City Spies
Recommended Ages: 10-12
City Spies by James Ponti is a mystery series for older middle school readers and high schoolers. This is a great series that your readers will quickly devour.
Book 1: City Spies
Review unavailable
Click here to purchase a copy.
I read this book in 2020 as part of a “Battle of the Book” reading list for a group I was sponsoring.
Book 2: Golden Gate
Click here for a pdf copy of the review for Forbidden City and City of the Dead
Book 5: Mission Manhattan
Click here for a pdf copy of the review.
Book 6: London Calling
If you are interested in purchasing a copy, please consider using my Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/4iKwMBr
City Spies: London Calling by James Ponti is book six in the City Spies series. Following in the footsteps of the last five books, this novel doesn’t disappoint. Annie, Mother’s missing, estranged daughter, is on the run due to Clementine’s misbehavior - at least according to the leader of Umbra. Once word reaches Mother that Annie is missing, Mother leaves with the help of Cairo (his son Robert), Paris, and Rio as they search for the breadcrumbs that will lead them to Annie’s whereabouts.
Fortunately, Annie is recovered, but in the meantime, the FARM is compromised and Monty, Kat, Brookly, and Sydney barely escape with their lives. Their world is turned upside down and knowing who exactly to trust and who is truly a double agent becomes difficult to discern. Once arriving back in London, the city spies are tasked with helping secure the royal wedding, but it isn’t until the last minute that they discover they have been focusing in the wrong place the entire time. Will they be able to save the world’s secrets or will the villain finally get the upper hand?
Without giving too much away, your readers will absolutely love this installment of the City Spies series. In line with the other books in the series, there isn’t any profanity or anything unsavory or inappropriate. Just a wonderful, clean mystery with great themes.
Noteworthy mentions/ quotes:
“Because she’s his daughter and he’s our father,” Kat replied. “That makes her our sister. We never turn our backs on our family” (38).
When Beny is unusable to speed up their process for solving codes and mysteries, Monty replies - “But remember, Annie didn’t have a supercomputer either. She managed to come up with the code while being chased by some scary individuals. We should be able to solve it.”
[...]
“That someone is gone,” Sydney lamented humorously. “She’s gotten lazy by letting Beny do all the work for her, and now she’s totally lost her touch” (137). Brooklyn takes the bait and is committed to solving the mysterious code.
Tru speaking about Mother when Annie confronts him thinking that Mother considers Clementine his enemy, “I can’t imagine someone more loyal to a spouse than your father has been to your mother,” she continued. “Are you aware that he wouldn’t divorce her? He had ample legal standing, not to mention significant professional pressure, to do so. [...] “He told me, ‘I took an oath to bear allegiance to the queen and a vow to love my wife for better or worse. I’m quite fond of them both, and I have no intention of letting either of them down’” (35). Mother sets a great example for readers of his love for his wife and realizing that there must be an explanation for some of the terrible things that have happened. Prior to this scene in the story, he learns that Tru had kept his being alive a secret from Clementine for two years - all the while knowing that Clementine was distraught over what had happened in Paris six years earlier. Mother seems to offer forgiveness to Tru and understanding given her position and the nature of their work in MI6.
The only disappointment in this story is the way it ends. It seems as though Ponti is wrapping up the series to end with the family somewhat reconciling and a new life beginning. If other readers are like me, you are hopeful that this isn’t the end and book seven is in the works.
