The Blackthorn Key
Author: Kevin Sands
Publication Date: September 3rd 2015
Publisher: Puffin
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~
London, 1665. Fourteen-year-old Christopher Rowe is apprenticed to master apothecary Benedict Blackthorn. In Blackthorn's shop, Christopher learns the delicate secrets of transforming simple ingredients into powerful medicines, potions and weapons. His beloved master guides him with a firm, steady hand - instilling him with confidence and independence that prove increasingly vital as Christopher learns of a mysterious cult preying on the most learned men in London. The murders are growing closer and closer to home and soon Christopher is torn from the shop with only a page of cryptic clues from his master and the unambiguous warning: 'Tell no one'.
Helped by his best friend, Tom, Christopher must decipher his master's clues, following a trail of deceit towards an unearthly secret with the power to tear the world apart
You know what I loved about The Blackthorn Key? It is so
unique, and so interesting, and we’re talking about a middle grade book here,
and I know that sounds bad, and I’m being a little harsh, but the problem I
have with middle grades, the rare times I read them, is that they feel
underdeveloped to me, but The Blackthorn Key is none of those things.
