The Raven's Revenge (6)

The Blackthorn Key #6

by Kevin Sands

Christopher finally uncovers the Raven’s identity in this sixth novel of the award-winning Blackthorn Key series.

The stakes are higher than ever when the Raven sets Christopher up for a horrible crime, leading him to be locked away in London’s most notorious prison. This terrible act is the first in a series of games the Raven plans to play with Christopher…games that are as dangerous as they are challenging.

Once free from prison, Christopher, Tom, and Sally engage in a cat and mouse game with the Raven that takes them all over London. Can Christopher outwit the Raven one final time and finally unmask him? And what price might he have to pay to achieve that? This is the thrilling conclusion to the Blackthorn Key series that fans have been waiting for!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Mystery, Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2023

About the author

Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, Kevin Sands has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, and a teacher. He is the author of the bestselling The Blackthorn Key series. His brand new fantasy adventure, Children of the Fox, is out now.

Reviews

[esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Amita · Rating 4 out of 5]

the end of an era... I still remember reading the first book on a family vacation in 2018.
here we are, 5 years later.

although this wasn't my favorite of the series, I still enjoyed it for many of the same reasons I enjoyed the other books too: the characters, the codes, and the mystery - seriously, trying to figure the 4 book long ongoing mystery was a TRIP. I probably suspected every single character at some point (which meant that I technically called it btw) and I think the feeling of increasing paranoia coming from all that suspicion was done really well. the sheer number of twists in the confrontation scene alone, not to mention the book as a whole, was crazy. like by now I know to expect it from this series but this was next level. but most of all, I liked how things wrapped up and especially how there were a lot of full circle moments/callbacks to where this story all began :)

i'll miss you christopher bff

2023 popsugar reading challenge: A historical fiction book

pre-read review:
I haven't had to wait for a series ender in a while I forgot how much it sucks 😔
also I'm highkey scared for this. if anything bad happens to my kids I'm FIGHTING

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only just realized that this was the conclusion to the series. I'm having big feelings about it right now. I really loved this series. It's very DaVinci Code, only more fun and not as brain-bruising. It really did wrap up things really nice and that was a heck of a scare for me at the end.

I enjoyed this series so much and I'm really sad to see it go. But I will definitely be buying myself a full set of these books so I can reread them when I please.

[Angela (Angel's Book Nook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kid read this and enjoyed. The start of the novel is a bit boring says the kid but gets better. He hopes their is more to come.

[Billie Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal end(?) to the Christopher Rowe series.

Throughout the series, Sands uses clever writing tricks to make you THINK that you’ve figured it all out. Then he swoops in with the twist.
My friend and I came up with this saying to describe the series: ‘when everything starts making sense, that’s how you know you’re completely off.’

And although I actually had managed to guess quite a bit of the twists in this one, there was still a lot that I was surprised by!

I loved this book, but I do not recommend reading it in a public place if you are prone to big reactions. Quite a few times, I almost threw this book at the wall. I yelled at the characters and author more times than I’d like to admit. I laughed out loud and cried, and was over all very thankful that I was not in public.


Great work, Sands! Thank you for creating the world of Christopher Rowe for us, and thank you for a new comfort series to add to my shelves. Right up there with Percy Jackson and Harry Potter.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m SO EXCITED omg it’s not even a joke. i’ve been reading this series for six years now. i love everything about it, but if ANYTHING happens to Sally or Tom, you better know I’ll show up at Kevin Sands’ house and force him to rewrite it

Also I needed this book like YESTERDAY im at the end of my patience lol

Update after reading:
;-; screaming, crying, having a heart attack wHY IS IT OVERRR

But seriously, such a phenomenal end! Thank you, Kevin Sands, so much!!

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot wait for this book. I will be very exited for June 28th but I’m kinda sad this is the last of Christopher and his adventures.

[christine ✩]

1/24/23: hyperventilating like a 13 year old rn i am going through Many Emotions All At Once . cant BELIEVE i fell for such a red herring this is like im back to reading agatha christie for the first time again. the actual reveal was lowkey mildly disappointing after the panic i experienced with the red herring LOL i need to stop doing that. the freaking final confrontation killed me in so many different ways i almost chucked my phone at a wall ft my roomie going !¿. HE KISSED HER HE KISSED HER HHAGAHAAAHAHA i think 13 year old me would be legitimately over the moon. i mean i am too now still. i almost straightup bawled over Tom with the arsenic and then Sally showed up and i yelled this is a very much Kevin Sands book based solely on that whole "oh he replaced the arsenic with powdered sugar but the raven switched it back but sally had already replaced the raven's arsenic with powdered sugar in the first place so really it was always just powdered sugar and also tom was faking being poisoned and dying it was just ipepac" ye olde classic Blackthorn Key puzzles. cool stuff thumbsup
i am now going to be mildly sad that there will
be no more yearly “o shoot tom and sally have to stop christopher from trying to kill himself chasing bad guys(tm) again”
fox children time instead :D

--
ouch. jan 2023.

edit, several months later: CONCLUSION?

[Suhyon Bae · Rating 2 out of 5]

i don't know if it's just because i'm older, but this book was a bit of a letdown, compared to the other books in the series. it felt to me like this book suffered a bit because of the complexity and layers of the plot that had been building up to this point, which led to a lot of recaps and reminders of events that happened even a few chapters ago. this slowed down the plot by a decent bit.

some of the plot points also didn't land quite right with me. a side character straight up telling christopher a hugely important piece of info felt a bit un-earned. this was one of the many flashback-y exposition dumps that slowed the plot. all of the setup with trying to find master benedict's journals just ended up wasted, which was a shame. i was also pretty unimpressed with one of the major plot twists at the very end. that would have been a perfect place to leave off that character. i also wish sally could have had a more fulfilling ending than just being christopher's wife, and yeah historical accuracy and whatnot, but her ending felt a little too lackluster for the role she played in the story.

this book was an okay conclusion to the series, but i do feel like the story was played a bit too safe. still love the series as a whole though.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed, I cried-it moved me, Bob. This was such a good finale to a most beloved series. I never thought The Blackthorn Key would be one of my all time favorite series when I won the first one at a summer reading challenge at the library one year, but it did- Christopher and Tom and Sally captured my heart and they will have a little place there forever. I had so much fun spending the past nine years cracking codes and uncovering mysteries with them.

[book_worm119 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
Brilliant

[Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series ender suffers a bit at the start from wrap-up syndrome, needed to remind us/catch us up with the overall story, but of course I loved it. I will miss the annual adventures of Apothecary's apprentice and incendiary-device-lover Christopher and his valiant pals Tom and Sally in the era of England's Charles II. Highly recommended for history-based series lovers from grade 3 - adult.

[joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i will forever love this book regardless of any faults (Which are very little) and will never forget the experience of my boots quaking, timbers shivering spine chilling plot twists that had me feeling like i was in a suspicious dark ally about to get jumped by a shadowy figure. This author ate and left ZERO crumbs. He is a mega slay as they say

[Josiah Dyck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling conclusion to one of the best book series I’ve ever read. Kevin Sands introduced me to the world of Christopher Rowe a few years back, and I’ve loved every minute I spent within it. From the black plague to the Knights Templar, all six of Christopher’s adventures were entertaining in every way imaginable.

The final installment had a lot to live up to, but it filled those shoes well. I could scarcely put the book down in this race against the clock, leading to the final confrontation. While I had a solid guess as to who the Raven was—or at least, I thought I did—I actually prefer how it all turned out. I felt that it really brought all the themes and ideas of the series together in a profound way, and made each book interconnected and important.

I will dearly miss the characters, their lives and stories, and the London they inhabit. And while I wouldn’t say no to another adventure one day, I also think the whole thing ended well. I look forward to seeing what Kevin comes up with next.

Side note: something I really appreciate about Kevin is how well he tackled the subject of God and religion in the story world. It felt very respectful and genuine, and I think it was one of the many “small” aspects that really elevated the Black Thorn Key series.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god. This book was AMAZING. An epic conclusion to an epic series. Kevin Sands does not fail when it comes to this finale.

I remember reading the last part of The Raven’s Revenge during an inclement weather recess. My friend that was sitting beside me basically knew what happened because it was a whirlwind of an ending. With so many plot twists, I basically was explaining the ending to him because I just kept gasping, and he would keep asking me, “What happened now?”

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I totally would. Defiantly finish this series, as it concludes everything so effortlessly and makes you want a 2nd series!

Well done Kevin Sands, well done.

[Jenny Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it had its moments, this last installment felt like it was just going through the motions. Especially when compared to the first couple books in the series, it has a strange, flat quality to it, as though the author had already emotionally and mentally moved on before tying up the loose ends. I missed the effervescence of the earlier books, sparkling with humour, cleverness, and characters who didn't feel like cardboard cutouts of themselves.

[Niki Zhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just wow! Such a satisfying conclusion to this series. It was a page turner and I couldn’t put it down, staying up late into the night to finish it in one day! I think this one is my second favorite after The Assassin’s Curse. The story is well crafted and filled with engaging, edge of your seat moments between all the favorite characters. I am always sad when I have finished a book in this series because I hate to leave these characters and this world that Kevin Sands has created. I guess I will just have to reread them all or keep my fingers crossed that with the way it ended, maybe, possibly, we haven’t heard the last from Christopher. 😉

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the first book of this series from the scholastic book fair at my elementary school. It was my first real exposure to the mystery genre. And now it’s one of my all time favourite books ever. This is the PERFECT ending to the series. How Christopher’s story has progressed without losing the core of what makes it so compelling is just amazing. I’m going to miss these characters so much.
Thank you Kevin Sands for writing high quality middle grade fiction with incredible characters, deep world building, ingenious but uncomplicated puzzles 😭❤️ you made little me have such a fun time and I’ll always enjoy going back and rereading

[Leela Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic end to the series. Once again, the adventure was thrilling and filled with twists and turns. I didn't see any of the reveals coming. I really love the detail put into all the riddles and secret messages, it's clear there's been a lot of research done to include all of them.

This book was a perfect way to end one of my favorite series. I'm sad to see it end but I'm so happy with the way it ended.

[Marta Cleverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 100th book I’ve finished this year and it absolutely deserves that honor.

THIS. BOOK. It is so incredibly good and this series is just *chefs kiss*. I’m sad to see it’s over but the climax and the way everything wrapped up is INCREDIBLE. GENIUS. The villain and his motivation is just expertly crafted. The friendship between Christopher and Tom is everything. And perhaps my favorite part is Tom’s vision of what he wants for his future during the climax 😊

[ZannahElizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I… I…. WHAT HUH I… what in the what! YALL THIS BOOK HAS THE CRAZIEST PLOT TWISTS EVER!!!

My emotions throughout the book: 😭😱😁😔😱😊😁😭😱😁🤯😮😔😁😭😊😱

My emotions at the end: 😱😭😱😭😱😭😱😭😱😭🤯😭😭😱🤯😱😭😱🤯😱😭😱🤯😭😭😭🤯😱😱😭😭😱

6 STARS!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I 200% recommend this entire series (especially if you want to experience these following emotions: shock, extreme happiness, sadness, confusion, shock, shock and more shock)

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

April 6-12, 1666
London, England

This story has puzzles, a scavenger hunt, betrayal, romance, and near-death experiences. The romance was minimal. The focus of the story was the action and who the Raven was and who will still be alive in the end. The puzzles were fun and interesting. I was surprised by who the Raven was. I thought it was going to be someone else. I am glad that the main focus of the series has been closed and that there is the possibility of something more in the future.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking end to a great series! I really couldn't put it down. Sands did a fabulous job of wrapping up all the loose threads and creating a satisfying conclusion to the story. I will miss Christopher, Tom, and Sally, but I will definitely be recommending this series to students in the future!

[Florence Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Aside from butchering the French pronunciation of some words and phrases the narrator is great. I really enjoyed this series. This installement did not disappoint.

[Sam Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was my favourite book of the series. It was a good wrap up to close out the series.

A classic mystery scavenger hunt plot. With found family/strong friendships.

[Addison S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely riveting! I did nothing productive today cuz I couldn’t put this book down XD

[Carly Amendolare · Rating 5 out of 5]

i refuse to believe this series is over, i love it too much to let it go

[Mizuki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, it was a good conclusion to the series, kind of returning to the initial concept - full of puzzles and tricks. I have enjoyed their adventures with their intelligence, not relying on any 'magical' powers.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Yanira Vazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing this series has been one roller coaster after another. I pray Kevin gives us another adventure with Christopher Tom and Sally.