Lone wolf by Robert Muchamore

Fay Hoyt and her aunt Kirsten are a well oiled machine - they are smart, have the technical skills to pull off difficult jobs, and thanks to hours of training they can take care of themselves in almost any fight.  Their street smarts and skills allow them to tackle targets most criminals would stay clear of, but sometimes having the reputation of being the best makes it easy for the people you rip off to find you.  When a job goes wrong, Kirsten and Fay find themselves at the mercy of the Police  not a comfortable place to be for any criminal.  The Police don't like it when one of their own gets hurt, a lesson Fay is about to learn the hard way.

Nearly two years later a mission is being assembled on the CHERUB campus, and Ryan and Ning are the lucky agents chosen to work alongside James Adams in an operation that they hope will bring down a drug dealer known as Hagar - a man with the reputation of being ruthless, and who is happy to deal in any kind of hard drug as long as it makes money.  Ryan is tasked with gaining access to his organisation through a local youth hangout, conveniently located near where he and his older "brother" James are living.  It should be relatively straightforward, as long as he can keep his nerve.  Ning has the harder task of befriending Fay, who is about to be released after serving her time.  Fay knows Hagar's organisation and has a burning need for revenge.

Lone wolf is the latest book in the CHERUB world and it was a pleasant surprise to find it because everything I had read said that the second CHERUB series was only three books - People's republic, Guardian angel, and Black Friday.  I have gushed before about how much I love the CHERUB series, not only because of the action and fast pace, but also because Muchamore doesn't talk down to his teen audience or treat them like idiots.  It is not surprising that his books are so well received by their target teen audience and adults alike - Muchamore has the ability to drive a plot forward at breakneck speed without leaving you behind.

This can be read as a stand alone without reading the first books in the series because there is a sharp change of focus - moving from an international scene to the local drug scene, however readers would get the most out of reading the series in order.  It has been a pleasure to reconnect with CHERUB, not only because of Ryan and Ning, but also because some of the characters from the original CHERUB series are starting to make an appearance as adults (so we get to see what they turned out like).  I have heard some of the parents at work worry that the series is too much "for the boys" but that is not the case, while the intense action and adrenaline rush moments may appeal more to the traditional boy market, there is a lot here to like for teen girls (and I really dislike gender labels for books anyway, you should be able to read what you want!).

This is not a series for younger teen readers, and there is even a warning label on the book to point this out to unaware parents and teens.  This is a fine addition to the CHERUB franchise, and it feels very much like this is not the last we have seen of some of the characters so hopefully there is another CHERUB book just around the corner for us to enjoy so we can see what is next for Ryan, Ning, and the rest of the gang.

If you like this book then try:

• People's republic by Robert Muchamore
• Guardian angel by Robert Muchamore
• Black Friday by Robert Muchamore
• The recruit by Robert Muchamore
• The Rig by Joe Ducie
• Sister assassin by Kiersten White
• Legend by Marie Lu
• Subject seven by James A. Moore
• The Industry by Rose Foster
• Agent 21 by Chris Ryan
• Catch the Zolt by Phillip Gwynne
• The arrival by Chris Morphew
• The industry by Rose Foster
• Virals by Kathy Reichs
• Variant by Robison Wells
• ACID by Emma Pass
• Reboot by Amy Tintera
• Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
• Trafficked by Kim Purcell
• Nowhere by Jon Robinson
• Nearly gone by Elle Cosimano
• Proxy by Alex London

 Reviewed by Brilla