The plague is sweeping through London’s streets. Christopher Rowe wants to help by using his departed master’s apothecary, but strict rules deny Christopher—still only an apprentice—the right to open the shop to the public. Desperate for money, Christopher finds a cryptic note from Master Blackthorn about a hidden treasure. While Christopher and Tom are out following a clue, an intruder breaks into the apothecary. This break-in entangles Christopher in a deadly conflict between two competing doctors—Melchior and Galen—who claim to be healing plague victims in their own unique ways.Mark of the Plague seems more like a raw, revealing picture of the past than the code-driven, secret-society fiction used in The Blackthorn Key. Fans of Sands’ codes and cults will still get a taste of these themes with Blackthorn’s cryptic messages and Melchior’s biblically hostile followers. Because Sands based this story on a true event, added selections of the actual Bills of Mortality, and described the crazed, chaotic world Londoners created during the plague, Mark of the Plague has more depth and richness than the first. With such a solid setting, Christopher’s character can be explored and expressed to a greater extent. A little less violent than the first, Sands second book is still a suspenseful ride through Christopher Rowe’s unpredictable world. The next book, The Assassin’s Curse comes out in September.
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