Screaming Staircase, The (Book 1 Of Lockwood & Co)

Description: 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 . . .

Review: "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." * Rick Riordan * "The book is genuinely spooky and suspenseful, with appealing characters and great dialogue, and all shot through with Stroud's dry wit." * Guardian * "A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls" * Kirkus * "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)." * Publishers Weekly * "In a world overrun by evil spooks, can Paranormal Detection Agency Lockwood & Co do anything about the ghostly problems besetting London? Suspenseful, supernatural adventure." * Metro *



Prizes: Winner of Hampshire Book Award 2014 (UK) and We Read 2015 (UK). Short-listed for Coventry Inspiration Book Awards 2015 (UK) and North East Book Award 2015 (UK) and Hampshire Book Award 2015 (UK). Long-listed for Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2014 (UK) and Inky Awards (Australia) 2015 (UK).

Author Biography: Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford in 1970. After studying English Literature at York University, he moved to London, where he worked as an editor in a publishing firm. He is the author of the best-selling BARTIMAEUS sequence, which is published in 35 languages and has sold 6 million copies worldwide. As well as four other novels: HEROES OF THE VALLEY, THE LAST SIEGE, THE LEAP and BURIED FIRE, THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE is the first title in his chilling new series: LOCKWOOD & CO. He has yet to see a ghost but he's keeping his eyes open.