This story will keep you reading late into the night, but you'll want to leave the lights on. Stroud is a genius at inventing an utterly believable world which is very much like ours, but so creepily different. Put The Screaming Staircase on your 'need to read' list.

The book is genuinely spooky and suspenseful, with appealing characters and great dialogue, and all shot through with Stroud's dry wit.

A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls

Stroud (the Bartimaeus series) shows his customary flair for blending deadpan humor with thrilling action, and the fiery interplay among the three agents of Lockwood & Co. invigorates the story (along with no shortage of creepy moments).

In a world overrun by evil spooks, can Paranormal Detection Agency Lockwood & Co do anything about the ghostly problems besetting London? Suspenseful, supernatural adventure.

One of those books you take with you to the bath . . . Packed with bloodcurdling spectral incident.

I have a particular terror of anything involving unfriendly ghosts and usually steer clear, but this one was just too tempting. Scare me it did, but the thrills were perfectly balanced by the intriguing plot twists and the humorous banter of the three main protagonists. It’s a little bit Sherlock Holmes, a little bit Skulduggery Pleasant, with a terrifying haunted house thrown in for good measure. You definitely won’t be disappointed

This was absolutely excellent. I loved the story, the amount of suspense and creepiness was exactly right to keep me reading page after page very quickly.

Stroud is one of the smartest and most talented writers around . . . Be prepared for lots of humour and some very creepy moments. You're going to be hooked.

It's a ripper! . . . With plentiful wit and good humour, more than a few chilling moments and, above all, refreshing creativity, Jonathan Stroud has constructed an energetic, fast paced narrative that trips nimbly back and forth from the present to the past as he first sketches and then deftly paints this fascinating landscape.

It's brilliant - that's all you need to know really so go and buy it now

It’s almost impossible to put down and all I have left to say is that I want more.