Hit List

Ashley Arthur #2

by Jack Heath

Meet Ash and Ben, teen master thieves; stealing for the rich, hiding from the law...and wanted by some of the deadliest men and women in the world. Ashley Arthur and her best friend, Benjamin, are teen thieves working for the billionaire Hammond Buckland, hunting down stolen artefacts and returning them to their rightful owners - for a fee. But when they stumble across an SOS from an imprisoned girl, they realise they're in over their heads. Because there are others looking for the girl. Corrupt governments. Ruthless corporations. Rogue assassins. Suddenly it's Ash and Ben at the top of everyone's hit list...and when you're about to break into the largest intelligence agency in the world to rescue a mysterious stranger, that's a seriously dangerous place to be. Smart, slick and explosive, this is teen crime fiction as its most compelling.

Genres: Mystery, Action, Fiction, Crime, Adventure, Young Adult

Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Jack Heath wrote his debut novel, The Lab, in secondary school and sent it to a publisher at age seventeen. He's now the award-winning author of forty novels for adults and children, including the international bestsellers Hangman, The Wife Swap and 300 Minutes of Danger. His books have been translated into ten languages, optioned for TV and adapted for film. He lives on Ngunnawal/Ngambri country in Canberra, Australia, with his wife, their children, several chickens, a few fish and a possum named Oreo.

Reviews

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so here I am on a cloudy Sunday taking a break from my housework and I have this great book to distract me. This was one of those books you totaly want to read for a great adventure. Ash and Benjamin are great together and the action is fast paced. I won't give away too much of the story but I will say that I really enjoyed this quick (Jack, you need to write longer books because I'm going thru these like tic tacs) but fun read. I can't say enough of Jack's Six of Hearts or his Ashley Arthur series. I feel like I've found a real jem of a storyteller in Jack and I totally can't wait for what comes next.

[Bryce Ramos-Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read 'Hit list' by Jack heath because Jack Morrison recommended it to to me and although the title was simple it just got my attention and sounded like a book I would like to read.

this novel fits into 'a book with a male main character on the bingo board it fits into this because the main character who is Benjamin is a man.

My favorite character is Benjamin , he is my favorite character because he is creative and smart and he is good at what he does (invent) he made an all purpose tool that shot spear and tranquillizer darts had a torch and did many more exciting things..

while reading this book I really felt like I was in their world experiencing all the events with them I saw them in my mind I saw what they look like and what they did. I think jack heath has a talent of making a vivid picture in the readers head he also made me want to read not to stop it was always exciting to read.every time I took a break from reading this book i was left wondering what would happen next would he do this or that would they get caught?


i didn't haven't any favorite quotes in the book .

i didn't learn any thing from this book i think this is because it is fiction.
I rate this book a four out of five and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers it was interesting and well written.

[Trisha]

Non-stop action, with tension ramped up to maximum

[Raudza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope there's a third book..!!! Due to the cliffhanging whether Buckland is up to something and do Peachy knows about Ash's mother?? I hope there's a continuation for this story!!

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was with THAT ending????

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So... I just read the second book in a series without realising. Surprisingly, I wasn't very confused about what was going on (sometimes characters would make a bigger deal out of stuff than I thought was necessary, but apart from that is felt pretty normal) and didn't have any idea this was a sequel until the end page said 'Read Ash and Benjamin's First Adventure...'. I guess this is what happens when you don't look a book up on Goodreads before reading it!

Despite this mix-up, I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It had all the things I like in a teen book - plenty of action, a ton of laughs, awesome friendships and a little romance in there too. I didn't expect the sci-fi elements to be so impressive either, and I think the whole multiple villian set-up worked really well. I think I've not been reading very good protagonists recently in this kind of genre and Ashley felt like such a breath of fresh air - a character I connected to at once. She made it cool to be muscley and strong rather than small and thin and she could break rules while still having a moral conscience, which I think makes her a great role model for young girls. All of the side characters felt well-done too - there's just so much good stuff in this book!

So yeah, this was kind of an odd reading experience, all things considered, but I still had a great time with it and definitely hope to read the first book sometime then re-read this.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another action-packed novel by Jack Heath. Fantastic read for teenagers. Have to read the first one in the series now.

[Obsessed☆reads:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took too long for me to get into this

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review first appeared on The Book Zone(For Boys) blog

I am an unashamed fan of the works of author Matthew Reilly, as many of you will already know from the handful of reviews I have written for Reilly books. Action, adventure, guns, explosions, I love them all. Year in, year out thrillers by Matthew Reilly and his many contemporaries rank highly in lists of best selling books, and yet the action thriller genre is often overlooked when it comes to YA literature, or packaged as a time travel adventure, science fiction adventure, etc. Jack Heath is (almost) single-handedly doing something to redress this imbalance.

Last July I wrote a review for Money Run, the first book in Jack Heath's series featuring teen thief Ashley Arthur, and her best friend and ICT whizz, Benjamin. I loved Money Run, and I have been waiting impatiently for the sequel ever since. Although some adult reviewers have questioned the morality of a story that features a pair of teen thieves, I really do not care. Said reviewers probably also read the Daily Mail, and spend their lives searching for something to criticise. Yes, in a way it glamourises theft, but so do programmes like Hustle (popular amongst teens at my school). This is fiction, after all, and to say that young people are going to be encouraged to enter a life of crime by reading books like this would be incredibly patronising.
Perhaps this is not the time to now say that it had me daydreaming about a life of high-end crime, stealing stolen artefacts in order to return them to their original owners, but I just could not help it. Jack Heath has a way of writing that pulls the reader into the action right from the very first page, and he doesn't let go until the final page has been turned. I'm not sure Hit List or Money Run will win many book awards (at least, not those voted for by adults - why is it the shortlists for these awards rarely ever match those for awards decided by young readers themselves?), but they will surely be devoured by young readers with a thirst for action.


I can't say too much about Hit List without giving away some key plot points of the first book in the series. What I will say is that it is more of the same, and I mean this in a very positive way indeed. Hit List was everything that the first book was, and more. This time the action is not confined to one building or one evening, as Money Run was. After narrowly escaping death whilst looking for treasure, things almost return to normal for Ash until she makes an opportunistic break-in of the city library. Whilst there she stumbles across a mysterious, coded cry for help that sees her heading off to Mountain View, California, with the intention of breaking into the headquarters of the largest intelligence agency in the world. If that wasn't enough to contend with, she also has a dangerous assassin hot on her heels and hellbent for revenge, as well as a rival thief who has a reputation for being merciless. As with Money Run, to say much more would be to spoil the various twists that Jack Heath weaves into his story, but if you liked the first book then I guarantee that you will enjoy this one just as much, if not more.

I tweeted Jack Heath recently, asking him if there were going to be more books featuring Ash and Benjamin. It would seem that it all depends on how well this book sells, so if you like action thrillers make sure you get your hands on a copy now. And if you like it, tell all of your friends as I certainly want to read more.

[Rio Funaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hit List by Jack Heath is a book about two teenage thieves, Ashley and Benjamin. They work under a rich men, Hammond BuckLand. They find stolen artifacts, and return them to the owner. Ashley is the one who gets back the object, and Benjamin helps backs her up. Benjamin likes Ashley, but Ashley thinks it is a joke. They do this risky job to get the prise and money. This time, Ashley and Benjamin were assigned to rescue the imprisoned girl, Alice, by her message "Help me". Finding a girl named Alice and rescuing her sounded very exciting to me, but it wasn't that easy. There were other assassins who were finding Alice as well. Both of them are aware that this is a very dangerous task ever, and there is a high risk that they might be killed during the mission. It is a suspense story and full of actions.

One of my two favorite scene is the scene when Ashley is doing the missions. The way Jack Heath describes the situation of Ashley's position, is very thrilling and exciting. Ashley and Benjamin uses a very clever way to complete the mission. The first mission is to get back Vincent Van Gogh's left ear, which belonged to the museum. The way she gets back the ear, is not a way that a normal person can do it. For example, she wears a black suit and paints her skin with dirt so that she won't be spotted in the dark. The Van Gogh's ear was in a box, which was in underground in the tunnel. Ashley threw the lighter to the gas-analysis vents, so that she can get the miners out of the tunnel. I was impressed that she used this way. But the exciting part is that there were snipers, a dozen of them killing the miners. Ashley is very brave and faces with the opponent. This scene was at the start of the book, but I couldn't stop reading and my heart was beating fast. Eventually, the snipers ran away, because they noticed a unknown opponent, "the ghost".

My second favorite scene is the scene when Ashley and Benjamin rescues Alice. By this scene, I was pretty surprised that "the ghost" was one of her friends. And I was also surprised that Alice was not a girl, a harddrive. Besides Ashley and Benjamin, there was another person who was there for Alice, called Peachey. When Ashley and Benjamin were getting out of the room which Alice was there, Peachey was standing at the front of the door outside. When they were trying to run out, Ashley tripped on the cable and fell. When she knew, Peachey was right behind her pointing the pistol to her head. But then, she heard a low sound of a pistol. She knew that somehow Benjamin had found the gun and shot Peachey. When I read until here, I thought "Yay!", and I was relieved. But when they were heading to the exit, Ashley felt something grabbing on to her feet. It was Peachey. I was shocked and I yelled "Why is he alive!?" in my heart. Then, my heart was beating really fast again. Peachey shot the gun at Ashley, but it missed her by inches. I was relieved, but my heart was still beating fast.

Overall, this "Hit List" by Jack Heath was a great book that contained many twists and thrills. It was full of actions and my heart couldn't stop beating fast the all time. I enjoyed reading this very much, that I read this whole book in one day, maybe not even a day. I really liked how he described the scene, and how he used very effective words. By now, I am glad that I got a signature from Jack Heath on this book and a photo.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was out-of-this-world! It was action packed to the brim with a waterfall of suspense to fill in the gaps. It was also more dangerous than I imagined it to be as you jumped straight into a deadly mission on the first page. The cover is simple, but extremely effective. I love the way the silhouette is jumping off the 'ledge' and our tech geek is over the other side on his phone, (hopefully helping her out and not playing games!) And the lights give a feeling of them being watched.

Ash and Benjamin are your normal, average teenagers. Just with a different hobby than most, after being caught on their own planned mission, they now work for Buckland who has been searched for since his 'death' a couple of years ago. They agree to find all the objects on the list for him, otherwise they turn themselves into the police. But when they get to one object they can't find, but instead gain an SOS message, they can't hide the goddesses in their hearts to find her, Alice, who they believe to be located in Google. How they do it? Lets just say they are very very clever, with a few twists to come.

Ash and Benjamin are definitely not like your normal teenage thieves. They haven't been brought up like it, but when their families are struggling they turn to selling the items they steal, or the money they receive for stealing them, to help them out. However, they are not the most skilled but make do with what they do know and the weapons they receive, courtesy of Buckland. You can also tell that they are not fearless, there is emotion inside them and they make a great team because of that. They are both also very clever, with their simple yet effective plans (however, you would never think of such clever plans!) which also cause some close shaves. The romantic aspect of their relationship can also be quite sweet but also funny at times because, its mainly Benjamin with Ash always thinking he is joking... poor boy!

I also like the idea of the ghost, no one ever sees him/her yet she/he can get into the highest security of safes and not leave a scratch to notify them of his/her appearance. But when you finally find out how she/he did it, you will be gobsmacked as to how you didn't think of it before (do you like how I didn't give the gender of out ghost away? I'm not giving ANYTHING away!) I also liked the way we had different characters from different backgrounds and 'jobs', all from the same area, but somehow twisted and linked into one plot all allowing us to see how far they have progressed in their missions and what they are thinking and their plans compared to others. The ending also left me speechless, I mean how...why... whaaaaaaat? It is a real cliffhanger of which will definitely play with you mind.

Its hard to explain what I really loved about this book without giving too much away, as I would gladly fangirl about it for hours. Lets just say their are badass villians and enough action to last you the year! Their is secrecy, betrayal, suspense and danger... x2 + kickass characters = one amazingly awesome read!

I still need to read the first book in the series, but to be honest, you can read them in any order... I did. The first book in the series is Money Run, I can't wait to read it!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite short - maybe more of a younger teen's read. I hadn't read its prequel so some matters were a bit hazy to me, but nonetheless the concept quite appealed to me - two teenagers working as large-scale thieves. Unfortunately, they acted for far too teenager-y for my liking - I know they ARE teenagers, after all, but to suspend the reader's disbelief about their ages, I expected some more maturity...more scenes with them doing amazing things, and less talking about dating and going to school socials.
I did like that Ash was strong and independent female lead, though; I didn't particularly like that there HAD to be a romance plot.
It also bugged me how the author went out of his way to make Ash good and honourable - to give her solid reasons for being the thief and criminal that she is. It was like he believed she had to be good for the reader to like her. Sometimes, it's more interesting and exciting when there's a grey area to a character.
The relentless action and pacing was really great, though, and so was the general story. It's a fun, quick read. Recommended for young readers who like action, spies, adventure and technology.

[James Hargest Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ash and Benjamin are teenage thieves, although differently. They find stolen artefacts and return them to the owners – for a fee.
But when they receive an SOS from ALICE, sent to a locked vault with a fax machine inside they realise they're in over their heads. Because there are others looking for the girl too: corrupt governments, ruthless corporations, rogue assassins and thieves.
As these forces converge on the place where the girl is trapped – the headquarters of the world's biggest intelligence agency, the agency billions of people use daily – Ash realises she's made a terrible mistake; one that could cost her and Benjamin their lives. It’s a race of survival to beat the professionals.
The Hit list is a great continuation from Money Run (the first book) and will thrill the reader. Unlike most books, The Hit List shows readers how operations to reclaim goods are planned and how thieves can invade and sneak through buildings without being detected. The Hit List is a great read and was well worth the wait!

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

If only I'd realised that this was the second one in a series! But I suppose it's a good thing that it can stand alone, and I will most definitely be reading the first book, Money Run, very shortly.
Hit Run is a roller-coaster of suspense, action and adventure right from the first page. Undercover teen spies, deadly assassins and hair-raising missions, infiltrating the Google Complex building, and an intelligent computer triggering the trouble; it reminds me of the work of Mark Walden, Anthony Horowitz and similar. But Jack Heath puts you right there in the heads of his own unique characters (particularly that of Ashley Arthur) and the result is a rich and emotional page-turner. Always threatened by her enemies and haunted by her actions, we're never let to forget that behind Ash's baddass abilities lies a normal teenage girl, and in my opinion Heath balances both worlds brilliantly.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy..

In terms of how good the book is, I could easily give it a 4 star rating. Jack Heath is excellent at suspense and ingenious plots, and this is my favourite of his books (that I've read).

The reason I'm giving it a lower rating, is simply because I personally don't particularly enjoy reading much suspense or violence. I think it's a good book, just not for me.

If you like the genre, I definitely recommend this series. I think he's a really fantastic writer and I appreciate the skill that's gone into plot and characterization.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Money Run so tried this one as well......way too much violence for a YA book. Loved Ashley and Benjamin and how well they work together, but the danger in this book was much more intense. There are 3 different villains trying to capture Ashley and one obsessed detective. The ending also kind of ends in a cliffhanger. Fast paced book and easy to read in one sitting. Rating is 3.5 stars

[Anastasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright. I didn't like it as much as the first one and the ending was just beyond stupid. Ash and Benjamin got away with it and then she had to turn herself in. What was the point of me reading the book?

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a good contination of the story with extra charecters but also keeping all the important charecters from the last book. Loved the endding of this book but would have liked to have found out what happen to some of the other charecters.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't started yet!!

[Harrison Swailes · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.8/10

[Someshwar Tripathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

AS AWEOSME as The First, This dude knows how to write
chapters read with bated breath

[Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comfort

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Ashley and her friend, Benjamin, are teen thieves working for a billionaire. They stumble across an SOS from an imprisoned girl.