Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider, No. 8) by Horowitz, Anthony (2009) Hardcover

In this action-packed latest installment of Horowitz's popular Alex Rider series, the reluctant teen spy is again drawn into the services of MI6. In return for the agency nixing a reporter's would-be expose of Alex's life, he agrees to infiltrate the office of the director of Greenfields, a secretive genetic engineering company, during a class trip to the company's headquarters. Although he succeeds and vows to return to school and a normal life, Alex's curiosity gets the better of him and he is soon embroiled in yet another outrageous turn of events that includes being kidnapped and whisked off to Kenya to face the latest in a string of diabolical madmen bent on destroying the world. As in the last few series novels, Horowitz sacrifices character development for action, with little dialogue and only token appearances by supporting players such as Jack Starbright, Smithers, and Sabina Pleasure. In their place, he packs in enough explosions, fistfights, poisonous creatures, fires, and deadly weapons to ensure that middle and high school boys-and more than a few girls-will be clamoring for Alex;s latest adventure. Each installment is more reminiscent of the James Bond films than the last, and one wonders if television and film writer Horowitz had one eye on his computer screen and one eye on the silver screen when drafting the latest Rider story. Although formulaic, the novel is cut from the same successful mold as its predecessors and will no doubt fly off library shelves with its appealing hero, exotic settings, and high-octane action. Reviewer: Leah J. Sparks