The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle - Softcover

Webb, Catherine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904233619 ISBN 13: 9781904233619

Publisher: Atom, 2006

Synopsis

In Victorian London at the height of the industrial revolution, Horatio Lyle is a former Special Constable with a passion for science and invention. He's also an occasional, but reluctant, sleuth. The truth is that he'd rather be in his lab tinkering with dangerous chemicals and odd machinery than running around the cobbled streets of London trying to track down stolen goods. But when Her Majesty's Government calls, Horatio swaps his microscope for a magnifying glass, fills his pockets with things that explode and sallies forth to unravel a mystery of a singularly extraordinary nature.

Thrown together with a reformed (i.e. 'caught') pickpocket called Tess, and a rebellious (within reason) young gentleman called Thomas, Lyle and his faithful hound, Tate, find themselves pursuing an ancient Chinese plate, a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of polite society and a dangerous enemy who may not even be human. Solving the crime will be hard enough - surviving would be a bonus...

About this title

About the Author:

Having published her extraordinary debut, Mirror Dreams, at the age of 14, Catherine Webb has quickly established herself as one of the most talented and exciting young writers in the UK.

From Booklist:

Originally published in Great Britain in 2006, this rollicking escapade propels a Sherlockian inventor and two young Irregulars on a wild chase through Victorian London in search of an ancient artifact with eldritch powers. The Fuyun Plate has vanished from a deep vault in the Bank of England, and against his better judgment reclusive genius Horatio Lyle leaves his elaborately booby-trapped laboratory to track it down. He picks up a wonderfully competent and cocky young thief named Tess and the naive but resourceful scion of high nobility, Thomas, and together they encounter corpses, bloodstains, subtle clues, and sudden attacks from weirdly hypnotized assassins. The climactic battle is fought amid huge explosions and massive electrical phenomena. Despite being barely past high-school age when she wrote this novel, Webb weaves puckish humor, intelligent plotting, high suspense, and appropriately grimy atmosphere into a well told tale that will leave readers praying for more. Happily, there are two sequels already waiting in the wings. Grades 5-8. --John Peters

About this edition

• Publisher: Atom
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1904233619
• ISBN 13: 9781904233619
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320