Spy School #9 : Spy School at Sea by Stuart Gibbs

My name is Mike, and I finally get to have a brother I like! Ben and I are pretending to be part of Erica's family, so we can snoop around a giant cruise ship in Guatemala looking for Murray Hill. I know Murray was another student at the CIA's spy school for kids, but he's been amassing money while being a traitor to different criminal organizations. We don't know what evil he's planning now, but Ben knows him better than anyone. Ben thinks he might have seen Dane Brammage on the ship which would be terrible since Dane's tried killing Ben on several occasions. However, Dane fell to his death on our last mission in Paris, didn't he? Erica will be just as dangerous as Dane if she finds out the secret Ben and I are keeping. We need to stay focused on Murray though. Can his plans have anything to do with the cruise ship itself?

I received an ARC for this book, and I've enjoyed the whole series since it started. Ben was the main character with ordinary spy skills, a talent for thinking, and a huge crush on Erica, a super-talented student-spy with a family legacy for spying. The possibility of Ben and Erica becoming a couple was an ongoing subplot, and this book didn't provide any clarity until the final pages. Ben and Mike kept a secret from her that created a book-long air of uncertainty that could have popped up into a big problem at any time. The book was written to entertain, and the zany mission did not disappoint. Murray was an inept, sloppy villain, there were chase scenes through buffet tables, and characters added snarky comments. It was a spy adventure modified to appeal to younger readers. The kids had typical boy/girl issues, the story never became stagnant, and as always, the conflict dealt with a major disaster, saving the world, or political/corporate corruption. The plot had the same format as earlier books, so the book felt familiar. However, this familiarity made the book feel less creative or new. Overall, I'm enjoying the series, and a few things happened at the end of the book that give me hope that the sequel will be a little different.