In the third installment of his Blackthorn Key series, The Assassin’s Curse, author Kevin Sands moves the actions from England to the court of Louis XIV, in Paris.
Publisher’s Summary: Christopher Rowe is back and there are more puzzles, riddles, and secrets to uncover in this third novel of the award-winning Blackthorn Key series.
Wherever Christopher Rowe goes, adventure—and murder—follows. Even a chance to meet King Charles ends in a brush with an assassin.
All that’s recovered from the killer is a coded message with an ominous sign-off: more attempts are coming. So when Christopher’s code-breaking discovers the attack’s true target, he and his friends are ordered to Paris to investigate a centuries-old curse on the French throne. And when they learn an ancient treasure is promised to any assassin who succeeds, they realize the entire royal family is at stake—as well as their own lives.
In the third heart-pounding installment of the award-winning Blackthorn Key series, Christopher, Tom, and Sally face new codes, puzzles, and traps as they race to find the hidden treasure before someone else is murdered.
Of the three, this is my least favorite, but I still enjoyed it. I think one of the problems was that I listened to the audio version, and the recitation of some of the code-breaking was tedious. I would rather have looked at it than listened to it. That said, there was all the action and mystery of the first two books. I like that we learned a little more about Sally, the Hermione to Christopher and Thomas’ Harry & Ron. The change of venue was interesting, too. The book was, once again, left open enough for a fourth book, If there is one, I hope they return to England, where I think they fit best.
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