Crash Dive by John Townsend

This is the first Barney Jones book I have read, and definitely won't be the last. After reading the blurb on the back of the book I immediately thought 'oh, another Alex Rider-style teenage hero', but Barney is a far more interesting character. Intelligent, funny and a real pain in the neck to most of the adults that he encounters!

As his parents have separated, Barney spends the majority of his weekends with his dad in Edinburgh and regularly flies there on his own. Passing through Edinburgh airport at the end of a flight, he manages to get himself caught up in a terrorist plot organised by the sinister Korova organisation. Barney desperately turns to different adults for help and support but, because of his reputation and challenging personality, nobody will take him seriously. The only person who believes him and offers to help is his best friend, Laura. Together they travel across the country, lurching from one disaster to the next, and just when it seems that things can't possibly get any worse, they do!

This is not a book that wastes any time hanging around and having dull conversations, it really is action-packed and moves at a wonderful pace. It's easy to read and has some very sinister moments. Most of the characters add depth to the story, in particular Barney's gran, who is probably the most interesting. The only slight disappointment for me was that the leader of Korova is a little bit nondescript. Luckily, the other members of the mysterious organisation more than make up for this!

I genuinely enjoyed reading Crash Dive and am looking forward to reading more of Barney's escapades. Hopefully John Townsend has got a couple of stories in the pipeline. You can learn more about Barney and read quite an amusing interview with him at http://barneyadventures.co.uk/.

If you enjoyed Alex Rider, Jimmy Coates and Young Bond, I think you'll love this. Suitable for ages 10 and up. Definitely recommended.