The Spy School Saga Continues with Evil Spy School, Thwarting Evil From the Inside

Suspecting that it may be an undercover mission organized by the CIA, Ben accepts admission and becomes one of my favorite spy saga characters: a mole. It’s satisfying to watch him outsmart his enemies and trick them into believing his loyalty, while he tries to retrieve information about SPYDER’s newest evil plan. Which, it turns out, as a spy-in-training, is not so easy. We have to wonder, as Ben does, whether he’ll leave the school a graduate or a corpse.
It’s Gibbs’ humor that allows us to wonder rather than worry. Ben’s fellow students are Ashley, a sunny, smiling, protein shake–drinking gymnast and almost-Olympian who channels her rage at just missing the cut (I stuck that landing!) into working for evil and, Nefarious, a couch-dwelling video gamer who seems to be there just to live up to his namesake.
With SYPDER’s headquarters based in a gated community in…New Jersey? (because they’ve seen other evil organizations make the mistake of setting up base in tropical islands, incurring all kinds of unnecessary costs) and an underground lair reminiscent of Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil (its evil dwellers bask in their evil-doing and metaphorically mwahaha while eating at the lair’s frozen yogurt bar), it’s pure joy to turn the page and see what Gibbs will envision next for the enemy organization we love to hate.

Gibbs also evens out the goofiness by plying us with spy gadgets and secret agents who can think faster than we can anticipate. His screenwriting background is apparent in the vivid chase scenes and snappy dialogue. He keeps us reeling with plenty of high-stakes plot twists, and the surprise appearance of characters from earlier in the series.
The exclusive collector’s edition gives us bonus content that feels secret and classified but stays true to the quirky humor that makes the book sing. There are hilariously exasperating interview transcripts, report cards, and even self-assessments from our favorite agents.
Beyond the action-packed, twisty crime plot, it’s the well-developed characters and Ben’s unshakable loyalty that keep us invested all the way to the booming conclusion. Ben knows, like any good spy does, that very few things in life are black and white.

Trying not to fall for Ashley, the cute evil spy girl, he briefly questions whether forming attachments and emotions are okay or if it’s better to go through life as a faithful SPYDER agent might, without friends. Then he comes to a conclusion that doesn’t feel contrived: “Friends aren’t always a liability. Sometimes they are the best asset we have.”
Without ego or naiveté, Ben stays true to the causes he believes in and the friends who trust his abilities and have his back.
And readers will have his, as they race through this smart, funny, whirlwind tale that masters all the fast feats of a gripping spy story and will capture the hearts of even the most sneaky story sleuth.
Have you investigated the Spy School series?