Mark of the Plague by Kevin Sands
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Adventure
Age - 11-14
Grade - 6-9
529 pages, hardcover
c. 2016
The opening line of The Mark of the
Plague, the second book in The Blackthorn Mystery Series is Tom
saying to Christopher, his best friend, “This is a bad idea.” It is a comment
Tom often makes and many times he is correct. Christopher is proudly showing
Tom his latest invention, Blackthorn’s Smoke-Your-Home, designed to prevent the
plague and bring Christopher some much needed income. It does succeed in
filling the shop with a thick, sweet-smelling haze but it also left a big black
scorch mark on the wall and set Harry, the stuffed hedgehog, on fire.
Christopher
is still mourning the death of his master, Benedict Blackthorn, and the plague
has hit London very hard. A strange prophet, who wears a bird’s head mask, has
come to London with the ability to predict who will die from the plague. An
unknown apothecary has also come who claims to have a cure for the plague.
Christopher is given a letter from his master by a friend. The letter reveals
that Master Benedict has left him a treasure but to find it he must follow many
cryptic clues. The letter
say, in part, “Somewhere in our house is a prize, hidden for you. Treasure.
Understanding your nature, you probably haven’t found it yet….You won’t find it
until you realize something incredibly important. Our home is yours. Use
everything you have been given. Recognize exactly what this is…Solve this one
last riddle, and you’ll not only find your treasure, you’ll learn one last
thing - and that is the most important thing I’ll ever want you to know.” The
riddle is, “The young bird finds its treasure when it settles in its place,
hidden, deep, beneath its feet; don’t let it go to waste.” Christopher spends
most of the book trying to solve the riddle and it is his faithful friend Tom
who eventually helps him to do it.
Sands based this story on actual
events and included the Bills of Mortality, which listed the number of people
who had died each week. The Great Plague of London would ultimately kill one in
five of the city’s residents. The humorous dialogue between characters,
especially between Christopher and Tom, makes a nice balance from the dark
events described in the book. Interesting new characters are introduced, both
good and evil. One of these characters, Sally, continues to be a major
character in the following two books. As with the previous book there is much
action, narrow escapes and many plot twists. I highly recommend this book.