This is the story of a young girl who enters a world unlike any she’s known. While the premise is familiar, the style of Abigail’s journey into the world of spies is anything but normal. Discovering that her mother is a legend in the field and having both allies and enemies seek to use her in their elaborate game of cloak and dagger tactics, Abigail struggles to survive so she can prove this can be her world too.
The main character is very realistic, most stories that focus on teens in adventure stories make them impossible capable of things most adults aren’t even capable of. Abigail is a young teenager, while she’s resilient she is not invulnerable. Sadly, the book never really takes time to allow Abigail to fully adapt even though she interacts with the spy world, she is treated more like a burden and possibly why the world lost its greatest secret agent in the form of her mother. The pacing is rapid at times and never really allows Abigail to earn her place in the world of spies mainly because the other characters, even her own allies outside of two close friends, undermine her at every turn.
As a start to a new series, it does present a beacon of hope that the adventures will be more in Abigail’s favor so that the more enjoyable elements of adventure and wit are no longer sidelined with the main protagonist.
Studies in Literature for Children and Young Adults 