The After-Room
This is the final book in the Apothecary trilogy, which includes The Apothecary (2013), The Apprentices (2014), and The After-Room (2015). In 1955, Janie and Benjamin are living with her parents in Michigan after the death of his father. Janie and Benjamin are still in love, but Benjamin is depressed and has closed himself off from Janie. When Benjamin discovers he can visit his father in the after-room he nearly dies in the attempt.
Janie and Benjamin meet a man who can read minds and may be able to help Benjamin safely talk to his father, but this man seeks a filter for his own psychic abilities. Using the Pharmacopeia, Benjamin creates a medicinal filter which has unintended side-effects. The man ends up telling a mobster about Benjamin’s apothecary abilities. With the help of Count Vili, Janie’s parents get a job in Rome, and the family moves there, but the mobsters follow.
Meanwhile, Jin Lo washes up on the shore of an island where Ned Maddox, an American Navy officer, is searching for a man who has stolen a nuclear weapon. Ned brings Jin-Lo back to health, and the two fall in love. Jin Lo is searching for the cargo of radioactive uranium lost in the last book. She and Ned travel into China, encountering pirates and the evil Danby in their attempts to thwart World War III.
I read and enjoyed the first two books in the series, and the same is true with The After-Room. Benjamin, Janie, and Jin Lo are well-developed, likable characters, as are many of the side characters. The plot twists and tangles keep readers on edge. The magic is fun and creative and adds sparkle to the story. The books are probably best read in order, although this story is fairly stand-alone. Recommended for 10 plus.
