Spy School #6: Spy School Goes South by Stuart Gibbs

My name is Ben, and it was supposed to be an easy mission. All Erica and I needed to do was escort Murray to locate the new SPYDER headquarters, contact the CIA, and then let them take care of things. It didn't work out that way. Not unexpectedly, Murray couldn't be trusted. We ended up in a steamy jungle, fell into an ancient cave, and climbed atop some Aztec ruins. The good news is we found SPYDER, but the bad news is we're on our own, again. It also looks like SPYDER is planning something diabolical, and Erica insists we need to stop them on our own, again. We have no equipment, don't know who we can trust, and we're supposed to stop SPYDER's elite agents. I hope we survive the mission, if Murray's whining doesn't kill me first. 

You should probably read the first book in the series to get the gist of what's going on, although there are twists along the way (like Murray's character). Once again, this book has Ben and Erica fall into the middle of an evil plot and manage to foil everything. Erica is a serious spy and an expert in everything covert. Ben is brainy but struggles to master most of the spy skills. He's always been smitten by Erica, but this books finds him struggling with feelings for Zoe. Typical adolescent boy stuff. Murray adds a humorous angle to everything, as he goes through a dramatic transformation. There's an uncertainty about him, as you're skeptical whenever he talks. Actually, all the characters on both sides know each other so well that their interactions become amusing. There's a bit of personal taunting and teasing that you don't often find during dangerous situations. The dangerous situations don't end in death, although the loss of arms or legs is possible. Overall, you'll enjoy this book if you like light-hearted spy stories that result in thwarted plans for world domination.