The Sword Thief (The 39 Clues, #3)

by Peter Lerangis

This was fast paced and action packed and it was wickedly good. Unlike Alex Rider it's not overly sad and unlike Cherub - I like the main characters. As a reader, I relate to Amy but I love Dan's way of looking at things. They're a great team. Nellie, the au pair, is hilarious. She's laid back and loyal and can speak a seemingly million different languages. The rest of the Cahill family kind of suck, but what's an adventure story without a villain? Or ten? The plot is riveting - the mix of fiction and history is fascinating and I'm flying through the series. They're not particularly long - but then this kind of book never is - or at least never feels like it is. I can't wait to read the rest. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

(show spoiler)[
There's a touch of romance in this between Ian Kabra and Amy. I like how the authors keep giving a little bit of insight in to each of the villains - in this one we read a bit of the story from Ian's point of view - and as much as he's bad he's not totally bad. More of Alistar's background and character is revealed - we learn his father was killed by his uncle (the brother's twin) and that he doesn't have a very good relationship with his uncle. Very intense, very fast paced, I may even go as far as to say, best one of the series yet.
] (hide spoiler)