Lockwood & Co
#184.38 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 2013–2017 Reading commitment Medium Jonathan Stroud Last reviewed 2026-08-29
Overview
A completed 5-book supernatural-fantasy sequence following a small, independent London ghost-hunting agency during a decades-long haunting epidemic. Separate from this author's other work catalogued in this database.
Urban fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
Lockwood & Co Jonathan Stroud
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Screaming Staircase | 2013 | 1 | core | 4.25 (78,297 ratings) |
 | The Whispering Skull | 2014 | 2 | core | 4.33 (45,477 ratings) |
 | The Hollow Boy | 2015 | 3 | core | 4.38 (37,944 ratings) |
 | The Creeping Shadow | 2016 | 4 | core | 4.52 (33,085 ratings) |
 | The Empty Grave | 2017 | 5 | core | 4.62 (30,916 ratings) |
A completed 5-book YA supernatural-fantasy sequence, separate from Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus Sequence, following a small London ghost-hunting agency during a decades-long haunting epidemic.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Lockwood & Co? Lockwood & Co's Core Canon is 5 books.
- What is the reading order for Lockwood & Co? Publication order, starting with The Screaming Staircase. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Lockwood & Co finished? Complete (2013–2017).
- How much reading does Lockwood & Co take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~2,142 pages).
- How is Lockwood & Co ranked? #18 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 225,719 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #18?
Ranked #18 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.38 across 5 core books.
- Backed by 226k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #17, The Raven Scholar (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 5 books · Complete · 226k ratings · Ranks #18 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- The Screaming Staircase (2013)
- The Whispering Skull (2014)
- The Hollow Boy (2015)
- The Creeping Shadow (2016)
- The Empty Grave (2017)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Edgar Award (Best Juvenile Mystery), 2014: won: The Screaming Staircase
You might also like
Suggestions computed from what Lockwood & Co and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Legendborn Urban fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
- Bloodlines Urban fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
- Vampire Academy Urban fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.24
- The Bartimaeus Sequence Urban fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.14
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.38 across 225,719 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Lockwood & Co (Jonathan Stroud) accepted 2026-08-29
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-29
Rule: All five novels form one continuous sequence and are Core Canon; no Expanded Canon material exists for this universe.