City Spies: London Calling by James Ponti

 It's time for spy music to play non-stop in my head again because we're hitting the sixth book in the City Spies series today. I have not read every book in this series, but I have hit a couple. So, I'm pretty sure it will be fun and gripping, but let's find out!

LONDON CALLING

City Spies #6

by James Ponti

Aladdin

Middle Grade Spy Fiction

400 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

FEBRUARY 4th!!!

In this sixth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies stages a rescue in Rome in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Charlie Thorne.

Cairo, the newest member of the City Spies, takes the lead when his sister disappears in Istanbul. Determined to save the family of one of their own, the team risks discovery as their search leads them to Rome. Meanwhile, there’s been intel that seems to threaten the royal wedding about to take place in Westminster, bringing the team back to the UK on an official case for MI6. With so much security all over the city, it’s harder than ever for the City Spies to go unnoticed. Will their skills be up to the task?

GOODREADS    /     PUBLISHER

MY TIDBITS

Tension, mystery, and, most importantly, the sense of family shine through on every page.

The newest member of the City Spies, Cairo, is facing his first mission...well, not official since the higher-ups know nothing about it. The City Spies are determined to secretly find his younger sister, who disappeared under very questionable circumstances. Following 'bread crumbs', they jet around the world to figure out where she is, who is after her, and, somehow, take care of an official mission, a royal wedding, as well. It's going to keep them busy.

It's been a bit since I picked up a book in this series, but it was no problem to sink right in, especially with that first chapter. This book starts out with tension pure and gets things rolling right away. And there's a lot going on. Not only do the City Spies need to locate Cairo's sister, but there are evil forces at play, pulling at the ties between their 'family' thanks to an earlier betrayal, which is by no means solved, yet.

The writing flows very smoothly, and the characters come across naturally. The spy end is more of a hunt, this time, with clues to follow (before it unfolds into more, later on), so mystery fans will appreciate that end. While this does involve spies, the technology and abilities don't stretch imagination too far, and the characters expand their capabilities as well as the trust in themselves, which adds a nice touch. The family aspect is inspiring and makes this group golden as they are a bit of a hodge-podge mix but still hold together wonderfully.

This is a nice addition to the series and keeps everything exciting and tension packed the entire way through.

And here he is...

James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of four middle grade book series: The Sherlock Society following a group of young detectives; City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists, and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.