Blackthorn Key

4,5 stars
While I am generally not too into YA, I think I am developing a thing for middle-grade and this book was a great example of what I am looking for.
We're following an orphan (as many, many times before) named Christopher, who works as a kind, but a bit kooky apothecary, Benedict Blackthorn's apprentice. At first things seem fine, with a warm, adorable humour, but maybe they can't be all that safe when mysterious assassins are after the apothecaries of London. Things are about to turn quite dark...
While the story itself is historical fiction (1600's), it wasn't hard to follow at all, but it had some kind of old times type magic that didn't even need any of “real” magic. The mysterious ways of apothecaries in that age were absolutely brilliant for giving it that quality. Good choice there, Mr. Sands. That was probably my favourite about the whole thing; first expecting some sort of fairy powder or wizards, then realizing that while it wasn't going to have any, I didn't even miss it any longer. The balance between the historical aspects and the not too nice things in the life of the time and this magic.
I loved the characters. Some of them were sinister, some downright deceptive assholes, but none of them were grating to me. As a middle-grade book, it's safe to say you aren't going to get deep psychological studies on the human mind, but I didn't miss it at all. Other than his master, Christopher has a best friend named Tom, an eternally loyal gentle giant of a friend, who felt a bit like a balance for all the dark things happening to the boy.
As we get ahead, the story gets darker and darker. I for one appreciate that Mr. Sands dared to pull to that, to not sugarcoat things simply because he intended his book to be read mostly by kids. I'm pretty sure my younger self would have liked that. In this respect The Blackthorn Key reminded me of the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud, which is a great thing in my book. Still, keep in mind when giving this book to children; there are some pretty depressing things happening and it is about a series of murders. Just so nobody gets sleepless nights.
All in all, I LOVED it and I am hoping for a sequel. Kevin Sands, I am keeping an eye on your from now on. Things look promising.