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After RECRUITED told the story of how Sydney Bristow was recruited (well, duh) into what she thinks is the CIA, A SECRET LIFE tells of her first mission.

On the trail of K-Directorate, Syd must partner Noah Hicks (who appeared in the TV episodes MASQUERADE and SNOWMAN) on a mission to Paris, where they must pose as husband and wife in order to check out a fashion house.

One of my complaints about RECRUITED was that it seemed to be pitched at the sort of audience that Channel 4 thought the television series was aimed at. That problem rears its head here, with some elements of the novel seemingly designed to appeal to the young female teenage market.

The most obvious one is Syd's schoolgirl crush on Noah Hicks. Now, on television, they'd clearly been involved, and it's good to see the novels locking onto that, but Syd comes across as a bit too much of a soppy kid for my liking. In particular, her thoughts when the pair are on the run and snog in order to try to avoid detection aren't the sort you'd expect from a trained agent, whatever the attraction between the pair.

Another aspect of the book that seemed to indicate that it was aimed at a fairly young audience was the obvious signposting of Syd's experiences in the immersion tank. It seemed obvious that this would come into play sooner or later, and my suspicions proved well-founded.

That said, the novel was still fairly enjoyable. We spend most of the time in the company of Syd and Hicks, and both come across well. Although her crush on Noah is a little overdone, there are some nice touches of naivety from Syd - forgetting the time difference between Paris and the US and buying a souvenir that she'd have to junk as soon as she got onto the plane.

The plot itself isn't as complicated as the television series (shades of targeting younger readers possibly), but it isn't bad. Our heroes get put in a few dangerous situations and Syd doesn't behave like a total klutz all of the time, although she's clearly still a rookie.

Overall, an entertaining read, but as with its predecessor, it won't take you more than a couple of hours to polish it off. However, it would be nice to get a novel series that's aimed at an older readership rather than a teen spy runaround (okay, that's a little harsh, but you know what I mean). back to the top

A SECRET LIFE

Written by
LAURA PEYTON ROBERTS

PAN MACMILLAN/CHANNEL 4

£5.99


RATING: 7/10


NEXT RELEASE:
DISAPPEARED

PREVIOUS RELEASE:
RECRUITED