Book Cover

I can tell you that you will have your hearts broken more by the people you love than by the people you hate. But you must still dare to love. The rewards are worth far more than the risks.

# Review

I’ve been exhausted after putting in 12-15 hours each day for my company, and after work my brain is typically too fried to read anything even remotely complex. I’ve decided to instead finish a series I started during childhood but never got a chance to finish. I started this series back in elementary school and collected the first few books but didn’t get my hands on the last few. The books are written by an ensemble of young adult authors and feature an interactive component with the clue collectible cards.

The story follows two siblings Dan and Amy Cahill, who along with their au pair Nellie, travel around the world in a dangerous race to solve a multi-generational mystery surrounding their powerful family. The plotlines involve global locations each with a historical fiction element that ties to people and societies that are real.

# The Maze of Bones

In this book, after the passing of their wealthy grandmother Grace Cahill, Amy and Dan are exposed to a secret hunt within their family for the 39 clues which leads to a world-changing price. Amy and Dan set off with their au pair Nellie to Paris, where they must explore the catacombs to find their first clue. The first book basically sets up the main plot as well as the various key characters, such as the talents of each of the four branches of the Cahill family and the various dangerous relatives of Amy and Dan. Reading this book now, I see how predictable and corny the plot is, but reading it back in the day, when it first came out, I remember finding it quite exciting and novel. I especially remember liking the concept of the clue trading cards embedded within the book and in standalone packs.

# One False Note

The sibling’s story continues in Europe as they travel to Austria in pursuit of clues relating to Mozart (a distant Cahill relative). The clue hunt heats up as they continue to be drawn into conflicts with their relatives such as the dangerous Kabra siblings and the crafty Alistair Oh. The chief antagonists of this book are the Janus branch of the family which are known for being talented in the arts as well as their representative in the Clue Hunt, Jonah Wizard, the international rap star. Overall the historical fiction aspect of the books are shown and the character development of the Cahill siblings continue.

# The Sword Thief

The siblings are now in Japan chasing a clue relating to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The more of the same occurs as the siblings deal with their treacherous relatives while trying to figure out where the next clue leads. In this book the relative is Alistair Oh, who has roots in Asia and has his own backstory. There’s also a romance subplot between Amy and Ian Kabra.

# Beyond the Grave

The siblings are now in Egypt but are tailed by Irina Spasky, an ex-KGB agent (and the siblings’ cousin). The siblings follow in their grandmother Grace’s footsteps through Egypt as they try to uncover the Egyptian clue in the home turf of the Ekaterinas, the branch of the family with talent for engineering and invention. To be honest, at this point the story with its back stabbings and intrigue is starting to get repetitive. The Egyptian locale is interesting but it doesn’t fully offset the predictability of the story.

# The Black Circle

Now the siblings, aided by an unknown party, are in Russia in search of the next clue. The siblings team up with the Holts, their cousins who are talented athletically, while escaping from their Lucian cousins, the branch of the family known for intrigue and politics. Early 20th century Russia is probably some of the most dramatic (and thus interesting) periods in history and I actually quite enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of this book.

# In Too Deep

The clue hunt takes the siblings to Australia where they’re pursued by the even more dangerous mother, Isabel, of the already dangerous Kabra siblings. Honestly the story at this point is starting to become very repetitive as the family continues to team up (and then betray) one another. While corny, I did like Irina Spasky’s character development.

# The Viper’s Nest

Now the siblings are in South Africa, where they follow a clue with relation to Shaka Zulu. The same plot points persist in this book but the siblings also uncover more family secrets, including those pertaining to which branch of the family that they belong to. This book deals with primarily the Tomas branch, the physically gifted branch of the Cahill family.

# The Emperor’s Code

Now the siblings are in China following the next clue. The story involves Dan and Amy splitting after a disagreement, with the two pursuing the clues separately. I’ve been to many of the locales in Beijing and Xi’an when I was younger so it was cool to revisit them in the book. This book definitely had some of the most extreme adventures but there’s also a fair amount of young adult drama.

# Storm Warning

The siblings are now in the Carribeans chasing after a clue associated with the legendary pirate Anne Bonny. The two search for clues but are forced to come to grips with the third-party casualties that happen due to the clue hunt. While many of the same antics from the previous books are also in this book, I did like how this book expands upon Amy and Dan’s role and lineage within the Cahill clan.

# Into the Gauntlet

In the grand finale of the clue hunt, all of the teams gather at the location of the final prize. This book primarily takes place in England and is related to the bard William Shakespeare. I do think the ending is a tad corny but this book does tie the series in a nice knot.

# Vespers Rising

The actual last book doesn’t concern itself with the clue hunt at all, but with the history of the Cahill family. I like how the book spans various time periods, from Gideon Cahill from the early 16th century to the adventures of a young Grace during WWII. Overall I actually quite enjoyed this book and found that the ensemble authorship actually works pretty well. This is definitely one of my favourite books from the franchise.

# Conclusion

A book series penned by an emsemble of popular young adult authors with interesting historical fiction elements. I probably won't read the follow up series, though.

# Overall rating: 7.4

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