The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud, 390 pages

This is the first book in the new series, Lockwood & Co.  In a world plagued by ghosts whose touch can kill people and where only children can see and hear the apparitions, kids have started working as psychic investigators, finding and eradicating ghosts.  Although most agencies have adults as supervisors, at Lockwood & Co., where Lucy is recently employed, only children work, specifically George, and the head of the agency, Anthony Lockwood.  Lockwood and Lucy both have very strong psychic abilities, and George, with less psychic abilities, is a great researcher.  The three actually make a really good team but after burning down a house during a job, Lockwood finds himself with debts he can’t afford.  When someone offers the agency a job that will cover more than all of the debt they accept, but if they aren’t careful, it could be their last job ever.  Stroud is a fantastic author.  I have loved all of his books and this was no exception.  I’m looking forward to the sequel and hope that this series will be more than just a trilogy.  Fans of paranormal action adventure stories will definitely like this.