SABOTAGE

Kid assassin Jimmy Coates runs from a corrupt British government and navigates a world on the brink of war.

After faking his death in an effort to shake the oppressive gaze of Miss Bennett and the dastardly secret British spy agency NJ7, superagent Jimmy Coates is now working with the American CIA and Col. Keays to shut down Neptune’s Shadow, an ultrasecret missile base Britain plans to use against France. The premise is much more exciting than the novel’s execution, which mostly consists of meetings among various shadowy people discussing other shadowy people. The stock cloak-and-dagger shenanigans do little to raise the pulse. Thankfully the book is peppered with exciting bits of action. Jimmy is more Bourne than Bond, and the book’s few action scenes showcase his ingenuity and creativity well. A subplot in which Jimmy’s normal friends and mother cope with his absence could be easily excised, as could its weak attempts at humor. The book begins with Jimmy reeling from repercussions of his previous adventure, and it ends with him flying off to tackle another new supervillain. Consequently, this entry feels a bit soft when all is said and done. Nothing is truly accomplished, but such is to be expected when this is the fourth entry in an eight-part series.

Mostly harmless spy nonsense.