London's got a Problem--for the past fifty or so years, there have been loads of hauntings going on in the city and throughout England, as well. The only people with the psychic talents needed to fight off the ghosts happen to be children and teenagers. Over the years, various psychic investigation agencies have sprung up around the country, recruiting kids with the Talent to battle ghosts. Adult supervisors who used to have the Talent train the agents and tag along on missions to give advice and step in to help if necessary.
Lucy Carlyle is one such Talented teen. When she was younger, she worked for a man named Jacobs in her northern town, but a terrible accident leaves her the only agent remaining in the company, and so she sets off to London, seeking a new position. All of the bigger agencies, including the top two, Rotwell's and Fittes, turn her down. In six days, six agencies reject her, and her only choice left is tiny Lockwood & Company, which only has two agents at the time she applies: founder Anthony Lockwood and his partner George Cubbins. She's not the only one wallowing in disappointment--Lockwood & Company have had far too many failed applicants in their latest round of interviewing. Lucy is their last, and she will prove to be the best. Very soon, Lucy's working closely alongside the mature and smooth Lockwood and the rather sloppy and not always kind George, fighting ghosts. But one simple assignment leads to disaster, and the three find themselves tasked with paying up £60,000 in compensation to their client. They must find a murderer, cleanse England's most haunted house, and pay a disgruntled client before a ghost gets angry (well, angrier), a rich businessman withdraws his generous offer, and their very company is shut down.
Perhaps one of my favorite moments in The Screaming Staircase was during a scene in which Lucy, Lockwood, and George are fighting a dangerous ghost in a room, and the situation has gotten so perilous that Lockwood has decreed their departure. But as they make for the door, they discover something unpleasant: it's locked. Previously, George inserted a wedge (which he insists on calling a DFD, or "Door-Fixing Device") into the door to keep it from closing, leaving them a clear way of escape should it be necessary. This is one of the most magnificent uses of humor in a very serious situation. To begin, here's the introduction of the DFD: "George...bent to his backpack. ... 'I've a Visitor-proof DFD somewhere in here.' ... 'DFD?' I said. 'Door-Fixing Device. Just a bit of the latest tech. Got it from Satchell's. Pricey, yes, but worth it. ...' He produced a rough hewn triangle of wood. I stared at it. 'Isn't that just a wedge?' 'No. A DFD, my friend. A DFD. It's got an iron core.' 'It looks like you found it in a Dumpster. How much did you pay for it?' 'I can't remember.'" (p. 295). And then there's the exit of the DFD--discovering that the door is closed, Lucy asks a very good question. "'What the hell happened to the wedge?' George's voice was faint. 'The DFD.' I gave a wild curse. 'I don't care what it was called, George! It didn't work! You didn't secure it properly.' 'I secured it fine.' 'No, you just nudged it in with your BFF! That's Big Fat Foot, by the way.'" (p. 301). There's such a perfect pause between Lucy asking where the wedge has gone and George correcting her--a pause that is greatly due to the sentence between the dialogue. That little two-line exchange was one of the best-done moments in the whole amazing book. Besides this scene, there are numerous writing gems. I love it when I come across one in my own writing; one of those moments where you write something and you go "YES!!!" because it sounds absolutely brilliant, and it's also rather unexpected. Jonathan Stroud somehow manages to have lots of these in his writing without lowering their staggeringly sudden, laughter-causing quality.
The Screaming Staircase has got an absolutely wonderful plot that holds your interest like a serious kidnapper holds a hostage. Stroud has once again done a brilliant job of taking ordinary London and giving it a magical twist. In Bartimaeus, it was ruled by magicians who had djinn as their servants; in Lockwood & Co., it's everyday life to escape ghosts and call in children and teenagers to put your hauntings to rest. There aren't a lot of books out there like this; you see the secret-group-of-people-hiding-from-everyday-society-because-otherwise-everyone-would-freak-out-at-their-magical-whateverness idea frequently, but what about a place where everyone knows about the supernatural stuff, even if they aren't directly a part of it? Now that's something different!
It is my usual custom, as some people may have noticed, to praise first and complain second (which I do because I'm always afraid that I'll run away with my criticism and bash a perfectly fine book because one smallish thing was amiss, and then forget my compliments--oops), but I have nothing negative to say about The Screaming Staircase whatsoever! It's an absolutely brilliant book, and Stroud is one of the best authors out there. If I didn't know that this wasn't a series, I'd say that I'd like to know more about Lockwood's past and why he hates one character so much, but I believe that all questions will be answered in future books--in fact, I hear that the sequel, The Whispering Skull, which came out this September, includes a little more development of Lockwood. I suspect that the title relates to a certain skull/ghost in a jar that George does experiments on. Hopefully nothing gets loose!
I would recommend The Screaming Staircase to anyone who loves middle-grade/teen dark fantasy, or who has read anything else by Stroud and is looking for more of this phenomenal guy's writing. This book is so funny, well-crafted, and original, I really can't think how anyone not in the middle-grade/teen book world could read The Screaming Staircase and not at least like it. I will, without question, read The Whispering Skull ASAP! My friend who pestered me for quite a while to read The Screaming Staircase has told me that the sequel is "really funny." I shall soon see if I share his opinion...