Hide and Seek

Spy X #2

by Peter Lerangis

A suspicious baby-sitter . . . a pair of conspiracy theorists . . . more secret codes from Spy X. Twins Evie and Andrew have more than a mystery on their hands.

Evie and Andrew have always wondered what happened to their mother after she disappeared on their birthday. Now they are starting to find out . . . and the results are very surprising. Their mother was into something big, and now the twins are being drawn in as well. Nobody - not their baby-sitter, not their new school friend, not a pair of menacing bikers - is who he or she appears to be. But Evie and Andrew will have to uncover the truth if they ever want to see their mother again.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Espionage, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller

142 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Lerangis's work includes The Viper's Nest and The Sword Thief, two titles in the children's-book series The 39 Clues, the historical novel Smiler's Bones, the YA dark comedy-adventure novel wtf, the Drama Club series, the Spy X series, the Watchers series, the Abracadabra series, and the Antarctica two-book adventure, as well ghostwriting for series such as the Three Investigators, the Hardy Boys Casefiles, Sweet Valley Twins, and more than forty books in the series The Baby-sitters Club and its various spin-offs.[1] He has also written novels based on film screenplays, including The Sixth Sense, Sleepy Hollow, and Beauty and the Beast, and five video game novelizations in the Worlds of Power series created by Seth Godin.[2] As a ghostwriter he has been published under the name A. L. Singer.[3]
Lerangis is the son of a retired New York Telephone Company employee and a retired public-elementary-school secretary, who raised him in Freeport, New York on Long Island. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biochemistry, while acting in musicals[4] and singing with and musically directing the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes,[5][6] before moving to New York. He worked there as an actor[7] and freelance copy editor for eight years before becoming an author.[8]
In 2003, Lerangis was chosen by First Lady Laura Bush to accompany her to the first Russian Book Festival, hosted by Russian First Lady Lyudmila Putina in Moscow.[9][10]Authors R. L. Stine (Goosebumps) and Marc Brown (the Arthur the Aardvark series) also made the trip with Bush.[9]
Also in 2003, Lerangis was commissioned by the United Kingdom branch of Scholastic to write X-Isle, one of four books that would relaunch the Point Horror series there.[11] A sequel, Return to X-Isle, was published in 2004.
In 2007, Scholastic announced the launch of a new historical mystery series called The 39 Clues, intended to become a franchise.[12] Lerangis wrote the third book in the series, The Sword Thief, published in March 2009.[13][14][15] On March 3, 2009, Scholastic announced that Lerangis would write the seventh book in the series, The Viper's Nest.[14][16]
Lerangis lives in New York City with his wife, musician Tina deVaron, and their sons Nick and Joe.[17]

Reviews

[Luke]

Peter Lerangis picks up where he left off in the first exciting book in the Spy X series, The Code, and keeps going and going with all the action. This time, Andrew and Evie are in San Francisco, and clues to their mom's disappearance are popping up everywhere. A mysterious crate in Andrew's locker, Van Ness Shoes, and an onyx stone. What does it all add up to? A great adventure and a step toward finding Andrew and Evie's mom.

[Sasha]

A bit less exciting than the first book. I don't know if I am a fan of this story line with the babysitter. I also feel like there was less descriptions of the new items they got. Codes were still challenging, but semi solvable. I don't know how Evie and Andrew figures them out so fast. I wonder if their dad is their enemy. I feel like everything was more of a cliché. I also feel like that shop owner was a part of that Sugar Shop band.
Overall, my thoughts are all over the place with this one.

[Susan]

Good book and fun to read.
I like the main characters, the codes, and the "spy" atmosphere.
I like the characters, the story, the setting.
This is book two in a four-part series.
This book is written for kids - the main characters are 12 years old.

[Katy Lovejoy]

I was never in to spy stories, but since this year is the year I'm going to read new books more than rereads! I finally picked it up off of our bookshelves and read it

[DJB]

In this series Evie and Andrew get packages from someone to help them find their mom.

[Evelynn]

Okay, wow. Another cliffhanger. I GOTTA FINISH THIS SERIES, IT'S AMAZING!

I know what you're thinking. If I think this series is amazing, then why only four stars instead of five? Well, the only reason I'm rating this series four stars is because I don't like the disobedient aspect, with Evie and Andrew knowing full well what was right and what went against their dad's rules. But everything else is, just...wow.

The writing, the characters' development, the surprises, the codes - they are all very well thought-out. I could never solve the codes by myself, let me tell you that. Everything that the author throws at me keeps me on edge and steals my attention even from rewatching the first series of Downton Abbey, which my mom has playing right now on the TV.

The only other thing that bugged me about this book (besides the disobedience) was the scene in the shoe store. It drove me nuts when Evie and Andrew were accused of stealing, even though I knew that they had overwhelming "evidence" that they were shoplifting. But they weren't, and the author knew that, Evie and Andrew knew that, and I knew that. I know it would have been really hard to get by that without them being accused and accepting being grounded by their dad because of it, but it kinda drove me nuts. At least they didn't have any charges pressed against them.

I have two more books to go, and I plan on starting the next one ASAP!

[Phoebe]

OKay well i really LOVE this series since like, 5th grade..... and ummmmmm this is my 2nd fav in the series... i didntreally like the latest one though... but this one is pretty good

[Katiria8f]

i found this book good because i usually like reading problem solving stories or books which was fun because it made the reader want to continue reading.

[Carissa]

book two in the “spy x” series. another fun spy story, full of secret codes and sneakiness. a quick read for reluctant readers.

[Roni]

This one had a shocking ending...i couldn't believe it...plus these kids are brainiacs

[Kali]

so very good

[Emanuel]

this book thaught me to not trust anyone you see

[Damaris]

cool i tried to figure out all the puzzles it's hard!

[Gloria]

never trust the company

[Adam Goodman]

An interesting sequel. It was not quite as good as the first, probably because it is more of the same.

[Azturpealean]

It was a good continuouse of the first book where they get double crossed and recive more contact form their mom. also a small cliff hanger.

[May]

11/20/10

[10-11 Karrin]

Great series, Right once something got good, It was all ruined. This is they're story. big cliff hanger.

[Ron]

Andrew and Evie continue the hunt for their mother in San Francisco, receiving unexpected help and unlooked for danger. We continue to enjoy the series as my son reads to us in the evening.

[Kt]

It is even better than the first. It is double the awesomeness.

[Vidhu]

puzzling

[Sidra]

I really loved it...I'm like following the series....It's really good so far. I think this is a great book for pre-teens and early teens.

[Christina]

This was the first book I read of this series. I cant wait to read the rest of the series

[Sona]

the clues are awesome.and the way they solve it simply cool!!!:)

[Grace Ba.]

This series is a good when you don't know what to read, I liked how the author tells the reader how each charator feels. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes adventure and mysteries.

[Karisa]

I love it!!! The mystery lives on...

[Hannah]

This book is amazing sause

[Kirstin Baxter]

More codes and secret messages make this all more fun.

[Anna]

Evie and Andrew have just discovered that their mother is alive - and is a spy. Now, the twins must work through the clues left by Cassandra Wall - without trusting anyone. One slip could lead mysterious enemies to their mother, and dropping the case could mean never seeing her again. I enjoyed the second book of this series.