Synopsis:
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 . . .
***
Lockwood & Co. was a small ghost-buster agency in London run by 3 teenagers; Anthony Lockwood, George Cubbins, and Lucy Carlyle. Each member of Lockwood & Co. had their own ability. Lucy was the last member joining this agency and she was a special Talent. Lucy had strong ability to sense the Visitors (the ghosts) and sometimes to communicate with them better than the other team members.
Lockwood & Co. once received a case to find the Source at an old house. It was the first time for Lucy to handle a case with her new agency, and she was very excited. Unfortunately, something bad happened quickly there. As a result, the reputation of Lockwood & Co. was threatened. DEPRAC was about to close it. But, there was another suspicious thing they should deal with. It was related to a ghost named Annabel Ward which seemed trying to haunt Lockwood & Co. days after.
Lucy and her fantastic ability tried to figure out what happened to Annabel Ward in the past. By dealing with this suspicious case and finding the suspected murdered of Annabel Ward, Lockwood & Co. finally got their name back clean. However, what they thought about the murderer was totally wrong. They missed the main proof leading to the real murderer. And it was too little too late for them to move back because someone else was on the way to murder them all.
~o~
Wooohoooo!!! Finally I could finish reading such a horror book. I used to read horror books before, but they were Goosebumps and I had never read any other horror book before reading The Screaming Staircase written by Jonathan Stroud. And to tell you the truth, this book is a kind of amazing. I love it so much.
The main characters involved in this book are Lockwood & Co. consisting of Anthony Lockwood, George Cubbins, and Lucy Carlyle. Lucy Carlyle is described as a young girl with fantastic supernatural ability. She is also known as special Talent due to her ability. In this book, Lucy was playing as the narrator as well. Anthony Lockwood, or known as Lockwood, is described as a young boy who is the leader of Lockwood & Co. George Cubbins, or known as George, is described as a smart young boy who likes eating very much. He is very good at conducting research over the case Lockwood & Co. is going to deal with.
"Anthony Lockwood – vigorous and energetic, eager to throw himself into each new mystery; a boy who was clearly never happier than when walking into a haunted room, his hand resting lightly on his sword hilt. On the other: George Cubbins, handsome as a freshly opened tub of margarine, as charismatic as a wet tea towel lying scrumpled on the floor." (Chapter7)
The location chosen as the setting is London and some cities nearby. It is very nice for me to read a book which has setting in London. It reminds me to the novel The Cuckoo's Calling written by Robeth Galbraith (J.K. Rowling). Meanwhile, I'm not really sure about the time setting. Perhaps, it is about 2000 or more because there has been technology used even though the ghost busting method seems like the classic one.
The conflict arises in this book is mostly about Lockwood & Co. deals with ghosts. But behind that, there are some other conflicts, both external and internal. The biggest conflict faced by Lockwood & Co. is dealing with the death of Annabel Ward, fifty years back, since the murderer has not been found and arrested. So, they do not only come as ghost buster agency but also a detective agency. Very interesting, isn't it?
The plot used in this storyline is very easy to follow. There are some throwing back storyline, but it does not ruin the whole story and the plot. And to tell you the truth, how Jonathan Stroud constructs the storyline is very amazing. I got so much chilled when reading this book. Even, I was very afraid to go to the bathroom after I read the "special" chapter. You must try it so!
In conclusion, I love The Screaming Staircase very much. I cannot describe the whole reasons why in words because it is going to be very long. To be honest, this book gives me a big amount of surprises and chills as well. I really recommend this book for you who dare so. But, you should take my advice, it is not recommended reading this book at midnight, unless you will get very haunted. Anyway, since this book is the first series, I'm looking forward to reading the next sequel.
The quotations I like the most:
"I reached the landing and heaved the bags down with a little sigh. When I raised my head to call to Lockwood, I saw a girl standing there." (Chapter 2)
"It's a commonly known fact that while cats can't stand ghosts, spiders love them. Or, at least, they love the psychic emanation that some ghosts give off." (Chapter 8)
"Don't worry about tomorrow. Something will turn up." (Chapter 15)
The Book's Information:
Title: The Screaming Staircase
Author: Jonathan Stroud
Publisher: Random House Children's Publisher
Edition: I/eBook English version
Published: August 2013
Pages: 440
ISBN: 978-1-448-12178-6
Genre: Young-Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural
My rating: 5 out of 5 crowns
~Happy Reading~
xoxoxo
xoxoxo
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