Loved this book, the first in a thrilling new action adventure series. The pace is heart-pounding and the story is packed with peril and intrigue. And hello, a main character called Arun Lal! (Where were these books when I was growing up???)

STEALTH is a fun adventure thriller perfect for fans of the Cherub series. The unlikely trio of school children use their cunning to try and locate Arun's dad. Villains, police chases, the army, secrets and lies all play a part in this fun read, sure to appeal to the younger YA/Tween audience. Jason Rohan has created the first in what I imagine is likely to be a popular well-written series.

Arun and Sam have had little to do with Donna, a girl at their school. But things immediately change at the start of this extended sprint of a novel, when she insists Arun's house has become the attention of plain-clothes coppers and that they should bunk off school to find out why. And thus an unlikely trio of misfit young heroes is formed – Sam is really not Donna's idea of company, but he is the computer buff, Donna seems to know all the criminal ins and outs and survival skills, and Arun? Well, it's his lot to find out that all he based his family life on isn't true, and that his father – kidnapped that very morning – is involved in something quite unexpected. But how can this disparate trio hope to best MI6, kidnappers, people able to keep the truth about themselves secret for decades, and so much more?

The young reader will enjoy the thriller sheen on this genre read – the passing of the time shown by each quickly-reached chapter title, and so on. But I doubt you have to be an adult to work out there are flaws. The worst-timed round of tea in British security history? Coming up. Adults seeing world-class subterfuge when it's some kids getting lucky? Present and correct. Way out of date and clunky whinges about illegal downloading? Not really a bonus feature, but a feature.

The end result left me thinking of the Children's Film Unit – and how they made worthy-but-not-quite-with-it-enough movies when I was a kid. This feels worthy in that it engages with the young reader who loves the idea of perhaps being a coder and yet wants to run around London, playing hooky and defeating all them pesky adults. It's not nearly with-it enough, in having the kids the only smart ones in many scenes; the way the adults get the wrong impression so often – and how other adults don't try to put them right – really needed justifying. While on that, I felt the way the three were slow to show signs of cohering as a trio didn't give off the ultimate realism, either.

So, is this too flawed to recommend? Well, no – it's a full-on belter of a crime caper, with bonkers levels of action in the key scenes, and I won't be the first to point out that if it's a kid's choice to read this, then it's a choice well made, there being little wrong in a child reading anything, as long as he's actually reading. But yes, I am aware of too many issues to rate this too highly, and the best young thriller reads can easily be enjoyed by all ages. Finally, not changing my marks but of importance to some, will be the fact that two of the three leads are mixed race, and easily able to stamp out any preconceptions about them. Would that their character lived in a world with more realism, then.

STEALTH is a team of agents making their debut in Access Denied. It is an exhilarating ride of non-stop action with a trio of resourceful school kids. All they have to do is outwit the villains who want to control a deadly AI weapon that could destroy the world! Their varied skills, determination and eventual friendship make this a team to follow. It might take me a while to recover but I’m sure there is a sequel to come and I’m looking forward to meeting Arun, Sam and Donna again.

This is a fast-paced action adventure in which three children find themselves saving the world from rogue government agents while the adult officials bumble about.
Arun Lal's father has disappeared. Unbeknown to him, his father has been working on a top secret project designed to help people in very difficult environments. Together with his tech-savvy friend, Sam, and fearless Donna, it falls to the trio to track down the kidnappers and rescue Professor Lal before the project can be used as a devastating weapon.
The action happens in the space of 24 hours, set out in short time frames, making it hard to put down. If I have one criticism, it is the opening of the book really does throw you into the deep end. It made me feel a bit disorientated, as if I had missed some part of the story. Hence only 4 stars.
That said, I will definitely be buying this for our library and looking out for the sequels which the ending clearly promises.

Maybe I'm not politically correct but thought this book would make a nice change to read to the (outnumbered) boys in our extended family. We do tend to read lots of books with strong female leads. Nope, the girls loved it just as much as the boys (the main characters actually are a diverse group male and female. Strong on adventure and excitement but also a strong storyline held our interest till the end.

When Arun’s dad is kidnapped, Arun suddenly realises that his dad doesn’t actually have the boring job he’s purported to have. He has, in fact, designed a high tech piece of equipment for the secret intelligence services... and everyone is desperate to get their hands on it.

Instead of going to school, Arun and a couple of friends embark on an adrenaline filled adventure to rescue his dad and secure MANDROID before it falls into the wrong hands.

Fans of Alex Rider will love this book. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. As it was an ARC, the layout was perhaps different from the finished printed text. Without breaks between paragraphs it was tricky to follow when the story switched scenes. With police, intelligence services and the army all involved in the story, I also struggled to follow who was on which team, especially with some double crossing involved, but I just decided to go with flow and enjoy the story. I’m confident children won’t have such difficulties!

My ten year old nephew will love this. I’m definitely buying him a copy when it’s published.