This was fast paced and action packed and it was wickedly good. Unlike Alex Rider it's not overly sad and unlike Cherub - I like the main characters. As a reader, I relate to Amy but I love Dan's way of looking at things. They're a great team. Nellie, the au pair, is hilarious. She's laid back and loyal and can speak a seemingly million different languages. The rest of the Cahill family kind of suck, but what's an adventure story without a villain? Or ten? The plot is riveting - the mix of fiction and history is fascinating and I'm flying through the series. They're not particularly long - but then this kind of book never is - or at least never feels like it is. I can't wait to read the rest. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.


Nellie is looking more and more like a traitor. I still didn't love Irina but I guess she has some redeemable qualities. I wonder if Ian will abandon his mother. She is kind of evil. Or like totally. Dan and Amy seem to have come out with a stronger relationship and it was nice that they got to meet an Uncle who isn't out to kill them. Unless he is. Poor Amy, thinking its her fault - it was good of Dan to reassure her.
( )

Children's fiction/adventure-mystery. Jude Watson writes the characters well, and in this episode we meet Ian and Natalie Kabra's mother, learn more about Irina Spasky, and doubt is cast upon the trustworthiness of Nellie. ( )

Book 6 in the series. Could Amy and Dan's biggest enemy be . . . a friend? Fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, head to the Land Down Under to discover what their own mother and father knew about the hunt for the 39 Clues. But following in their parents' footsteps brings up lost memories for Amy so awful that she can't share them . . . even with Dan. Haunted by the ghosts of their past, chased by deadly competitors, Dan and Amy can't see who is an enemy and who is a friend. Their blindness leads to a terrible mistake . . and the death of a hidden ally. ( )

Amy and Dan continue to search for the next clue but are beginning to become suspicious of Nellie Gomez, their au pair, after discovering that she has skills that don't seem to go with being a nanny. Strange relatives are still popping up all over but Amy and Dan's smarts are still outwitting the nasty adults. This time they encounter cave spiders and murderous surfers. ( )

I had difficulty finishing this one. It seemed less interesting than the others. ( )