My boy introduced me to the books of Anthony Horowitz. I've never heard of this writer, but when I went on to the web to research Mr. Horowitz, it turns out that he is quite a superstar and has been writing books and screen plays for years, focusing primarily on suspense and thrillers. He has been involved in a couple television series including Foyle's War, Midsummer Murders and Agatha Christie's Poirot.
My boy has just started reading the Alex Rider series. The hero of series is Alex Rider, a 14 to 15 year old spy who works for the M16. Young boys like these books as they can relate to the character in many ways.
Here are the books currently (July 2014) in the series:
Text from Wikipedia
Stormbreaker (2000)
Alex, the main character, is recruited by the British secret service after discovering his uncle's assassination. Once recruited, he goes undercover as a scholar winning a prize to explore suspicious rumours of some sort of virus at Herod Sayle's manufacturing plant in Cornwall.
Point Blanc (2002)
Point Blanc was published in the United Kingdom in 2001, and in North America in 2002 under the name Point Blank. Alex Rider investigates Dr Hugo Grief, a South African scientist who runs Point Blanc, an academy in the French Alps. Dr Grief is replacing the sons of rich, influential people with clones of himself, which have been modified to look like the boys themselves, through plastic surgery, so that he himself will be in these positions of power. It's a matter of life and death for Alex, who must escape from the academy and report back to MI6.
Skeleton Key (2002)
Skeleton Key was published in 2002. After foiling a Triad plot to fix the 2001 Wimbledon tennis tournament by knocking out one of their assassins with a carbon dioxide tank, Alex is in grave danger of assassination. Forced to leave the country, MI6 sends him on a mission to Cuba with two CIA agents (one of which believes that he isn't helpful), where he is the only one of the three to survive. He encounters a former Soviet general, Alexei Sarov, with ideas for a nuclear holocaust, starting at the Russian nuclear submarine base in and world domination.
Eagle Strike (2004)
Eagle Strike was published in 2004. Damian Cray, a world-famous pop star, hopes to destroy the world's drug-making countries by hijacking the United States' nuclear arsenal. Suspicious of him, Alex takes Cray on without the help of the sceptical MI6. Cray releases a state-of-the-art games console called the 'Gameslayer'. Its first game, 'Feathered Serpent', is much more than it seems. It is up to Alex to discover the connection between the pop star, the video game, and the bombing of his vacation home. In the end, he will uncover a much larger plot, one involving the US government and the world's security.
Scorpia (2004)
Scorpia was published in 2004. Following the advice of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, Alex tries to find the criminal organisation "Scorpia" to find out the truth about his father. He is soon whisked into Scorpia where he discovers his dark side. There he must choose between the path his father took and the country he loves. Along the way, he learns more than he ever dreamed of. He learns that the country isn't what it seems.
Ark Angel (2004)
Ark Angel, published in 2004, follows Alex's second mission for the C.I.A. He investigates Nikolei Drevin who builds a hotel in outer space called "Ark Angel". Drevin secretly tries to destroy Washington D.C., the capital of the USA and targets the Pentagon, hoping to destroy files on him that the US have acquired. Alex must fight for his life in this novel.
Snakehead (2007)
Snakehead was published in 2007. Taking place immediately after Ark Angel, the novel sees Alex recruited by ASIS, Australia's secret service, to infiltrate a Snakehead organisation by posing as an Afghan refugee. Alex meets his godfather, Ash (Anthony Sean Howell), and confronts the organisation Scorpia for the second time.
Crocodile Tears (2009)
Crocodile Tears was published in 2009. MI6 coerces Alex into spying on activities at a GM crop plant during a school trip. There he spots Desmond McCain, a high profile charity organiser, who realises that Alex is on to him and the real plans for the money he's raising. Kidnapped and whisked off to Africa, Alex learns the full horror of McCain's plot: to create an epic disaster that will kill millions. Forced to ask MI6 for protection, Alex finds himself being manipulated in a deadly game that could lead to the destruction of an entire East African country.
Scorpia Rising (2011)
Scorpia Rising, the ninth novel, was published on 21 March 2011. In the book, Scorpia is hired to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Scorpia's plan includes the laying of a false trail to Cairo and blackmailing MI6 into returning the Marbles. MI6 falls for the trap and Alex is sent to Cairo, where he is dismayed to find that Scorpia has been pulling the strings all along.
Russian Roulette (2013)
Russian Roulette, is the tenth novel. When Ian Rider died at the hands of the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, Alex, ready or not, was thrust into the world of international espionage the world's only teenage spy. Alex vowed revenge against Yassen and the two have battled ever since. Yet, years ago, it was none other than Alex's own father who trained and mentored Yassen, turning him into the killer he would eventually become. What makes us choose evil? Why did one boy choose to kill while another chose to risk his life to save others? In some ways, Alex Rider and Yassen Gregorovich are mirror images of each other. Yet the paths they travelled turned them into mortal enemies. Was Yassen like Alex? The novel was released 12 September 2013 in the UK and 3 October 2013 in the US.
