Lockwood & Co: The Whispering Skull

Stroud delivers another riveting narrative

Booklist

Rousing adventures for young tomb robbers and delvers into realms better left to the dead

Kirkus

As in the first volume there are plenty of heart-stopping moments and a generous dollop of gore, but nothing most teens and confident readers can't handle: in fact, the problem will be to persuade them to put the book down. In short, it's both gross and engrossing!

The Bookbag

The Whispering Skull frees Stroud to let his flair for spectacle run riot, resulting in several deftly constructed set-pieces far more akin to true horror than the ghost house antics of the first book.

Starburst

As in the first instalment, Stroud manages to perfectly balance grisly encounters with gleefully sarcastic humour.

Independent Children's blog

I’ve waited with baited breath for the second instalment of Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood & Co novels. At last, The Whispering Skull is here and it is definitely worth the wait.

Scotsman Teen review

This is quality reading for young and old. Bring on those ghosts, but first hand me my rapier!

Ann Giles, Bookwitch

There's a dark, macabre air to these books that Stroud handles with an expert touch, perfectly balancing the supernatural with witty repartee and serpentine plots (no one could ever accuse Stroud of dumbing down). After The Screaming Staircase, our trio is back with a second instalment to sort out a seriously creepy talking skull trapped inside a glass jar. Ghost-busting has never been more engrossing.

Dad.info Blog

The second volume in Jonathan Stroud's exceptional series . . . Stroud's writing is inventive and funny, but be warned: this is packed with grisly ghouls and is not perhaps for the faint-hearted.

Lorna Bradbury, Sunday Telegraph

Plenty of humour alongside the chills.

Financial Times

Seriously scary, brilliant prose.

Metro

There was a fight between me and my 11-year-old about who got first to Jonathan Stroud's Whispering Skull . . . A blissful read.

Evening Standard

The spine-tingling performance of Lyons’ narration will keep listeners on the edge of their seat.

YALSA committee