Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

So, I'm probably the only one who hasn't read the Alex Rider Adventures series yet, as I believe there are 8 now. Well, I've started now and I am ready to read the next in the series!

Stormbreaker sets up the story for the sequels to come. Alex lives with his uncle Ian, who is killed in a car accident late one night. The story the police give him and the housekeeper doesn't make any sense, and Alex is determined to learn the truth. When he sneaks into the junkyard and actually looks at his uncle's car, he knows he's right. The driver's side of the car is riddled with bullets. His uncle was murdered.

Alex has more secrets to learn. His uncle didn't actually work for a bank, but was a spy for MI6. His current assignment is to investigate Herod Sayle, who invented a new computer Stormbreaker and plans to distribute it to every school in England. This unusual generosity has MI6 worried and Ian Rider was to find out the truth.

Now that his uncle is gone, Alex has been asked (forced) to take over his mission. He is to infiltrate Sayle's headquarters and learn what's really going on. While he may learn the truth, the question becomes whether he can stay alive to tell someone about it.

Alex is a likeable and smart character, and the book is full of action, adventure, danger, and spying. While it seems a little unbelievable that a spy organization would hire a 15-year old to work for them, it works. I was thinking the books were a little bit more like a young James Bond, and while Alex is great at getting into impossibly sticky situations, it isn't exactly the case.