PAYBACK

This sequel to the authors’ Traitor (2005) picks up with 17-year-old Danny and his British SAS-veteran grandfather Fergus as they hide out in Spain from a high-placed traitor in British intelligence. The action begins quickly and rarely lets up as Danny and Fergus deftly avoid the hit team sent to kill them. Danny’s girlfriend Elena enters the picture with her computer and wi-fi access, to help them break into the British government’s most secret and secure computer files. McNab adds interest with his real-life expertise in explosives and clandestine techniques, and playwright Rigby keeps the narrative flowing. This story has trouble standing on its own for those who haven’t read the first in the series, and it clearly sets up the premise for a sequel. However, interested young readers probably will want the entire series and won’t be disappointed when they start from the beginning. Good entertainment for the action and suspense crowd. (Fiction. YA)