Summary: 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 . . .
Thoughts: Happy Halloween! Here's a spooky read for you all!
First things first: I don't read supernatural/anything horror/even remotely intended to be scary as a general rule. Miss Peregrine's creeped me out, even Sherlock got to me on occasion. So, honestly I never thought I'd be reading a story about ghost hunting.
Epic on the other hand (my sister who also helps run this blog) is made of tougher stuff than I am and has always been a little interested in the paranormal vein. The only problem for her was that it all usually leaned towards being scary and never really had any characters that she liked...which led to her reading more YA fantasy than supernatural (which we should all be thankful for since she introduced me to Artemis Fowl). Long story short, she found this at the library and picked it up for kicks. Two weeks later she had finished all that was out and it was her new favorite series.
So I had to read it. Setting aside my qualms and fears I read it...in three days. It was amazing! I was blown away by the cast! They are so unique, funny and full of life! It would have been an easy four-star just for that but then the book went and made me hang on every word, jump at every twist...and the ending was perfect! I gave it five stars on Goodreads for simply making me love a ghost story. But it's more than that. The writing is perfect, told in first person by the main protagonist, Lucy Carlyle, it's the perfect blend of horror, action, and those sweet glimpses of 'normal' life in-between.
The cast was beautifully done. I love them all, even George and especially Lockwood and Lucy's a darling! Every moment was a blast of action, horror and humor (usually all at once, I kid you not). The way their relationships are portrayed and grow is so good.
The plot was horrifying. I'm not going to lie, I was scared. But I made sure to read it during daylight hours and usually surround people so I haven't lost any sleep over it yet. I started to guess a bit of the reveal shortly before it happened but I was still impressed with the conclusion. And even the terrifying parts were great.
Content: Well, like I said, it's scary. That's probably the worst of it all. Then there's a bit of language (D*** and H***). At one point Lucy is experience the emotions of a ghost's past life in relation to the ghost's lover and there are moments of 'intense passion'. They are just emotions and nothing more is described but that's there.
All in all though, it's a clean read but not for the overly faint of heart. I still recommend it though to anyone looking for a great new cast or some clean ghost reads (great for Halloween)!
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