Book Review - The Obsidian Pebble by R A Jones

Book Review

The Obsidian Pebble 

(First in the Artefact series)

by R A Jones

About the Author
RA Jones was born in 1955 and grew up in a mining village in South Wales with his nose in a book and his head in the clouds. He managed to subdue his imagination long enough to carve out a career in medicine, writing whenever the chance arose.

In 1994, writing as Dylan Jones, he published his first scary book for adults, a thriller, which was subsequently made into a two-part film by the BBC. Other scary books followed.

A growing desire to move away from adult thrillers and write for children is what currently preoccupies him. RA Jones has three grownup children who have emerged remarkably unscathed into adulthood. When not writing, he practices medicine and lives in darkest West Wales with his understanding (very) wife and two dogs.

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Book Description
Oz Chambers lives in a haunted house. His mother wants to move, but Oz believes that the old place is too full of mystery to leave. When he and his friends hear ghostly footsteps, they decide to investigate the house’s eerie reputation. But what Oz hasn’t bargained for is that he’s not alone in his quest and that solving Penwurt’s puzzles will uncover a murky secret, and the chilling realisation that nothing is quite what it seems.

Book Review

What is an obsidian pebble?  What has it got to do with Oz's dead father?  And why won't his mam let him into his dead fathers study?  Follow Oz on his adventure through the different undiscovered rooms in his own house.   As Oz and his friends delve into his fathers past works, they discover clues that will lead to the answer, but are they are not the only ones who want to discover the secrets.  Who is making the mysterious footsteps Oz can hear?

As we travel through the adventure the characters are described vividly and you feel as you are there with them and at times want to warn them of the danger.  The trials and tribulations the hero is facing and along with the emotions of a young child growing up are believeable, such as the problems with the hard knocks are what most children experience with the indifference of the attitudes of the teachers.

An exciting adventure for any young reader, to try and help the hero crack the codes, try and help his mom get over his fathers death, ward off the bad guys and most of all, find out the mysterious secret from the clues his Dad has left him, believing that only his son can crack them.

The book reminded me of a series of books that I read when I was a young reader, mainly due to the intrigue and the twists and turns in the storyline.  I would recommend this book and look forward to the next in the series.

Our Rating