Brotherband #4: Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan

Hal and the Heron crew are sent to Araulan to police the seas offshore. Before seeing the king, they discover some citizens have been kidnapped by a Skandian they know, and he plans to sell them into slavery. The Heron crew is joined by Gilan, a king's Ranger, and they sail to Socorro to rescue the people from the slave market. Unfortunately, one member of the crew is locked up deep in the slave jail, imprisoned by dozens of armed guards. The other nine members of the crew must figure out some way to sneak in, free the prisoners, and escape back to their boat. Then, they must get past the other Skandian ship and the boulders being hurled by the city's catapults. A tough task for a group of peach-faced boys and a girl.

I've missed reading John Flanagan's books! I enjoy the interactions of the characters, and the twins add humor to the story. They're always arguing, and no one can tell them apart. The author added a large dog to the cast, and it created more humor but helped resolve some problems. Hal's character made some mistakes, but this added to the suspense and showed he wasn't perfect. The first half of the book may not have enough adventure for some readers, the characters are being developed, but the second half of the book makes up for it.