Ollie is trying. He really is. He's trying to lose weight in the biscotti-and-bolognese wonderland of Boston's North End. He's trying to recover from his mother's recent death. Most of all, he's trying to battle the loneliness that comes with being 19, living in a shoebox, and working a dead-end job. No girlfriend, no parents, no friends.

Well, he does have one friend. Nell. But she's gone missing. At first, Ollie pretends that he hadn't noticed Nell's bruises and skittish behavior. Then, finally, he faces the facts: Nell is gone, and probably in danger. And he might be the only one who can help.

What he doesn't know--couldn't know--is that his journey to find her will take him far below the streets of the city into a dangerous, underground world: a place where magic spills like blood, humans are not quite human, and notions of justice and revenge are as murky as the cavern's brackish waters. And this time, trying just won't be enough.

-Kirkus

Dear Reader,

Herrick's End was inspired by a job I once held at a center for domestic-violence survivors, where we sometimes ferried victims to safety via a secret “underground” network. Often, the victims had to give up everything, while the perpetrators suffered few consequences at all. It seemed so unfair, and it made me wonder: What if there was a literal “underground,” where victims could regain some control? What if revenge was not only possible but easy? Should you take it?

In Herrick's End, our hero Ollie stumbles upon just such a reality when he goes in search of a missing friend and learns that Boston’s famous Freedom Trail is not quite what it seems. Before long, he finds himself trapped in a dangerous, magical world: Escape seems all but impossible until a fearless, purple-haired girl teaches Ollie to believe in second chances—and in himself.

Thanks for reading,

T.M. Blanchet

HERRICK'S END Book Club Menu

The Herrick's End journey begins in Boston’s North End, home to nearly one hundred Italian bakeries, restaurants, and cafes! Biscotti, cannoli, ricotta pie, anise cookies, or other pastries—alongside steaming hot cappuccino, of course—would make the perfect accompaniments to any discussion about the book.

-T.M. Blanchet