The
ALIAS prequel novels continue, with Sydney
Bristow's latest mission combining the investigation into the death of
SD-6 operative Jen Williams and the recovery of a WWII nuclear prototype
that's been resting at the bottom of Pearl Harbor for over fifty years.
This
mission sees Syd being forced to join snobbish sorority Alpha Kappa Chi
because not only was Jen an AKX sister, but they just happen to have a
trip to Hawaii coming up.
Her
first task is to get in, which might not be easy since AKX doesn't normally
normally accept pledges in the middle of term. Fortunately, however, there's
an open event coming up, and there's just a chance that they might accept
bids. Naturally Syd takes Francie along with her, and not only is she
accepted, but so is her friend, even if it took a bit of persuasion on
Syd's part.
Once
they're on Oahu, Syd has plenty of things to juggle - finding out who
the rival spy is, recovering the prototype and trying to avoid arousing
Francie's suspicions with all her strange behaviour and disappearing acts.
Like
the previous novels, this is a rather more straightforward story than
the television series. Of course, there's none of the double agent aspect,
and the only recurring characters are Syd and Francie, plus a cameo from
Noah Hicks.
This
does mean that although the novel is always readable, it's rather undemanding
stuff. For example, Syd quickly deduces the identity of the other spy
in the sorority, and it's so obvious that you're just waiting for the
twist to occur. But since only two of the AKX girls are given much to
do, it's hardly rocket science to work it out.
Similarly,
you do have to wonder why Syd insisted on dragging Francie along with
her. Admittedly, there's a strong friendship between the pair, but she
is supposed to be a CIA agent (well, she thinks she is anyway), and having
Francie with her only causes extra hassle. It's to be hoped that subsequent
novels will see Syd learning from this so that these prequel novels can
develop a sense of continuity rather than being a just a collection of
standalone stories.
Overall
SISTER SPY is a readable book, although
the "twist" is rather easy to spot. There are a couple of continuity
links to the TV series, which are nice and not overdone, but even for
a TV spin-off, it's hardly the most taxing of reads. back to the top
