Montmorency #3: Montmorency and the Assassins: Book 3
Grade 7 Up Twenty years have gone by since former prisoner Montmorency re-created himself as a respectable gentleman inMontmorency(Scholastic, 2004). He has almost completely abandoned his thieving alter ego, Scarper, during recent years spent traveling throughout Europe with fellow secret agent Lord George Fox-Selwyn on missions for the British government. In this third adventure, a private commission for Baron Astleman, who has discovered several rare specimens missing from his natural-history collection, takes the duo to Italy. There, due to the activities of Fox-Selwyn's nephew Frank, the two uncover the plots of some Italian anarchists and embark on a series of dangerous adventures that include undercover work in London and a trip to America. In addition to the Fox-Selwyns, other familiar characters from the previous two volumes reappear in this episode. Frank's importance as a character relegates Montmorency to a background position throughout much of this well-plotted, action-packed adventure. The characters' desire for revenge at the book's end will assure eager readers that further episodes are likely to appear.Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.