The first young adult novel from legendary New York Times- bestselling author Jack Higgins. For thirty years, Jack Higgins has enraptured adult readers with his thrilling tales of spies and intrigue. Now, for the first time he brings his bestselling touch to the world of teens with an adventure to remember. For fifteen-year-old twins Rich and Jade, their lives have just been turned upside down. When their mother is tragically killed in a car crash, their long- lost father John Chance appears to collect them at the funeral. He's a bachelor who lives on his own, and it's clear that Rich and Jade aren't welcome. But when Chance suddenly disappears, Rich and Jade uncover the truth: He's a spy. And now, whoever kidnapped their father is after them, too. Dangerous, fast-paced, and packed with action, Sure Fireis a gripping adventure from the master of the modern thriller. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

The internationally bestselling author of The Eagle Has Landed partners with Richards (the Invisible Detective series) to write this standout YA spy novel. Following the unexpected death of their mother, teenage twins Jade and Rich Chance are shipped off to London to live with John Chance, the father they never knew of. Right from the beginning it's clear he has secrets, and when the twins witness his kidnapping by men with guns, they are propelled into a world where no one can be trusted and everyone shoots to kill. The mystery thickens as they discover their father works for the British government and was investigating a powerful businessman, Viktor Vishinsky from Krejikistan, who plans to introduce a virus that would cripple the world's oil supply. As with many mystery thrillers, plausibility isn't on the agenda. The authors need neither gimmicks nor high-tech machinery, instead tailoring their vocabulary and style to keep the action at breakneck speed. Each chapter ends with a cliff-hanger, maintaining the high level of suspense. With readers looking for an Alex Rider-type adventure, this will be a sure-fire hit. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 8 Up-Rich and Jade Chance, 15, find their world turned upside down when their mother dies in an accident. They believe that they are orphans until they meet a man at the funeral who claims to be their father. Suddenly, and unhappily for them, they move to London with him. Then he disappears, and they soon discover that he leads the exciting life of a British secret agent. He has been assigned to infiltrate a Russian oil company that suspects that he has the only remaining sample of a valuable fuel that they developed. The twins are thrust into a world of oil barons, secret meetings in fancy hotels, violence, and tension-filled rescues. Fans of Alex Rider and Tom Clancy books will revel in the oil-refinery explosions and secret writing on ice cubes. The spy lingo and the equipment detail will hold teens' interest, and the nonstop excitement will give reluctant readers something to cheer about.-Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

After the mother of twins Rich and Jane Chance dies in an accident, a man shows up at the funeral claiming to be their father. The twins reluctantly go home to the man's London flat, and they soon discover that he is too distracted by larger goals (saving the world) to be much of a dad. Soon, the kids are propelled into their father's world of international espionage after they encounter the ruthless yet strangely inept henchman of a central Asian energy billionaire, who means to disrupt the world's oil supply. After their father is kidnapped, the kids race to the rescue, encountering a multitude of explosions, gun blasts, and shots to the jaw along the way. Thriller fans will enjoy the nearly nonstop action offered here, even though the occasional flaming oil tank seems designed to create a diversion so readers won't notice the holes in the plot.--Morning, Todd Copyright 2007 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.