Lockwood & Co.--The Whispering Skull

Starred review from August 15, 2014
An occult portal and its spectral guardian nearly cut short the careers of three rising young ghost hunters in this madcap sequel to The Screaming Staircase (2013). Continuing their predilection for falling into predicaments that require rapier work and fast exits, psychic detection agents Lockwood, George and Lucy are reluctantly hired by Scotland Yard to track down a mystical old "bone-glass" no sooner found in the arms of a moldering exhumed corpse than stolen. As everyone who has looked into this small but potent artifact seems to have either been driven insane or eaten by rats (or both), police and psychic black marketeers are equally eager to get their hands on it. In fine form, Stroud sends Lockwood & Co. on a trail that leads from an upper-crust social event to the mucky margins of the Thames and into dust-ups with thugs, rival agents and carloads of ectoplasmic horrors that can kill with just a touch. Lucy's cautionary "If you're easily icked-out, you might want to skip the rest of this paragraph..." goes for more than one grisly passage. For all their internecine squabbling, the three protagonists make a redoubtable team-and their supporting cast, led by the sneering titular skull in a jar, adds color and complications aplenty. Rousing adventures for young tomb robbers and delvers into realms better left to the dead. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)

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Starred review from October 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-In this spine-chilling sequel to The Screaming Staircase (Hyperion, 2013), Stroud again demonstrates his ease in the world of the macabre and truly frightening. Lucy works for Lockwood & Co., one of many agencies dealing with The Problem. Fifty years ago, for no apparent reason, the dead rose and began to walk among the living. Agencies employ psychic children to help dispatch the dead permanently. In this second installment, the group (Lucy, leader Anthony Lockwood, and bumbling researcher George) finds themselves drawn deeper into the mystery of The Problem. A supposedly simple job dispatching an unruly cemetery ghost leads to the discovery of black markets, obsessive cults, mysterious collectors, and a bone mirror that drives anyone who looks into it completely mad. As in the first novel, the descriptions of the different types of spirits are nightmarishly frightening (one episode with rat-ghosts is especially gruesome.) Lucy's growing abilities to communicate with the dead, especially the nasty spirit attached to a skull in Lockwood's home, add an additional layer of menace to an already creepy tale; Lockwood's secrets add intrigue and suspicion. The plot gallops along at a breakneck pace, giving little respite from the horrors within. For fans of scary fare, this page-turner is a dream (or nightmare) come true.-Elisabeth Gattullo Marrocolla, Darien Library, CT

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Starred review from September 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* In this sequel to The Screaming Staircase (2013), Stroud delivers another riveting narrative in which the three young psychic investigators deal with malevolent supernatural forces in an alternate London. Narrator Lucy Carlyle, the newest member of Lockwood & Company, develops the rare ability to converse with a mysterious skull kept in a sealed jar. Though this captive spirit has the firsthand knowledge the group needs to solve its latest case, Lucy suspects that beyond his entreaties and wisecracks, the tortured skull is manipulating them with misleading information. Physically and psychologically taxing, the case strains the bond that Anthony Lockwood, Lucy, and their colleague, George, share. Stroud writes with a fine ear for dialogue, a wry sense of humor, and a knack for describing haunted places. Creating tension that ebbs and flows, he slowly builds the dramatic narrative to a resounding crescendo, and he makes the quieter scenes that follow just as compelling. The second entry in the Lockwood & Company series, this imaginative adventure features one of the most hair-raising chase scenes in children's fiction. At the book's end, when the enigmatic Lockwood reveals a chilling secret, readers can only hope that more sequels are in the offing. High-Demand Backstory: Stroud, of Bartimaeus fame, is no stranger to the New York Times best-seller list, and this second installment of his new series looks primed to keep him there.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)