This book is a lot of fun. Can't speak to the series (yet), but if you like this, there's more to dip into. This is paranormal horror with a YA slant - there's death, but it's not gruesome, graphic, or gratuitous. Reads fast in a good way. The characters are interesting and the plot and pacing are solid.

Depends on the reader of course, but I'd say a 14 or 15 YO with interest in the genre could handle this (but it's a fun horror-lite read for the olds, too).

I thought the Netflix rendition of this was pretty great and was disappointed it was cancelled. You don't have to watch, of course, but similar to Harry Potter, watching doesn't negate the enjoyment of reading (and vice versa), but is a way to see a creative vision of it brought to life.

Definitely worth a try! ( )

Loved it!! I love stories where Magic and the supernatural are front and center in the main world. Usually stories like this, the ghost hunters or supernatural experts have to keep hidden, to the shadows, because magic is one *big* secret. But in this world, the entire country adapted to supernatural threats and are apart of everyone's everyday lives. The pace was just right, and the author often put background information into the proper places in a way that didn't stall the story or make the reader forget at which point in time the story currently is. The characters are all pretty well rounded and not one dimensional, there are lots of moral grey areas that are fun to dissect and the overall storyline is hinted at many times for future books. However, often when the characters are fighting the "Visitors" the end to the fight seems pretty anticlimactic, which the MC actually points out, which is a nice kind of fourth wall break. Overall this is a great story and Johnathan Stroud has got himself another winner. ( )

The book that started me on long and enthralling love affair with horror. Stroud is remarkable and has built characters that you utterly fall in love with and paints such amazing scenarios. I will never forget wrecking myself staying up so late before school to finish this because of the utter heart-in-mouth, blood chilling grip the last few hundred pages had over me.
Might just be reminiscent but this book always holds a special place in my heart and is one of the books I will reread for fun when I want the pick me up. ( )

I wanted to give this book a try after seeing the Netflix series. It was a disappointment to hear that it was cancelled, so I thought reading the books might be nice! I'm all for giving an understanding rating to juvenile books even as an older reader, but this one was unfortunate. While I loved the characters in the Netflix series, getting inside the head of Lucy Carlyle was no walk in the park, and the characterization of the boys also left something to be desired.

I almost wonder if Jonathan Stroud shouldn't have made Lucy a boy instead. She's so against every other female character she interacts with even briefly, including the ghost, describing them in rather unflattering terms (and I won't even go into how she talks about George, it's gross). Her "connection" to Annie is more one of curiosity than a genuine wish to get the girl some justice. And while there are some nice spooky elements to this story and fun interactions between the main characters, overall the main trio are flatter than pancakes, even by juvenile standards. ( )

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death of people in the past and suicide mentioned, dead bodies, fire, explosions, blood depiction, physical injury
Score: Seven out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

I wanted to read this for a while but I put it off for a while. Months back, I added it to my TBR. Months later, it was finally time to read The Screaming Staircase. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem intriguing, even though I don't read that many horror books. When I closed the final page, it was enjoyable.

It starts with the first person I see, Lucy, living her life until she has to work for a company known as Lockwood and Co. Its purpose is to try and stop the problem that plagues the United Kingdom for 50 years now: an infestation of ghosts. Other organisations already exist to combat the issue, but Lucy landed in one of the smallest ones. There's even a governing body who oversees everyone who tries to stop the ghost epidemic, which the narrative mentions. The first ghost operation didn't go as planned, so the small group have only one chance to prove themselves with their next mission, which is to reside in a haunted house for a lengthy time to show their capabilities.

The Screaming Staircase is the first in a five instalment series, but no one has the other four. It's not clear what happens next, which is a problem, as some questions remain unanswered. Those questions concern the worldbuilding, and the most important one of them all is where did the ghosts come from? When was the first ghost-busting group established? I need answers. The glossary helps a little, but not a lot. The characters are likable, but not the most relatable. The pacing is okay as it's a slow burn, spanning 400 pages. At least there was an exciting beginning and ending, finishing The Screaming Staircase on a cliffhanger. Perhaps I might be wrong and the other four parts are out there. In that case, I'd be glad to read them as this creation from the author impressed me, and I want to read more from him. ( )