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Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase

Book 1

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About this listen

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 . . .

 Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Fantasy Literature & Fiction Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Paranormal Science Fiction & Fantasy Suspense Thriller & Suspense Haunted Fiction England Exciting

Critic reviews

This story will keep you reading late into the night, but you'll 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.
The book is genuinely spooky and suspenseful, with appealing characters and great dialogue, and all shot through with Stroud's dry wit.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls
Stroud (the Bartimaeus series) 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).
In a world overrun by evil spooks, can Paranormal Detection Agency Lockwood & Co do anything about the ghostly problems besetting London? Suspenseful, supernatural adventure.
One of those books you take with you to the bath . . . Packed with bloodcurdling spectral incident.
I have a particular terror of anything involving unfriendly ghosts and usually steer clear, but this one was just too tempting. Scare me it did, but the thrills were perfectly balanced by the intriguing plot twists and the humorous banter of the three main protagonists. It’s a little bit Sherlock Holmes, a little bit Skulduggery Pleasant, with a terrifying haunted house thrown in for good measure. You definitely won’t be disappointed
This was absolutely excellent. I loved the story, the amount of suspense and creepiness was exactly right to keep me reading page after page very quickly.
Stroud is one of the smartest and most talented writers around . . . Be prepared for lots of humour and some very creepy moments. You're going to be hooked.
It's a ripper! . . . With plentiful wit and good humour, more than a few chilling moments and, above all, refreshing creativity, Jonathan Stroud has constructed an energetic, fast paced narrative that trips nimbly back and forth from the present to the past as he first sketches and then deftly paints this fascinating landscape.
All stars
Most relevant
My best friend and I (in our twenties) listened to this over as series of weekends. The story was gripping, the characters were wonderfully written, and the world was immersive. Miranda Rasion's highly talented performance brought each character to life, we hung on her every word. A powerful, yet eerie and thrilling tale. The writing of Johnathan Stroud, and the voice of Miranda Raison make a powerful team.

Amazing!

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Where does The Screaming Staircase rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I downloaded this book this morning intending to listen to it while away on holiday but I made the mistake of listening to it for a few minutes and ended up finishing it within the day.Miranda Raison's narration was first class from start to finish and I hope she will be the narrator of all future books in this series.

What other book might you compare The Screaming Staircase to, and why?

The Screaming Staircase compares very well to the books of Neil Gaiman in particular Graveyard.

Which character – as performed by Miranda Raison – was your favourite?

The story centers on Lucy Carlyle and she can't fail to be a favourite but Ms Raison voiced all of the characters, male as well as female, so perfectly that her performance brought all of the major players to life.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It did not make me cry or laugh but it did make me feel concern for the well being of the entire team of Lockwood and Co and frequently brought a smile to my face.

Excellent Story - Excellent Narration

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Would you listen to The Screaming Staircase again? Why?

Yes! Here is my full review -This book pretty much blew my socks off - not just because I loved it so much but also as we listened to the audio version (brilliantly read by the way) in the car whilst on holiday. Never before have the kids asked to go on a journey!! The children (7 (she was possibly a touch too young for this), 9 and 12) were so excited between each listen, talking about it, going over sections and jokes and even my husband (who's not an audio fan) thoroughly enjoyed it. Just for that sheer fact it's got to be one of the best books I've read this year, it was so lovely to have the book as a family event that we could all share and enjoy.

So onto the story itself - it started out with a bang, full on action. Lucy lives in an alternate London where ghosts have become powerful enough to kill with one touch and the catch being that only children have the ability to see and therefore fight and control them. A brilliantly thought out and executed world, where children have to grow up fast and nothing seemed unbelievable. The ghosts were suitably chilling - no white sheets to be seen here, this was scary stuff and I found myself shivering more than once. The mystery of Annabell Ward was perhaps not the most difficult to solve as a reader but the background and how we got there was gripping and the scenes in Coombe Cary Hall (sorry spelling - this was audio) were at times terrifying. However brilliant the story was though, the characters truly stole the whole show. Lucy, George and Lockwood - Lockwood and Co. - they were a truly entertaining and heart warming bunch of children/young teenagers who manage quite capably on their own thank you very much, no adult supervision needed. And no surprise when children are the natural defence to the Country's 'Problem' - they have to work fast, efficiently and under great pressure or be killed and with that comes the ability to survive no matter the cost.

I clicked buy on the next book, The Whispering Skull, the second we had finished this, what more of a recommendation can I make? My love of children's books continues.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved all three main characters equally, they all brought something important and irreplaceable to the story

What about Miranda Raison’s performance did you like?

This was one of the best performances I have listened to recently and the different characters were brilliantly done, George in particular.

Utterly brilliant

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Loved the reader's performance. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because the main character appeared to start with a fairly strong accent before being employed at Lockwood and Co. that seems to vanish very soon after. Not entirely convinced a few months in London would be enough to get rid of it. Definately nitpick though, her delivery was excellent throughout and I never got pulled out of the story.
The story itself was very hood, in my opinion. The world building was excellent. Lovely creepy prose as well as a mystery or two. 4 stars because I did find myself predicting the outcome of the main mystery well in advance, but I partially put that down to watching far too many whodunits. Great read, would recomentld for any ghost fans

Excellent performance of a nice spooky mystery

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The narrator was fab - shame she does not seem to be attached to the rest of the audible recordings of the series although I am sure the other narrators are great too.
Lockwood and Co is a brilliantly inventive ghost/ detective tale and a wonderful adventure.

Gripping story wonderfully told

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