Lockwood & Co. The Screaming Staircase

2023 Re-read: This still holds up pretty well. It is atmospheric, it draws you in, and the dynamic between the main trio is good.

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Cross-posted on Knizhnitsa I have been putting off reading The Screaming Staircase for more than a year and I could not be more disappointed in myself for doing so. A story aimed for the middle grade age group that still manages to grip your attention even if you’re way past its target group. The novel kicks off by introducing us to Lockwood and Co. - a small Psychic Investigation Agency that consists of Anthony Lockwood, who runs the agency, George, to whom we get introduced indirectly, and Lucy Carlyle, our main character, POV narrator, and also a very talented psychic. Their job is to destroy dangerous apparitions - result of a nation wide epidemic of ghosts that has suddenly began fifty years prior to the start of our story. However, their latest case goes horribly wrong (a burnt down house and a massive fine) and the charismatic trio has to find a way to survive, and fast. Desperate times call for desperate measures and when a new case (plus a handsome reward) emerges, Lockwood and Co. don’t hesitate to take on the offer. Even if it involves one of England’s most haunted houses. The Plot The plot is very thoughtfully structured - it follows the tradition of detective novels, rather than that of ghost stories and it often feels a lot like a Sherlock Holmes short story. It manages to keep the reader involved and engaged all throughout reading even during the several chapters when we get to see Lucy’s backstory and how she came to work with Lockwood and Co. The novel manages to feel very refreshing despite what feels like a predictable ending - it doesn’t pretend to be more than it actually is which helps to set it apart from the books with massive PR campaigns and over-complicated plots and over-sophisticated writing who never meet the bar they have set for themselves. The Screaming Staircase promises a detective ghost story and that is what it delivers. The Setting The atmosphere Stroud manages to create through his writing is probably the novel’s strongest point. It manages to achieve the Britishness of a Victorian novel and envelops the reader in the mist and darkness that a ghost story warrants. It allows to fully immerse oneself into the novel and realistically experience a ghost-plagued London. The hauntings and the ghost hunt cases Lockwood and Co. undertake are so masterfully written they sent chills down my spine. Stroud manages to strike the golden mean between blatant gore and veiled horror, reveals and describes just enough to put the reader on the edge, but leaves enough space for imagination to do its job. A truly dextrous storytelling. The Characters While the characters seemed to be overflowing with tropes common for the genre, they still remained likeable and interesting. The author gives out just enough information about them to make them feel consistent and fleshed out without distracting the reader from the main star of the novel, the plot. In my recent experience, having a main character as first person POV character is a slippery slope not many authors can successfully walk on. However, our main lady, Lucy, manages to escape the curse of the first person POV’s who either make you feel disorientated in space or keep throwing at you unnecessary information or are just plain annoying. Lucy is actually just a normal kid. She may be psychic and she may seem a bit mature for a 14-year-old, but at the end of the day she uses the same slang other kids her age would and she strikes the balance between too much information and no information at all. That’s what makes her a pleasant and readable first person POV character. George and Lockwood, too, fall into quite a lot of overused tropes (the grumpy unsociable geek and the rich mysterious heir (a bit of Bruce Wayne, a bit of Sherlock Holmes, really)) but somehow Stroud makes that work in favour of the novel and dynamics of the trio. Each one of the characters seems to fit their role in the agency and does it so naturally and effortlessly. The Verdict For all it’s worth, The Screaming Staircase is an entertaining novel, a quick read suitable for rainy autumn days. It grips your attention and doesn’t let go until you’ve read all 400+ pages. It’s sympathetic to its read and reminds us why so many of us have chosen reading as a hobby to begin with - and that is for pleasure.

***Spoilers this way**** Screams of excitement as I REALLY LOVE this book* I don't remember when was the last time I read a book with ghosts in English. I always read my horror in Arabic so I can get to the mood but this one scared me like a baby. I could not sleep with the lights off. Thanks to Mr Stroud we have now an alternative London with all the joy adding ghosts wondering at the night making lives way interesting for ghost hunting agencies and scary for the rest of the world. So as the world struggle with the visitors we meet our wonderful three teenagers agents Anthony Lockwood, George Gubbins and the new edition Lucy Carlyle. I have enjoyed every moment of the story; the chemistry and humour between the three which will make you stay up all night to finish the book wondering what happened to Annie Ward and what/where is the screaming staircase itself. In the middle of the story, you would wonder why is all of this happening but by the 100 last pages, you will find a new level of neat horror and your answers. Very well build a believable story. I need part two right now...