The Whispering Skull
In the six months since Anthony, Lucy, and George survived a night in the most haunted house in England, Lockwood & Co. hasn't made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood's investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper.
Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well - until George's curiosity attracts a horrible phantom.
Back home at Portland Row, Lockwood accuses George of making too many careless mistakes. Lucy is distracted by urgent whispers coming from the skull in the ghost jar. Then the team is summoned to DEPRAC headquarters. Kipps is there too, much to Lockwood's annoyance. Bickerstaff's coffin was raided and a strange glass object buried with the corpse has vanished. Inspector Barnes believes the relic to be highly dangerous, and he wants it found.
The author of the blockbuster Bartimaeus series delivers another amusing, chilling, and ingeniously plotted entry in the critically acclaimed Lockwood & Co. series.
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Jonathan Stroud
Long before ghost-fighting teens roamed the streets of London with iron chains and salt bombs, Jonathan Stroud was already imagining hidden worlds tucked behind the edges of our own. Known for his sharp wit, atmospheric storytelling, and talent for building fantastical universes with a modern edge, Stroud has carved a distinctive path through the landscape of children's and young adult fantasy.
Raised in Bedford, England, Stroud spent his childhood devouring myths and legends, a fascination that would later bloom into stories teeming with ancient magic, restless spirits, and clever young protagonists who don’t always follow the rules. His breakout success came with The Bartimaeus Sequence—a richly layered fantasy set in an alternate London where magicians hold sway, demons serve under duress, and the line between hero and villain is always in flux. Stroud’s gift lies in balancing dark themes with biting humor, especially through the voice of Bartimaeus, a sarcastic djinni whose footnotes alone could carry a novel.
Lockwood & Co.
Lockwood & Co. consists of four books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
