Paperback, 336 pages
English language
Published April 1, 2004 by Walker Books Ltd.
Still reeling from the terrible discovery he has made about his father, teenage MI6 superspy, Alex Rider, is determined to find out more. Travelling to Italy, he manages to infiltrate the glamorous world of Claudia Rothman, beautiful society hostess and member of the international criminal organization, Scorpia. She reveals that Alex's father was murdered by MI6, in an operation masterminded by Head of Special Operations, Mrs Jones. Shocked and angry, Alex faces a choice: to continue to work with the British security services, or to become an agent for Scorpia — and get revenge.
A very exciting episode,either because this is where I stopped as a kid or because the stakes for Alex have jumped up tremendously and he's skating the thin end of the wire this time. Whatever the reason I enjoyed this a great deal and think apart from the opening novel it's by far my favourite, although I of course recognise that without a lot of background from the previous books that wouldn't really be the case.
