Killer Spirit: The page-turning high-school mystery-thriller from the #1 BESTSELLING author of The Inheritance Games

The Squad #2

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The second instalment in the fun, page-turning high school mystery duology from the #1 bestselling author of The Inheritance Games. Meet the these cheerleaders are actually spies!

Meet the pretty, popular, and extremely dangerous.

A WELL-KEPT SECRET
Saying Toby Klein is an unlikely cheerleader is the understatement of the year. . . but the squad at Bayport High aren’t your average cheerleaders. They’re elite undercover government operatives. And word on the street is that something’s about to go down in Bayport . . .

A DANGEROUS MISSION
But if the spy business doesn’t kill Toby, it’s starting to look like Brooke, the team captain, might. The nominations are in for homecoming court, and rumour has it that Toby is the front-runner for queen.

A HANDSOME DISTRACTION
Tensions are high and Toby’s budding feelings for the most popular and infuriatingly handsome guy in Bayport High aren’t helping, either.

Terrorist threat? Mission gone wrong? Disastrous Homecoming Court?
Bring it on.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Espionage, Romance, Contemporary, High School, Action

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2008

About the author

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me explain to you how upset I am that this series has, and will only ever have, two books;

VERY.
VERY UPSET.
WHY CANNOT THERE BE MORE CHEERLEADING SPY BOOKS?

[Hopelessromantic500 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing I hate, is that the ending suggests a sequel, AND THERE ISN'T ONE!!!!!!! What part of 'this is only the beginning' means that there aren't any more books?!?!?!?!?!

[Rashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Violence and threats of violence in a relationship are not sexy. Ruined the whole fucking experience.

Rest of the stuff was dope.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the sequel to The Squad: Perfect Cover. Both books are great fun in a quirky, sarcastic meets Alias kinda way. Both books star a teen girl, Toby, who unexpectedly finds herself chosen to be a cheerleader. But not just any cheerleader, no, the super-fun, undercover-spy, working-for-the-government, top-secret, glitter-wearing kind of cheerleader. Transitioning from proud-loner to popular-cheerleader hasn't been easy for Toby. The first book is about the recruitment and Toby's first few weeks. The second book opens a few weeks after the close of the first novel. It's fall and homecoming is approaching. But a big case has come up as well. The book balances both the danger and treachery of spies working on a tricky case and the typical high school melodrama centering on homecoming, football, pep rallies, and homecoming courts. (Who will be Queen? Who will be princess? Who will go with whom to the dance?) You can read an excerpt from the book here.

What I love most about this one? Besides the general snarkiness of Toby? The friction-filled, chemistry-packed always-on-the-verge-of-developing relationship between Jack and Toby (or "Ev" as he calls her short for "Everyone knows Toby.") This is the scene right after Toby learns that she has been nominated for Homecoming Queen...along with all the other members of the cheerleading squad.

"Fancy meeting you here." Jack spoke into the back of my head, but I knew it was him.
Darn Noah. Darn the PTA president. Darn Hayley Hoffman.
"Aren't you going to say something, Ev?"
I muttered an expletive under my breath, and Jack smiled.
"That's my girl."
"I'm not your girl," I said sharply.
He stepped closer, until the rest of the crowd felt miles away by comparison. "You could be."
There were times when I almost couldn't restrain myself around him, times when I wanted to kiss him again so badly that my lips literally hurt. This wasn't one of them. He was being suave and smooth, and I wasn't falling for it.
"Yeah," I said, "and I could also tattoo an anorexic pterodactyl on my navel, but I'm not planning to do that either."
"Anorexic pterodactyl." He repeated my words, and the self-assured smirk on his face was replaced with repressed amusement. "Sounds more like a butt tattoo to me."
It was comments like that one that did me in. He could wax poetic about me being his girl or how beautiful I was or whatever from now until graduation, and it wouldn't inspire anything in me other than the desire to spell out for him just how much of a tool I thought he was. But the moment he started snarking or quipping or admiring my snarky quippiness, I was a goner.
"I'll make you a deal, Ev. You go to homecoming with me, and I'll save you from having to go to the God Squad after-party."
He knew how to sweet-talk a girl. He really knew how to sweet-talk a girl....



But will she say yes? Did she say yes? Can she survive long enough to get to the dance? Read and see!

[anita 🐚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just have to say that nobody will ever understand how the men written by Jennifer Lynn Barnes make me feel
I really liked this book!! And feel like this need more recognition!! 🫶🏻

[Sara (A Gingerly Review) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It hurts my black soul to know this series will only ever be two books. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would and I miss it.

[AG · Rating 3 out of 5]

fantastic book!! this is honestly better than imagined. definitely a JLB hidden gem!

the plot was simple, but still super addictive! loved how it all unfolded

Toby is amazing as always, and her character growth was so good! she had an amazing character arc!!

the rest of the squad—Tara, Bubbles, Brooke, Brittany, Tiffany, Chloe, April, Lucy, and Zee were all so versatile and had interesting personalities. i absolutely loveeeddd the empowerment shown with the group of girls!!

Jack was more of a subtle mmc. i'm still not sure if he is or not an mmc, but still such a great character. super charming and sometimes not so YA 😭

some quotes!!!
- "i didn't want to get to the point where my cover became my identity."
- "...that i was Calvin Klein's love child. proof that, as i'd long suspected, people at this school were dumb."
- "Mr. Corkin?" i said, pitching my voice to mimic his exactly. "would you mind terribly if i asked you to KISS MY—"
- "he knew how to sweet-talk a girl. he 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 knew how to sweet-talk a girl."
- "whatever you do," she said, as the two of us crossed the hotel parking lot and entered the lobby. "smile."
- "apparently, having parents who ran their own mafialike operation really paid off."
- "i had a headache roughly the size of North America."
- "i never thought i'd live to see the day when a cheerleader would call me a drama queen."
- "does your brother have a death wish?"
- "...confirmed my suspicion that Jack Peyton was the kind of guy who always knew exactly what to give a girl."
- "Chip greeted Jack in a way that reminded me why i'd spent most of my time beating guys up instead of making out with them."
- "Chloe was all business."
- "my life had definitely become a James Bond movie."
- "Larry, Moe, and Curly?" i guessed. Brooke shrugged. "i was going to go with Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, but whatever."
- "insanity definitely has its perks."
- "i just love crappy metaphors."
- "you know, Chloe," i said. "most people just opt for 'hello.'"
- "i was getting really tired of people calling me a drama queen."
- "𝘐 𝘋𝘖𝘕'𝘛 𝘞𝘈𝘕𝘛 𝘛𝘖 𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘎𝘎𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘌 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘈𝘕𝘠𝘉𝘖𝘋𝘠! 𝘐 𝘞𝘈𝘕𝘛 𝘛𝘖 𝘞𝘌𝘈𝘙 𝘊𝘓𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘚!"
- "unlike most mornings, i didn't bother cursing or slapping at my alarm. i picked it up and threw it against my wall."
- "game on"

BOY, did i enjoy this!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! 🫶🏼 anddd it was superrr clean in terms of the romance!!

~ no one suspects the cheerleaders~

⭐️3.5 stars⭐️

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE JLB. See my review on the first book for more thoughts on this cheer-EPIC series, but in summary? It's fun. It's fantastic. And it TOTALLY ROCKS. ;) ♥

[⋆.˚࿔ Lare‪‪‪୨ৎ˖࣪ ˚⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐
I'M SOOO LOVED THIS SERIES!

[Annabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gah i want more! But probably good to end a high note. Wish bubbles got more scenes

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Savannah Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

i actually lived for the jack and toby tension bc it was amazing!! also brooke overcoming her fear of guns i almost cried!

[Samantha Srihari · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8⭐️, thoroughly enjoyed

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as sequels go, Killer Spirit is a great one. Perfect Cover was mostly just a long introduction with a lot of background information but now all the action really gets going. Killer Spirit really is a spy thriller with lots of action, combat, and bad guys. There’s still plenty of high school drama and teenage shenanigans but we finally get some real spy action. Old enemies and new ones start causing problems for the Squad. They have to stop the bad guys and save their cover.

The Squad has been keeping an eye on the evil Peyton, Kaufman, and Grey law firm for a while, trying to get incriminating intel on them. When four high profile criminals come into town, all with terrorist connections, the Squad must investigate. Something big must be going down but they don’t know what it is or just how bad the damage could be. They have to keep tabs on all four of the criminals, figure out what they’re up to and how the law firm is involved, and then put a stop to it.

Brooke is under a lot of pressure as team captain from both her mother and the Big Guys. She can’t mess up the operation and she must win the crown for homecoming queen. The whole team is feeling the tension and Toby is having a hard time dealing with all of it. She’s still new and learning the ropes when it comes to spying and cheering. The girls on the squad have more or less become her friends but there’s still a lot she doesn’t know about them, especially when it comes to their pasts.

Toby is also having a hard time figuring out what to do about Jack. He still likes her despite her sometimes violent attempts to push him away. She had no problem disliking him when he was just another jock but when he’s being sarcastic and encouraging her antics, she has a much harder time. But she can’t forget that he’s the heir to an evil empire and she doesn’t know how involved he is in the family business. The fact that he’s also both Brooke and Chloe’s ex also complicates things.

I was surprised at how complicated Brooke’s past turns out to be. She went through a traumatic event as a kid and is still struggling with it even though she hides it well. Her relationship with her mother is dysfunctional at best, and her friendship with Chloe is…complicated along with Chloe herself. I like that there is unexpected depth to nearly all the cheerleaders even though they seem shallow at first. Toby has to learn not to judge a girl by the perfect mask she wears. After all, she looks just like them now.

There are a lot of twists and turns to this story. It’s hard to tell who the biggest villain is when all the suspects are up to no good. There’s a dangerous weapon out there but it keeps changing hands and the team is having a hard time tracking it. Toby finds herself in the line of fire over and over again. When she realizes that there’s a rogue operative out there, it could be more than just her cover at risk. The entire Squad could be shut down and she can’t let that happen even if it means putting her life on the line.

There are some serious plot twists and big revelations. The storyline is good but the ending feels abrupt and unresolved. There are questions left unanswered and so many loose ends that I thought there should be a third book to tidy it up. A few of the issues I felt should’ve just been left out entirely since the only purpose they served is to raise doubts. That being said, I still really enjoyed Killer Spirit, it’s an action-packed thrill ride with some hilarious moments. It’s just more of a lighthearted read than others in this genre.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

With this book being re-released nearly 20 years on, I did have to look past certain derogatory terms that are very outdated, so trigger warning for that.

As usual, I loved the writing, story and characters. I wish there was more to this series, two books didn't feel like enough. I also wished more depth had been given to the other cheerleaders, or even some of them could have been merged to create more full characters. While some of the squad did get full arcs, there was plenty still to learn about the rest of the girls.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After finishing The Squad: Perfect Cover, I immediately purchased The Squad: Killer Spirit. This story takes place three weeks after the first book. Toby Klein is still wondering how she joined the Varsity Cheerleading Squad at Bayport High. It's been a surreal experience and now the girls have been commissioned with their next mission.

They have been asked to track four suspects potentially with terrorist connections who have just arrived in Bayport. What are they doing in Bayport? And more importantly, are they connected to the evil law firm, Peyton, Kaufman and Gray?

Toby's life has been thrown upside down especially with the upcoming Homecoming nominations. She would do anything not to be crowned or to have any attention focused on her but when Jack Peyton, Bayport High's Most Eligible Bachelor, asks her to the Homecoming Dance, she's definitely stuck with a dilemma. She can't help but fall for the handsome, mysterious, senior but wonders how much he knows about the Squad and their cover. Does he know they are secret spies? Is he really using her to get to the Squad? Or does he really like her?

And worst of all, someone knows who Toby is and someone is trying to kill her ...

This second story in the Squad series is just as good as the first. I thoroughly enjoyed it due to the sarcastic humor that Jennifer Lynn Barnes gives to Toby and her dislike for cheerleaders and all things pink and glittery. This story had more action and definitely more intrigue as you wonder what will happen to Toby. There is also more character development and you follow Toby as she starts to develop bonds with her teammates.

I'm so sad that this is the last book to day for the series and there isn't any future plans to continue with this series! I absolutely loved it and I think it has such a great storyline! I really wish I can read more because I definitely want to have some of my questions answered.

My personal favorite quote in this story is "OMG with a side of WTF!". Hilarious!

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the cover, like the first book the colours are quite girly which is the complete opposite of Toby's preferred colours. I also like the fact they kept the logo with the cheerleaders and then with a spy scene beneath, showing how people are not always as they seem...

Toby Klein was first presented to us in Perfect Cover, where she was introduced to the Varsity Cheerleading squad... yep, the people who WERE the complete opposite of her. But who would have thought they were undercover operatives.

As their new mission becomes a “Do Not Engage”, Toby finds herself stuck at the centre of it all. With her suspicions still growing about Uncle Alan, this is now more than a terrorist threat and mission gone wrong. And to add to it all, nominations for homecoming queen are causing mayhem amongst the teens world... wait what? (Well that is if you have a brother like Noah, and a group of girls who DO want to win homecoming queen and have threatened to ship Noah off themselves to a deserted island?)

Now, as many people know, the next book in sequels are either good or bad. However, I feel Jennifer completely pulled it off. I still found the pace a little slow, but there was great humour and laugh-out-loud moments during this book like the first, and a lot of Toby’s usual sarcastic comments. It was also nice to see Toby’s and Jack’s relationship blossom a little more... Jack is definitely the perfect match to Toby's sarcastic-ness, he just shrugs it off. There was also danger and suspense that kept you reading till the very end. This was a nice, easy read that kept me interested to the point were the book had to be taken out of my hands. Literally :0)

You can find my review for the first book in the series here: Perfect Cover.

[tellacnders · Rating 5 out of 5]

missing these girls sm already

[Joyce de vries · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book 2 stars, and honestly, I just really did not enjoy it. It took me 10 days to finish, which is very unusual for me, and I think that alone says enough about how uninterested I was while reading. I constantly found myself not wanting to pick it back up, and reading it started to feel more like something I wanted to get through rather than something I was excited to continue.

The biggest issue for me was that I just wasn’t invested in the story at all. The missions didn’t feel exciting or intense, and instead of feeling suspenseful, most of the plot felt kind of flat and forgettable. There was never really a moment where I felt fully hooked or desperate to know what would happen next.

The writing itself wasn’t bad, but it also didn’t do anything for me emotionally. I didn’t feel particularly attached to the characters, and even though things were happening, I just didn’t really care about most of it. A lot of the book blended together for me, and by the end, I mostly just felt relieved to finally be done with it.

I did think the relationship drama surrounding Jack was probably one of the more entertaining parts of the story. The whole complicated dynamic with Brooke, Chloe, and the Fmc at least added a bit more tension and emotion to the book. But even that wasn’t enough to really save it for me.

Overall, this book just felt disappointing. Not awful, not unreadable, but very bland and forgettable for me personally. I kept hoping it would eventually pull me in more, but it never really happened.


2⭐
💧
🌶

-Date read: 05/05/2026 - 14/05/2026

-Main characters name and Age:
-Fmc: Toby Guinevere Klein (16)

-Safety warning:

-Series: The squad, (#2)
-Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
-Edition: Paperback $: 10,37
-Amount of pages: 334 Pages

-Point of view (Pov): First person | Fmc´s Pov

-Setting: Bayport

-Ow (Other woman) drama: There’s definitely a noticeable amount of other women history surrounding Jack Payton throughout the book. He has a reputation as a stereotypical popular playboy, and before the Fmc gets involved with him, he has already dated both Brooke and Chloe — who are best friends and both part of the cheerleading squad. Their shared history with him creates a bit of tension and emotional messiness throughout the story.

One of the first moments that highlights this is when Jack casually flirts with another cheerleader, Kiki, right in front of the Fmc. He compliments her sweater, immediately making Kiki flustered, and then jokingly messages the Fmc afterward as if she should thank him for distracting Kiki from bothering her. What makes the moment interesting is that the Fmc realizes Jack knows exactly how to handle girls and attention. He’s charming in a very practiced way, and while she’s annoyed by it, she also admits that she likes him anyway.

The bigger source of tension, though, comes from Brooke and Chloe. Both girls have history with Jack, and both relationships ended badly in different ways. Brooke heavily implies that real feelings got involved between them, even though they originally started “using” each other for appearances and access to information. According to Chloe, Brooke and Jack’s relationship ended because Brooke’s mother shut it down once things became genuine. Chloe later reveals that her own relationship with Jack ended because he was never fully over Brooke.

That whole situation creates this weird emotional triangle where the Fmc constantly feels like she’s stepping into unfinished territory. Chloe especially seems jealous and bitter at times, warning her that getting emotionally attached to Jack is a mistake and insisting that he always complicates things. There’s a strong sense that both Brooke and Chloe underestimated how much Jack could actually affect them emotionally.

At the same time, the Fmc slowly realizes that Jack isn’t really playing her the way everyone assumes. In fact, Chloe outright tells her that Jack genuinely likes her, and that the real danger is that she’s the one using him for the mission while starting to fall for him in the process.

So overall, the other women drama is definitely there. Jack has multiple exes who are still very much present in the story, there’s lingering jealousy and unresolved feelings, and his flirtatious personality doesn’t exactly help. But most of the tension comes less from active love triangles and more from emotional history, complicated past relationships, and the female main character trying to figure out whether she can actually trust his feelings.

-Om (Other man) drama: No


-Sex scene with ow/om: No

-Cheating: No

-Soundtrack: No

-Epilogue: No

-Smutty chapters:{ }

[Liberty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book two in The Squad where high school cheerleaders are also covert government operatives. Because no one expects anything from a cheerleader. Another J.L.B. cheerleader spy novel has been read. This time it wasn't as big of a hit for me as the first novel. I think maybe some of the novelty had worn off and the things that Toby was making fun of started to seem more and more inconsequential. I think I could enjoy more stories in this series if we got Toby to fully accept her role in The Squad and work to cement herself as a cheerleader and as a spy. This one just felt too same-y to love.

I liked seeing more from Toby's family. Even if it wasn't a ton. I also enjoyed Jack. I think more books in this series could definitely use him as both a pawn and as a player. I feel like he could have some unseen depths. The mission itself was more fun this time around. I just wish we had gotten some more spy/action/adventure from this book. I still love The Squad and I love how absolutely oblivious 99% of the people in their lives are to The Squad being more than just a cheerleading team. I wish we could get some books as follow ups to the end of this one since it hints at competition season. I'd love to see how chaotic it can get especially if they also have missions while cheering.

Overall, this was a fun, light read to break up some of the stuff I've been reading lately. I love Jennifer Lynn Barnes as a whole so maybe this was just another step on the way to reading her entire backlist.

[Scarli🩰✨🩷 · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG OMG OMG

THIS WAS CRAZY! I loved the whole storyline, the ending, the characters and the mystery. It was amazing, I couldn’t put it down! One of her best books that she will ever produce.

You will never understand my pain and disappointment that this will only ever be a two book series 😭😭😭
It was still an amazing book and honestly better than most of her other books. However ig will forever be top!

[♡Teagan♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

(guys i did it i finished a book in one day for the first time in forever from my massive on and off reading slump 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼)

3.75??? i think maybe higher?? it’s gonna sink in but i loved this little series the characters are so funny and just enjoyable to read about! personally it kind of reminded me of one tree hill has in the cheerleaders and there personality’s not the actual whole mystery spy part lol!! but yeah i’ll read anything she writes i basically love it all😘😘😘

[fabbii♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is only one thing i hate about this book, and that is that there are only two! We need more cheerleader spy books!! It’s such a vibe, i loved it sooo much and everyone should read it!! It’s perfect for a quick read 💕

[Preri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, even more engaging than the first. Lacking a little bit of the depth that I wanted, but still a well-planned, entertaining, and relatable read.

[flyingunicorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the comments and relising there is ment to be more to the story? But there only two books? Like I’m interested to see if there will be a third book or not but I guess that not happening

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secret life of cheerleaders, pt. 2

[Meerah(inactive) · Rating 1 out of 5]

so slow and boring, i had to skim through the last 10 or so chapters

[B.D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4🌟
Sooo good! I miss this series already! I do think the Perfect Cover was better but this book was still fantastic. HIGHLY recommended, especially to teens.

[Carlotta Geller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better case and plotttwist then the first. Would have loved this series to be continued!