Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Screaming Staircase

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

8 reviews

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Recommended by a friend, I enjoyed The Screaming Staircase quite a lot. The setting of this alternate London is similar to our own, but coloured by the supernatural in a way familiar to fans of the Bartimaeus trilogy - which I read ages ago but remember fondly. Not only do the trio of Lockwood & Co. have to deal with the unquiet (and often grotesque and violent) dead, but also the political machinations of the British gentry and the attempts of rivals to close down their agency. The story progresses like a horror-filled Sherlock-esque mystery, and the ending is incredibly satisfying.

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bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

4.5

“Of the first few hauntings I investigated with Lockwood & Co. I intend to say little, in part to protect the identity of the victims, in part because of the gruesome nature of the incidents, but mainly because, in a variety of ingenious ways, we succeeded in messing them all up.”

➽ After watching the Netflix show I knew I had to check out the source material! (Sadly they cancelled the show even though it was so good, at least I was able to read the series!) Lockwood & Co. is right up my alley as it's about an alternate Britain that deals with an epidemic of ghosts called 'The Problem'. At night, ghosts have free rein to haunt the living but no one can see them. Only teenagers have the ability to perceive ghosts and their talent tends to fade once they reach adulthood. All of this has caused ghost-hunting agencies to spring up around the country, as people need someone to take care of any hauntings that might cause harm. Most agencies have an adult supervisor and young agents (depending on how strong their talent is), but Lockwood & Co is the only agency that's entirely led by teens. I loved the worldbuilding and how it incorporated the ghost epidemic that has now reigned for decades. I liked the way the Talent was written as well, as people usually are stronger at one of the three different aspects: Touch, Seeing and Listening. It was a very immersive setting!

➽ I also loved Lockwood & Co, which consists of Anthony Lockwood, George Cubbins and their newest member Lucy Carlyle. I loved that they are the smallest agency and the only one relying on themselves and not an adult supervisor. Lucy herself has had a bad experience with a supervisor back home, as they can't see the ghosts but give orders to their charges. Lockwood is charismatic, eccentric and mysterious, it was so easy to like him! He takes on Lucy once he discovers her immense Talent for Listening and invites her to come live with them in his parent's house. George is the dedicated researcher of the group and is not thrilled to have Lucy, but both of them strike up an unlikely friendship in the end. Lucy's glad to have found an agency to join as she was forced to leave her hometown after a horrible incident without her complete license. I loved the friendship between the three of them and how their cases all turned out chaotic. The writing style was so engaging and funny, I was immediately invested!

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darthmommer's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed it. It does get a bit creepy and tense so if you don't like that, this isn't the book for you.
The audiobook is excellently narrated!

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