Reviewed by Stephen Brayton for Readers' Favorite

In 1988, twelve-year-old Gideon Crew watched his father, who worked for Army Intelligence, die in a hail of bullets. Years passed before he could exact his revenge upon the person behind the circumstances of the death. Crew, now working at a Los Alamos laboratory, is contacted by an undercover government outfit headed by Manuel Garza. Garza seems to know all about Crew, his father, and what Crew did to avenge his death. He then recruits Crew to steal what are assumed to be plans for a new super weapon from a Chinese operative. Crew manages to obtain only part of the plans before the operative dies, which turn out to be something completely different than expected. Soon, Crew contends with a supposed CIA agent who's also after the plans...a professional escort who wants only to help if Crew would just let her, all the while avoiding a ruthless assassin.

Crew seems naïve in many ways, but is able to talk his way into and out of dangerous situations to obtain the information needed. With every new obstacle to overcome, you think Crew just bumbles along, but with time, Crew grows on you as you begin to see his intelligence, his wit, and his cunning.

This book has some very interesting characters here, a few I wish could stick around for future adventures. This book doesn't have the deep seriousness seen in the Pendergast series, but expect some fun along with the danger. Crew is not your typical spy, but he holds a lot of promise for future tales.