What really kept pulling me into this book almost immediately was the characterization. The main, Christopher, is SUCH a fun character to read about, and he's not flat or one-dimensional. And his relationships with other characters like Tom and Master Benedict are perfectly written.

As I got a bit farther in, the plot did its job as well, taking us through a murder mystery full of various twists, antagonists, and ciphers (I love ciphers, so another win!) I also got to learn a bunch about life in 1660s England, especially apothecary work, which was very cool.

Christopher and Tom are characters that I would continue to read about over and over again, so it'll be exciting continuing the series.