by James Ponti
First published 2024
Rio leads the City Spies through their most challenging mission yet when a climate activist receives death threats before addressing the United Nations General Assembly. The teen spy team must navigate New York's sprawling landscape to neutralize the danger. Their investigation takes them from Manhattan's busy streets to the outer boroughs, deep into the restricted book stacks beneath the New York Public Library's main branch, and finally to UN Headquarters itself. With a new team member joining their ranks, the spies face pressure to prove themselves while racing against time. The mission tests not only their tradecraft but their ability to work together as Rio steps into the alpha role. As threats escalate and leads multiply across the five boroughs, the team discovers that protecting someone their own age brings unexpected emotional stakes to their covert operations.
Genres: adventure, mystery, thriller, action, espionage
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, race-against-time
Setting: Manhattan, New York, United Nations
Period: 21st-century
420 pages · Hardcover · Aladdin