Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

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.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 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

Horn Book

The ragtag juvenile ghost-hunter agency, Lockwood & Co., takes on its second big-ticket case, this one involving sinister artifacts with possible links to the genesis of Britain's ghost "Problem." Stroud unfolds an intricate plot that inches readers closer to the central supernatural mystery, offering a cozy, creepy tale that balances ghostly peril with hefty helpings of stiff-upper-lip snark. Glos.