I've not read the first two books of the series but I'm definitely going to put them on my wish list (hint hint). Lots of action. It think the line "Cranford's a hero, but he's no saint." sums up the main character. He is quite hard in his own dark way. I wondered about a 14 year old going to rescue a friend in Afghanistan, but the story hold together quite well. I felt it was a bit short, but the author says that is intentional following reader comments. It's more human than the Alex Rider books, but I didn't work out quite how the hero got his fortune together.