by Stuart Gibbs
Part of Spy School, book 13
First published 2025
Ben Ripley's plane plummets from the sky over Indonesia after a computer hacker triggers the CIA's nightmare scenario. Power grids across the globe go dark. Ben and his spy school teammates survive the emergency landing, but they find themselves stranded in one of Earth's most dangerous locations. The young operative realizes his team might be the only agents positioned near the cybercriminal's hidden base. Without phones or computers, Ben cannot reach CIA headquarters for backup or instructions. The mission becomes a race against time as worldwide chaos spreads. Ben must lead his friends through encounters with assassins, pirates, sharks, and massive lizards. The hacker remains one step ahead, manipulating events from the shadows. This thirteenth adventure in the Spy School series forces Ben to rely purely on field skills and teamwork. The fate of global infrastructure rests on a group of middle school spies operating completely off the grid.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller, action, espionage
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, race-against-time
Setting: CIA, Indonesia
Period: 21st-century
336 pages · Kindle Edition · Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers