“The bomb had been timed to go off at exactly half past three.”

From Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider: Ark Angel.

Alex Rider was almost killed, but miraculously, he survived the assassination attempt; the teen MI6 agent is sent to an exclusive hospital to recuperate, but as it goes with Alex’s life, his stay is far from peaceful.  When the son of Millionaire Nikolei Drevin (Paul) is kidnapped by four men, Alex jumps in to try to stop the kidnappers.  Alex is able to keep Paul from being taken, but he is captured and held prisoner by the kidnappers until the men realize that Alex hindered their plans on purpose; the men then try to kill Alex in a building fire, but the young spy manages to escape.  A short time later, Alex is invited to spend a few weeks with the Drevins at their castle as a token of appreciation for rescuing Paul.  During his stay, Alex begins to grow suspicious of Nikolei (both as an individual and businessman), especially when Alex starts to notice the kidnappers seem to be working for the millionaire.  Things get even more complicated when the CIA approaches Alex to help them gather information on Nikolei and Drevin’s Ark Angel project.  Alex doesn’t have much choice but to agree as he is already in a dangerous position with Drevin; Alex soon finds himself faced with the responsibility of risking his life for others.

The sixth book in the Alex Rider series is action-packed, to say the least.  Horowitz does an amazing job of giving Alex’s character life, depth, and a wide range of emotion; instead of just throwing the same main character into a new mystery, he writes a character that has been changed by the events of the other books.  Horowitz’s writing style is also enjoyable for readers that like a quick-paced, but strongly developed plot.  Ark Angel is a crazy, fun read from start to finish and not to be skipped.