The Obsidian Dagger: Being the Further Extraordinary Adventures of Horatio Lyle by Catherine Webb

The Obsidian Dagger: Being the Further Extraordinary Adventures of Horatio Lyle by Catherine Webb

Completion Date: March 23, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with the Series.

There seems to be some odd things going on in the city of London lately. Take the murders, for instance; quite peculiar. And those missing statues. What's going on there? And shouldn't St. Paul’s Church have a roof? Odd. Horatio Lyle, of course, is no stranger to . . . well, strangeness. In fact, he finds the lure of the unknown quite invigorating. But having just survived the most frightening episode in his life, the last thing he wants is that pompous Lord Lincoln sticking his nose in again and demanding that he take on another case the police are too thick to solve. Of course, His Lordship can be painfully persuasive at times, so it should come as no surprise that Lyle, along with his young protégés Tess (the thief) and Thomas (the rich kid), and his faithful hound Tate (the smart one), is soon up to his neck in events of a singularly unscientific nature.

I read the first book in this series a while ago and then immediately bought this one, only to have it languish on my shelves unread for ages and ages. I was talking Rachel, though, and she told me I really should read on because she loves this series and is the reason I started reading it in the first place. I had moved it to my pile of books I need to read soon, but still it was just sitting there. I guess I just needed a little push in the right direction.

This series is so much fun. First, Horatio Lyle is insanely entertaining. You never know what he is going to do next. Just when you think you have him figured out... something else happens. And, then there are Tess and Thomas. They play off each other so well. Tess was a thief and Horatio opened up a whole new world for her. She is hard, a bit mouthy, and just plain fun. She really makes the books at times. She is always hungry, too, which adds some comic relief. Then, Thomas is the 'rich kid'. His parents don't seem to pay a lot of attention to him, though, so he finds himself looking up to Horatio more than anyone. Even the dog, Tate, is like a real character in the story. He isn't a talking dog, but we have insights into him that are fun. He also enjoys to eat and always seems to find himself in the middle of the danger, but prudentially stays out of it.

The four of them are detectives and scientists. The combination of the two makes for bizarre plots twists, but they work. They make the series so far the fun series that it is turning out to be. When Webb started writing she was relatively young, but she writes better than a lot of the adult authors out there finding popularity. If you are looking for a fun series, you should check this out. You will not be disappointed!

Series:

The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle

The Obsidian Dagger
The Doomsday Machine
The Dream Thief

This book counts for the Once Upon a Time V Challenge.