Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

I have seen these books fly off the shelves. People ask for them by name and want to know the order of the books. I wanted to know what all the hype was about. So I read the book.

It was exciting from the first page. Set in London, Alex Rider's uncle died in a car crash, or so Alex was told. Later, Alex finds out that his uncle wasn't a banker; he was a spy. MI6, the secret organization that employed Alex's uncle, coerces Alex to finish the job his uncle started.

Alex is quickly trained and sent out on his first mission. He runs into a the Russian mercenary who Alex suspects killed his uncle. Instead of informing MI6 who would then pull him out of the operation, he continues the mission. During his mission he swims through old mine shafts that are now underwater to find a secret laboratory, hijacks a plane, escapes from a giant jellyfish and so much more.

This isn't a long book. It is action packed. Apparently there is a movie based on the book. You can read it in a few sittings. I finally understand why they are so popular. I want more! Luckily there are more books in this great series.