Seth and his cat Nightshade arrive in a magical town to finally gain a sought-after magical apprenticeship: Seth is finally read to qualify as a sorcerer, but as usual, the magical world is a complex and shadowy place. Seth is excited to quickly make new friends among the other young people learning magic, but discovers the apprentices are under attack. Seth is determined to prove himself as both a sorcerer and a detective and needs to discover who’s murdering the apprentices and stop them before they strike again. Especially before one of his new-found friends becomes the next victim …
“I think that this is my favourite book that Nicki has written so far. It is a truly wonderful story with so many unexpected twists and turns. This book is even more misleading than the ones before it but my favourite thing about it are the names, how DOES Nicki think them up (I love the name Tendril Vetch!)
It has so many relatable characters and many more mind-boggling mysteries to solve. Nicki instantly weaves another amazing bookworld filled with atmosphere, adventure and excitement, and a fair amount of soul-searching from Seth as he sometimes looks for easy (and sometimes quite dark) solutions to his problems, steered back on the moral path by his trusty best buddy Nightshade.” – Read It Daddy