August 19, 2025 by Pixel+Ink
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central
Ike and Iris are back after their adventures in Capitol Chase, and have made a wary peace with Luna Laurent, who is now attending the school where their father is principal.They are still concerned that the evil criminal mastermind, Cincinnatus, is following them, so there are new security protocols put in place by Agent Brooks. In addition, there is a new mission for the kids. The US has planned a big 150th anniversary celebration of the Statue of Liberty, which has been moved up since the guest of honor, the grandson of Frédéric Bartholdi (the sculptor of the statue) is ailing. An exhibition of artifacts relating to the statue is planned, but some are missing! A different version of the torch, not seen for years, is not where it is supposed to be. Ike and Iris plan on doing lots of research, and since some of it is in French, they bring in Luna, who is having trouble connecting with other students in the school. When the trio head to the National Archive, they find that a page of the records is missing, which propels them into a lot of travel to try to solve the top secret mystery. At the same time, Ike is struggling with his mental health and nightmares after all of the trauma of the first book, and the entire family goes to see a counselor. On a trip to France, made possible by Luna's father, the ambassador, the kids are once again followed by Cincinnatus, and manage to elude his grasp with the help of the French secret service. It helps to have Luna's bodyguard, Rasmus, assisting them as well. As the research continues, and more documents and items end up missing, clues point to an inside job. Will Ike, Iris, and their retinue be able to solve the mystery and recover the torch in time for the celebration?
Harnessing the modern zeitgeist surrounding mental health, it makes sense for Ike to struggle with being the target of an international criminal, and there is a nice twist to the mystery involving their therapist. Of course, it also makes therapy seem like a difficult proposition if you are a spy!
I learned a lot about the Statue of Liberty, as well as a great deal about a variety of government historical agencies! The solution to the mystery made sense, but was a bit sad. My favorite part was learning that rose gold is made from a combination of gold and copper! I don't know how that wasn't clear until now.
The twins interchanges with Luna make sense; even though she was their nemesis in the first book, they understood her motivations. As nice kids, they didn't want to see her struggle and not have friends, so of course they agree to go to her birthday party even though it involves formal wear. It didn't hurt their research to have the amenties of a French ambassador at their disposal, either.
Hand this to spy aficionados who enjoyed Gibbs' long Spy School series (Spy School: Blackout comes out in the fall!), Ponti's City Spies, or history lovers who found Landis' Not-So-Boring Letters of Private Nobody intriguing. I'll be curious to see what mystery the National Archive Hunters solve next.
As personal preference, I would have liked to see a bit less of the adult interaction. I appreciate that the parents are alive and around, but between the Carters, the Laurents, Agent Brooks, Ruby, and Rasmus, the kids didn't have very much freedom. Ike's nightmares and therapy slowed down the book a bit. Since I harbor secret ambitions to be a spy, his failure to completely embrace the fun of spying would have irked me intensely as a child, and narratively, this just slowed down the story a bit.
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