Christopher
Rowe is extremely lucky in an otherwise unfortunate life – after growing up in
an orphanage he gets the opportunity to become an apothecary’s apprentice and
ends up with Benedict Blackthorn who is probably the only apothecary in London
in 1665 who would never beat him. He studies hard, the recipes and how to
encode them, and he finds a father figure in Master Benedict who tries to bring
his curiosity under control when he almost blows up the apothecary shop again
with one of his unauthorized experiments. Actually, everything could be
perfect, if it wasn’t for the mysterious murders that keep happening in the
city – the victims primarily being apothecaries. Christopher worries for his
master and a race against time begins where he has to try, with the help of his
masters codes, to lift the secret of the murderers.
Kevin Sands’
debut “The Blackthorn Key” is an exciting mix of adventure, crime and a tad of
fantasy that gets a slight historic spin from its setting. Young Christopher
Rowe and his master grow close to the reader very quickly, the other characters
are designed with a lot of love as well, and the plot is worked out with loads
of details and pretty much impossible to solve by yourself. “The Blackthorn Key”
is recommended for children between 10 and 13, but the now grown up Harry
Potter- and Bartimæus-fans will probably like it just as much.
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