Title: The Killing
Author: Robert Muchamore
Series: CHERUB #4
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Easy reading, Spy novels
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hachette Children’s Books
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: James flicked the sheet across to Kerry and slumped theatrically across her bed.

Leon is a small-time crook who’s ridden his luck for three decades. When he starts splashing big money around, the cops are desperate to know where it came from.

They call it CHERUB, a secret organisation with one essential advantage: even experienced criminals never suspect that children are spying on them.

James’ latest mission looks routine: make friends with Leon’s kids, infiltrate his home, dig up some leads.

But the plot James begins to unravel isn’t what anyone expected. And the only person who might know the truth is a reclusive eighteen-year-old boy.

There’s just one problem.
The boy fell to his death thirteen months earlier.

I found James incredibly hard to love in The Killing. From the first CHERUB book, you understand that he is a rebel and not exactly completely moral, but by the fourth book, he is incredibly; well, douche. But, after moving on from James’ stupidity, this is, like all the other CHERUB books (thus far) a great read, and highly recommended.

My problems with James in this book stem from the way that he deals with his own issues. He has anger issues, blames everyone else for his own bad actions and temper, and really doesn’t treat his girlfriend or friends very well. I understand having anger, I’m pretty quick tempered, but it’s never okay to strike an innocent being, and then blame it on someone else. I suppose that Muchamore was using this as a lesson that violence, especially violent anger isn’t okay. But, I honestly almost put this book aside after the first chapter. It’s difficult reading about a protagonist who is selfish, and a little cruel. If it wasn’t for Lauren and the other CHERUBs, I quite frankly, probably would have stopped reading.

The other reason that this book is so wonderful is the way in which James’ amoral actions lead to his friends’ ostracizing from the social group. So much so, that he takes an assignment to escape his isolation. Not only was this a great example of consequences for one’s actions, but it also made me feel physically ill. Pain, both physical and mental is easy to deal with, but the idea of someone being completely isolated (regardless of their actions) actually made me feel physically ill. A fact that I’m sure says more about me than Muchamore’s writing, I’m sure.

Problems aside, this book was brilliant. It delved into the world of conspiracies and murder; a world where no one could be trusted, and everyone was liable to get hurt. Again, Muchamore chose a very real, and very terrifying topic as the focus of the crime – police corruption and brutality. The idea that those who are sworn to protect you could be the ones who actually hurt you is worrying and concerning.

Image source: Amazon

Title: Maximum Security
Author: Robert Muchamore
Series: CHERUB #3
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Easy reading, Spy novels
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hachette Children’s Books
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: The rooms at the front of the building also had sliding glass doors and balconies that overlooked gardens, rather than the windows overlooking the muddy football pitches you got at the back.

Over the years, CHERUB has put plenty of criminals behind bars. Now, for the first time ever, they’ve got to break one out…

Under American law, kids convicted of serious crimes can be sentenced as adults. Two hundred and eighty of these child criminals live in the sunbaked desert prison of Arizona Max.

In one of the most daring CHERUB missions every, James Adams has to go undercover inside Arizona Max, befriend an inmate and then bust him out.

CHERUB kids are trained professionals, working in everyday situations. Their essential advantage: adults never suspect that children are spying on them.

I loved this book. Not only did it talk about the prison system – something that actually slightly terrifies me, but it also showed Lauren in her own power and position. From her extra brutal experience of basic training (and the resultant shovel-incident) to her first assignment, Lauren shows her ability to hold her own and do right by others. The fact that James’ very masculine energy is contrasted against his sister’s highlights the ability for both genders to pursue the same tasks, albeit sometimes a little differently, but still effectively.

Reading a book based in a prison managed to enhance my feelings of discomfort surrounding this setting. Probably a good thing, as prison’s are not only designed to keep the guilty in, but also as a deterrent to others who are considering going against the mould. Being immersed in this criminal world through the eyes of a juvenile was terrifying – it is all too easy to imagine something going wrong in a child’s life and leading to their warped criminal reality in a place of violence and fear.

A lot of stories paint criminals and the ‘bad guys’ as very one-dimensional creatures – they have neither morals nor excuses. Muchamore doesn’t do this. By using kid spies, you are forced to understand how children can become monsters and how these monsters turn to men (or women if the case be). Curtis Key, the main antagonist in this story is horrifyingly vulnerable and disturbed – it is so easy to understand how his uncomfortable childhood could lead to the creation and proliferation of a suicidal murderer.

So far, my favourite of the Cherub books, Maximum Security had a high octane plot line with a terrifyingly relatable sociopath (or is it psychopath) acting as the chief antagonist. The stakes are raised, and you get the sense of danger and potential harm throughout the story. Yet another book that I got so hooked on that it was finished in less than a day.

Image source: Amazon