A sinister Problem has occurred in London all nature of ghosts haunts spirits and specters are appearing throughout the city and they arent exactly friendly Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see-and eradicate-these supernatural foes Many different Psychic Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work and they are in fierce competition for business In The Screaming Staircase the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood the charismatic leader of Lockwood Co a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end Lucy Anthony and their sarcastic colleague George are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall one of the most haunted houses in England Will Lockwood Co survive the Halls legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day Readers who enjoyed the action suspense and humor in Jonathan Strouds internationally best-selling Bartimaeus books will be delighted to find the same ingredients combined with deliciously creepy scares in his thrilling and chilling Lockwood Co series Praise for Screaming Staircase TheThis story will keep you reading late into the night but youll want to leave the lights on Stroud is a genius at inventing an utterly believable world which is very much like ours but so creepily different Put The Screaming Staircase on your need to read list -Rick RiordanA pleasure from tip to tail this is the book you hand the advanced readers that claim theyd rather read Paradise Lost than Harry Potter Smart as a whip funny witty and honestly frightening at times Stroud lets loose and gives readers exactly what they want Ghosts kids on their own without adult supervision and loads of delicious cookies -Elizabeth Bird School Library JournalStroud shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood Co invigorates the story along with no shortage of creepy moments -Publishers WeeklyThree young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Strouds new post-Bartimaeus series The work is fraught with peril not only because a ghosts merest touch is generally fatal but also as it turns out none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls -Kirkus Reviews Stroud writes for a younger audience in book one of the Lockwood Co series and delivers some chilling scenes along the way -Booklist.
