by James Ponti
First published 2022
The City Spies face their most perilous assignment yet when the criminal organization Umbra sets out to recruit a North Korean nuclear physicist. Paris goes undercover at chess tournaments in Moscow and Beijing to watch the scientist's son, a chess prodigy. Meanwhile, Sydney poses as a junior reporter for a teen lifestyle website, following the daughter of a British billionaire as she tours with the biggest band on her father's music label. Sydney must discover what connects both the musical act and the billionaire to a recent threat originating from an old Soviet missile base. The young operatives break into one of London's most exclusive residences, conduct a risky undercover operation, and launch a frantic search and rescue mission through Beijing's streets. After exposing a traitor within their own organization, the team must now use their special abilities to access places where adults cannot go, all while preventing Umbra from securing a dangerous nuclear asset.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller, action, espionage
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, undercover
Setting: Beijing, London, Moscow, North Korea, Paris
Period: 21st-century
442 pages · Hardcover · Aladdin
Content warnings: violence