than this book! It was easy to follow along when I wasn't studying for class or working and the adventure just kept happening until the very end of the story. I don't know how I felt about the fact that these children are sent away from their families just because they have the ability to detect ghosts which have begun to run rampant across the country but hey, it led to them and some pretty grand adventures.

The writing of these books is fantastic.I have read many many many YA and adult books that were not this well written and developed. The world is an easy to understand and unique world, the characters are complex and really well developed, the subject matter is appealing to a large audience, and basically I am well on my way to being Lockwood trash.

When I open a young adult or middle grade book that’s supposed to be kind of scary I never expect it to actually be scary. Not, at least, to me as an adult. That being said, Stroud’s incredible first book in his Lockwood & Co series, The Screaming Staircase, surprised me. It was such scary good fun that it made me jump a little at the small noises I heard while lying in bed reading (on my iPad) in the dark.

The premise, characters, and story development all drew me in from the start. I mean, who doesn’t get a kick out of paranormal investigators that are kids? They’re brash, bold, and brilliant! You can’t help but love the main three characters- Lockwood, George, and Lucy. Each is flawed in his or her own way, but together they make an exceedingly awesome trio. Whether they’re battling burglars, authorities, or ghosts the team works hard and pulls together no matter the cost.

I think this is a fantastic book for readers of all ages who love a good mystery adventure and don’t mind the creepy ghostly theme. I loved the charisma and the dedication these characters had. Their reckless behavior could be troublesome from time to time, but hey they’re kids after all. I think it’s safe to say I’ll be looking forward to continuing this series to see what hijinx and chaos Lockwood & Co find themselves in next.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me this review opportunity!

So, I'm 34% along and it's okay, but it'll be awhile before I finish. My biggest gripe is it's set in the modern times. I thought for sure it was Victorian era, which would work so much better. I'll come back eventually, but right now I've got bigger fish to fry.

I loved this book and I'm excited to tass more in the series. I'd read others by the author before so was especially excited to get this from Netgalley. I love the intricacies of this story and how everything is so hopeless at one point but comes together by the end. This is a kids book so very minor swearing, no nudity, and minor violence although there was more violence than either of the other two. It honestly felt like an updated Sherlock Holmes for kids and I just adored it. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, so much that I bought the kids in the family a copy each and I will read the rest of the books in this series, too.

In a world where the presence of ghosts has become the norm, the young are the ones with the Talents to see and vanquish the paranormal. Lucy, Lockwood, and George form one of many agencies who make a living fighting against the ghosts. As they learn to work together, they must tackle two of the biggest cases London has seen.

I'm a big fan of books focused on the paranormal, and also a fan of middle grade and young adult reads, so this was a very enjoyable combo for me here. The book was frightening without being terrifying, and managed to be very eerie and suspenseful while still being middle-grade appropriate, not an easy feat.

The book got a little meandering and slow in parts, which caused my attention to drift away, which meant this book took me quite a bit longer to finish than its length would have suggested.

I enjoyed reading this book, but not enough where I will be in a rush to pick up the rest of the series.

There is one major problem with the publishers of this book.  They wrote that the book is for Ages 8 - 12.  That is so WRONG!  I think this book is for ANY age! 

Lucy Carlyle and Anthony Lockwood are children who have a special gift. They can interact with ghosts.  However, not all ghosts want them to interfere in their business.  Sometimes the living has a hard time with the with the children as well.  

These two plucky, young detectives have natural talents that supersede their counterparts.  But what they make up in natural talent, they lose in planning and preparation.  These two, along with their friend George, end up in more near-by misses and almost caught scenarios than they should, which is what makes this book so much fun to read!  

But do not be fooled, the fright factor is very real!  You will be on the edge of your seat as you go along with Lucy, Anthony, and George as they figure out a decades old mystery and become targets in the process.  But who is targeting them?  The living, the dead, or some other unknown phenomenon?  

This is the first book in the Lockwood & Co. series and I highly suggest you get on board with the Lockwood Agency!  This is one series that is sure to please with plenty of action, quick-wit, and creepy factors galore!

I absolutely loved this book! I received a complementary copy in exchange for my review, true, but this was better than I anticipated! In fact, I'm considering purchasing the rest in the series after posting this review.

The characters, Lucy, Lockwood and George, work so well together. And this world that Stroud has created, where children fight ghosts and spirits because the adults in society can no longer see them--it is a really cool idea!

When Lucy takes out on her own to London she goes--all in search of a new company to be a part of. After being turned down by the more prestigious places she takes an interview with the Lockwood Company after reading of its boastings. After being brought on a kinship and comrade begins to develop among the small group of children as they find the Visitors and their subjects time and time again. And that relationship is needed when they are called upon to enter one of the most haunted locations in London.

Guys, for real though? Lockwood reminds me of a less pretentious Holmes. You're going to love this series!

I liked this book. I feel like it is a solid middle grade book. Though at first, I was a little surprised the investigators were actually children, once I was used to that, it was pretty neat! The writing style is easy to read. It flows very well.

This was a very intriguing and creepy start to the series. The Visitors felt very realistic and there were parts that totally creeped me out.

Lucy is Sensitive. She can hear ghosts and finds employment with Lockwood and Co. whose job it is to get rid of the ghosts. There are three employees, Lucy, Lockwood, and George, and the three of them make a pretty good team as long as they can get along long enough to finish a job. They end up embroiled in a fifty year old murder mystery but the way things are going they may not live long enough to solve it.

Why, oh why do I read scary books at night?

This book was so creepily amazing! I am not a scary book lover. In fact, I tend to avoid them entirely. (Wait Till Helen Comes by Hahn kind of messed me up in elementary school.)

But from the moment I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It was so thrilling and mysterious and fascinating! I really enjoyed reading it.

I loved Lockwood, Lucy, and George as a team. They each brought their own strengths to the team and I liked each of them for different reasons.

I loved the two different ghostly mysteries that were focused on, and how they ended up entertwining.

Again, I'm not one for scary books, but I'll definitely check out the next book in this series!

An exciting adventure in a world where ghosts roam free. Lockwood, George and Lucy are the perfect team to fight off various hauntings. The team is quirky and fun, and the missions they go on are spooky and intriguing.

For the last half century or so, the dead have been returning in England to haunt the living. They are extremely dangerous; to be ghost-touched is a sure and agonizing death. As a result, agencies have sprung up to combat this threat. But the only ones who can actually see and, therefore, fight them are children so these agencies employ them usually with adult supervisors.

Lockwood & Co. is one such agency although it is run exclusively by children, Anthony Lockwood, the head of the company, George who does most of the research, and Lucy, the latest recruit and narrator of the story. On what should have been a fairly easy assignment, everything goes wrong and now the firm is in financial trouble. The only thing that may save them- although the assignment hadn’t worked out quite as planned, they had discovered the identity of the spectre, a woman who had gone missing about the time of the first hauntings. When they give the story to the press, they hope it will bring them well-needed publicity and then some well-paying jobs. And it does.

They are hired by the man whose factory produces most of the iron required to fight the phantoms. He has inherited what may be the most dangerously haunted house in England and wants them to find the source of the hauntings. Rumour says no one has ever survived a night in the house. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Lockwood takes the case. Soon they learn that the situation isn’t nearly as bad as they’ve been told; no, it is much much worse.

The Screaming Staircase is the first in the Lockwood & Co. series by Jonathan Stroud. This is a clever, creepy, fun story with plenty of action, interesting characters and a nice touch of humour. Although set in an alternate present-day England with TVs and cars, it felt more like Victorian England with its child labourers and a dark Gothic feel. The story starts a half century after the event that precipitated the hauntings and, although we never learn what that event was, Lucy tells much of the history of the rise of the agencies, the types of weapons needed to end the ghosts (called Visitors), and a few of the more shocking and deadly cases. Although aimed at a middle grade audience, it is the kind of well-written story that would appeal to any age group and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

THIS WHOLE SERIES IS AMAZING! YOU NEED TO GET IT RIGHT NOW!

4.5 stars for this super fun, creepy and fast-paced book. This may say it's a Middle Grade book, and certainly it could be given to a kid 9 and up, but don't be deceived by that everyone will enjoy Lockwood & Co!

Why only 4.5 stars?
The reason for my deduction of 0.5 stars is perhaps going to sound petty to some; but it's a real pet peeve of mine. Jonathan Stroud is British and The Screaming Staircase is set in London. So can someone explain to me why, in the copy I read, the temperatures are in Fahrenheit?! Almost everywhere in the world (including here in Canada) we use Celsius. No child in the UK would use Fahrenheit. I am assuming, much like changes made to Harry Potter, that the publisher decided to change the Celsius to Fahrenheit to market to children in the USA. Now, you're thinking to yourself, but Mel how many times can they possibly mention the temperature? A lot!! As one of the main indicators of 'visitors' (aka ghosts or spirits) is that the temperature drops it is mentioned a few dozen times.
Now I realize this is clearly not Stroud's choice. However, instead of changing the scale used what about putting a conversion chart at the beginning or end of the book. Maybe we can teach the USA children about Celsius instead of forcing the rest of the world to manage the metric used by one country. This is a classic example of publishing houses catering to the USA and stuffing everyone else into that category (especially us Canadians). Okay, rant over.

So many questions!
Overall Stroud is a genius. He takes a simple idea, the world is plagued by visitors that are a menace and can kill people with ghost touch, and creates an intricate world around it. Only children can see the manifestations and so they are the best equipped to fight these menaces and clear places of the visitors. Obviously this comes with it's own set of morale questions. What age is too young to start? When things go wrong is the child responsible? Is it worth the sacrifice of youth to battle the visitors?
These questions are more are handled exquisitely in The Screaming Staircase. I'm so sad it's such a quick read as I didn't want to leave the world yet. I'll be ordering the next couple in this series immediately! I'm also going to be purchasing this series for my 13-year-old nephew for the holidays as I know he will love the creepiness. What kid doesn't want to read about a 'red room' which fills with ghost plasma that looks like blood, a staircase where the screaming incapacities you, a ghost so unhappy she kills current residents of the home? And these are only examples of some of the things are three lead characters encounter.

Bring on the sarcasm and fun!
The other thing that is amazing about Stroud is that he is able to write kids books that are sarcastic and funny. Alongside all that creepiness and atmosphere our three lead kids are able to poke fun at each other and fight over the silliest things (who gets the last cookie); just like normal children do. Without a doubt the humour in The Screaming Staircase is critical to breaking some of the tension and scariness that comes along with the story itself.

Am I a child or an adult?
Most of all what I love is Stroud's handling of the conflicts and emotions that come from children playing at being adults. As the eldest child with two younger siblings in my family (one of whom has Type 1 diabetes) I remember a lot of moments as a kid where I felt I had to pretend to be more adult than I was. Even when it wasn't, I often felt like it was my responsibility to handle situations. As Lockwood & Co. has no 'adult supervisors' you see them struggle with this paradigm a lot. When can they show weakness? How do they convince adults they are competent and capable? And at what point is it okay to just collapse and let someone else take care of things.
There are no easy answers to these questions but Stroud does an excellent job of helping readers understand that it's okay to show weakness and to reinforce that we ALL have weaknesses. It's less about what that weakness is and more about how we compensate for it. That by surrounding ourselves with people who we trust and will help us we can be both strong and weak as needed.

Buy it for everyone!
I think this will be my go-to book/series to buy for anyone over the age of 10 for the next while. I look forward to buying multiple copies for kids (including my nephew)! While there is a lot of substance in this book, it still feels like a break as the language is simple and easy to follow. Do yourself, or those around you a favour and pick this gem up!