Lockwood and Company: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathon Stroud

The London setting in this book is a sort of present-day London, but unlike present-day London it is plagued by a huge number of ghosts, spirits and specters - all unfriendly.  Though these ghosts can cause a great deal of harm (both property-wise and bodily) they can only been detected or challenged by young people.  Because of this, young people with “physic abilities” are employed by Physic Detection Agencies, usually run by adults with kids doing the work.  But this is not so with Lockwood & Company.  Anthony Lockwood runs a small independent agency with only two other colleagues: the clever, but sometimes offensive George; and Lucy, new to the agency.  After having a less-than-successful experience on a new job, the Company receives an interesting and potentially fatal offer to investigate an infamous haunted estate.  The offer is almost too good to be true and suspiciously hints at ties to the previous botched case.


Will Lockwood and Company survive to continue their independent agency?
Will they survive at all?

Did I mention that ghosts are fought off by swords?

This is the beginning of a series.  The characters are intriguing and still need to be fully developed, but it’s a promising start.  This is almost like a kid centered Ghostbusters, with kid-centered humor intact.  The story gets a little spooky, but not too much.  I’m looking forward to the next one.