Lockwood & Co. #1 The Screaming Staircase

Brilliant...... as expected of Stroud's caliber. Presenting Lockwood & Co. #1 The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud.

Here is the summary of the book:

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 . . .

To be honest this is my second Stroud read. I have only read the first book of the Bartimaeus series till now. But as expected this is a fine piece of literature. A strong premiere to an exciting new series..... and that's coming from someone who doesn't have a habit of reading this genre.

This is a world where every other ghost stories and fictional monsters that give you the creeps are real...... The problem has taken enough of a hold on the country to force the government to sanction ghost hunters. And its primarily the kids hunting all things that go bump in the night. Kids? Because the body and mind are still developing then and they are much more attuned to the paranormal diorama and more sensitive than adults.

Lockwood & Co. One of the agencies that deal with exterminating these hauntings and its Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle and George Cubbins of the aforementioned agency that we look to as protagonist of this spooky and equally riveting order of business...... Its dark, its gritty, gory, with the slight humor and spooky enough to send that chilling spike you expect in horror stories.

As I explained, it is spooky. There is a solid world building here. Stroud had done a marvelous job in that area, with descriptive detailing and the spooky atmosphere too, needed to set the tone of the book. But that's not all. We get three strong protagonists too, to shoulder the weight of the plot and take it to even greater heights.

Lockwood, Lucy & George...... In the form of Lockwood we have the leader of the agency, adventurous, reckless, resourceful, yet calm too if needed. Lucy, our narrator, overtly sensitive, brave and talented. Both Lockwood and Lucy share a tendency to jump first and ask questions later which sometimes leads them to some rather interesting situations. Finally is George - the calm and collected researcher. He can be pretty sarcastic too...... As a group they can weather the raging storm rather well but alone they are different as day and night.

I strongly recommend this book people... go buy it. A brilliant & descriptive world building, a plot like no other you have ever encountered With twists and turns of the spooky, enough to give you chills. Three amazing characters and some kick ass ghost hunting missions.... And then its a plus that this is written by Jonathan Stroud....... Come on folks i'm giving you enough reasons to buy it.... what are you waiting for?..... Oh! Looking forward for the sequel..... so good.

"A damn good spooky tale. BRAVO Mr. Stroud"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy, Supernatural, Horror

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: 17th September, 2013

My Copy: publisher and netgalley

Rate:              5/5 (It was Awesome)

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