By David Gilman
Delecorte Press Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 432 pages
Max Gordon has a habit of finding trouble, even when he’s not looking for it. This time, though, trouble comes directly to him in the form of a coded message from a former student at his boarding school, Dartmoor High. The message was sent prior to the student being found dead in the underground and holds a clue to the death of Max’s mother. As Max starts unraveling the message, he finds himself in greater danger than ever before and also realizes he may not want to know the truth behind his family tragedy.
Blood Sun is a continuation of the story of Max Gordon and the third book in the series. The book starts out with an interesting premise with Max, an extremely smart kid who is good at uncovering secrets, but the end result is mostly bland. Max should be a compelling character but doesn’t come across that way in the book and, frankly, the supporting characters of his friend and head teacher are more interesting. The bad guys, also, would be more at home in a Bond movie than in Max’s world. Overall, the book falls flat and is generally unmemorable.
Reviewed by Barbara Cothern
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