Crown & Key series by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith
Have you ever come across a book series that clearly can be adapted to the silver screen? Of course, you have and so have I. Now, have you ever come across a book series that leaves you wondering “why hasn’t it been, yet”? I’m sure you have and, now, so have I. I mean, it may consist of three books but there’s so much potential. The series is called Crown & Key and my goodness it’s marvelous.
The Crown & Key series follows the adventures of Simon, a scribe mage with a unique skill of magic, Kate, an alchemist/swordsman, and Malcolm, a Scottish werewolf hunter. Yes, they don’t get off on the right foot especially with a loner Scotsman. I found Simon to be an instantly likable character for the readers because of the combination of his wit and charm. Plus, his honor and code of ethics and moral is what makes the people around him relatable to both the readers and characters. I mean it worked pretty quickly on Kate and Malcolm eventually warmed up to the bloke.
They all met on their first adventure (The Shadow Revolution) as they all had to deal with the rise of a crazy werewolf. Well…a crazy werewolf, Gertrude, who wanted to gather all 
the lycanthropes together for – lack of a better word – a new world order. Add in a mad doctor who has a fondness of unethical experiments on young women and you can see where things can go awry. What I immediately took notice to is that these pair of authors are not afraid to make their heroes suffer loss and pain. It even carried on to the second installment (The Undying Legion).
This is actually my favorite one because it showed a softer side of Malcolm, the more stoic of the trio, as he continued to do his work. Too bad for him…where he went and talked to make him the first adversary of a necromancer that became more than a match for the trio. So much so, Simon had to generate an explosion that resulted in losing all of his magic. Worst yet, it took another dark form of magic (blood magic) to relink him in the final installment (The
Conquering Dark). All of this took place while earth elemental, Gaios tried to bring London to the ground.
I would definitely love to see someone turn this into a TV series. I mean each book will be a season with another season focusing on Simon’s polarizing mentor, Nick, and his complicated backstory. I would imagine that a skilled-enough screenwriter (definitely not me) could create a villain that can link Nick, his past and, maybe, Simon’s father to Simon and his crew. Hell, if I was given the opportunity, I would help any and everybody who wants to tackle this project. I think Netflix will pounce of this in a heartbeat.
This series gets an A+ and, again, needs a silver screen adaption.
