Death Run (Rich and Jade Series #2)

by Jack Higgins, Justin Richards

Overview

The action-packed companion to Sure Fire from New York Times bestselling author Jack Higgins!

Twins Rich and Jade Chance are on vacation with their father, master spy John Chance-or so they think. The British government actually sent their father to keep tabs on a Swiss banker who is trying to escape from the Tiger, a ruthless criminal. But the banker is captured and taken to a remote Scottish castle-along with Rich! Now it's up to Jade and her father to rescue them. Will they be able to stop the Tiger before Rich's time runs out?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399250811
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/16/2008
Series:	Rich and Jade Series , #2
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	HL660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Jack Higgins lives on Jersey in the Channel Islands.
Justin Richards lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

Vast improvement over the first series book, Sure Fire (G. P. Putnam's Sons 2007/VOYA December 2007), is not a difficult accomplishment. Many readers really clamored for more adventures with twins Rich and Jade Chance and their James Bond-like spy father, John Chance. This whirlwind adventure takes them from a casino mission in Mont Passat to a gondolier chase in Venice and a school to a cave hideout and a castle on an island. Higgins and Richards are long on action and short on plot points which make much sense. The Chance family makes friends with a nervous spy compellingly nicknamed The Banker and must ferret out a traitor on the good guy side who goes by the code name of The Tiger. It is clear that the authors envision their series as a throwback to the Bond films and the adventures of such characters as Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, and the Hardy Boys. But they do not seem too concerned with updating such stories to fit the palates of today's readers. Instead they elect to bring the characteristics, from bland central heroes and true groaner puns to villains with immensely convoluted motives, that make such stories seem quaint and outdated to today's readers. If teen librarians are looking for a word to make books fly off the shelves, "quaint" is not it. The book is certainly harmless, but must it be aimless as well? Reviewer: Matthew Weaver\

VOYA - Matthew Weaver

In this sequel to Sure Fire, 15-year-old twins Rich and Jade are on holiday in Venice with their father, Chance, a British spy. But the vacation quickly turns into a nightmare when Chance is asked to help a Swiss banker do a "death run": take on a new identity in order to keep him safe from gangsters, led by the evil Tiger. Rich, and then the banker, are kidnapped by the bad guys, and Jade and Chance must race off to a Scottish castle to rescue them. There are guns aplenty, explosions, a huge diamond, and narrow escapes by gondola and from a car plunging in the sea: this action-packed thriller with its intrepid teen characters will please fans of James Bond films and Alex Rider-type adventures, and it can stand alone for those who haven't read the first book. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick\

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

Gr 6-9

This second in a series about twins who assist their British spy dad seems ridiculous on the face of it. However, if readers can get past the first chapter, they will be sucked in and taken on a roller-coaster ride until the somewhat fantastical ending. Jade and Rich Chance are on holiday in Venice when they must tie up the mystery of who has been following them around the city since their father helped a Swiss accountant escape from his mob employers. Back in England, their adventures continue. International crime rings, kidnapping, money laundering, a mysterious crime lord, and a remote Scottish castle all play a part in the nonstop action. The brothers must help their father figure out who the crime boss is and rescue their new math teacher before huge sums of money are lost. Amazingly, the crime syndicate always seems to be one step ahead of them. Some willing suspension of disbelief is necessary, and the protagonists seem a little younger and less gutsy than Alex Rider, but teens who are enjoying Anthony Horowitz's and Ally Carter's books will get a kick out of Jade and Rich as well.-Robin Henry, Griffin Middle School, Frisco, TX

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School Library Journal

British twins Rich and Jade Chance have come to accept that their father works for British Intelligence, but they're not about to let him have all the adventures in the family. On their way to a vacation in Venice, John Chance completes a seemingly simple mission for his superiors by helping an accountant to super-crooks disappear into a new life. No mission is that easy, though. The accountant, code-named "The Banker," turns up at the twins' private school back in England, and in short order the school is taken over by The Banker's former main client. Rich is kidnapped, and there seems to be a mole in John's department. Rich and Jade use their wits to solve the case and do away with the bad guys. This second entry in Higgins and Richards's British spy-teens series is just as much fun as the first (Sure Fire, 2007). These kids get by on ingenuity rather than with gadgets. There's no deep character development, and some moments stretch believability, but fans of the series or the genre will be satisfied and ask for more. (Thriller. 10-14)\

Kirkus Reviews