SYNOPSIS: SOME authors just write about it. Chris Ryan has been there, done it, and lived to tell the tale. "Agent 21" is the first in a brand-new action-packed adventure series by the real-life SAS hero. When Zak Darke's parents die in an unexplained mass murder he's left alone in the world. That is until he's sought out by a mysterious man: 'I work for a government agency,' the man tells him. 'You don't need to know which one. Not yet.

All you need to know is that we've had our eye on you. There's a possibility you could help us in certain ...operational situations.' Zak becomes Agent 21. What happened to the 20 agents before him he'll never know. What he does know is that his life is about to change for ever...

REVIEW
by David Paine
Published by Red Fox, ISBN: 9781849410076, paperback, RRP £5.99

AN orphaned teenager thrust into the murky underworld of espionage to catch a big-time criminal – Agent 21 is far-fetched but fun.

Zak Darke is the hero lured by a secret government agency to unwittingly exact revenge on those who killed his parents in an unexplained mass murder.

The fact young Zak is able to pick up and master gun, fighting, survival skills and still find time to learn numerous foreign languages in such a short space of time does not make for much believable reading and is something of a disappointment given author Chris Ryan’s military background.

Once Zak has completed his training the plot and its pace gets better, though, as the youngster sets out on his mission to Mexico that even hardened agents are worried about.

From this point I found it hard to put the book down and while the majority of the characters are not particularly well-developed young adults should enjoy this action-packed adventure for what it is – a bit of fun.