A book of twists, turns and so many criminals! (Public Enemy Number Two - Anthony Horowitz)

Member Name: Markatron

Product:	Public Enemy Number Two - Anthony Horowitz
Date:	30/05/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great read and fantastic, unexpected, tense moments

Disadvantages: Maybe a bit too graphic in places for young children

"Public Enemy Number Two" is the second in the Diamond Brothers series by Anthony Horowitz. Having read the first book (which I found amazing), I had great expectations of this book, and I doubted as to whether it could match up to the quality of the first one. I was proved wrong when I picked up this book and started to read.

This book was first penned out by Horowitz in 1987, but was finally published 10 years later. An extremely exciting plot combined with some intricate and intelligent writing from Horowitz makes this book into another great book from this author.

The plot revolves around a criminal called "The Fence", whose identity is unknown. When the police ask Nick Diamond to try and investigate, he promptly refuses as it will put him in danger. However, he is then framed for jewel robbery and ends up doing just what the police wanted him to do - in a cell with Public Enemy Number One, Johnny Powers. He escapes from the jail with Powers, but is thrown into a world of gang culture which it seems he cannot get out of!

The best thing about this book is that you never know who the criminal is going to be! The most trustworthy source in the country, the police force, frame Nick for robbery to get their way, and then another vast array of criminals are thrown into the air, all of them popping up at totally unexpected moments.

The element of surprise is something which Horowitz uses superbly. When reading this book, I just didn't know what to expect! Each time Nick looked like he was about to get somewhere, something totally unexpected pops up which throws the story off onto a totally different tangent. This shows the ingenuity of Horowitz's writing style, and it is something that I love, as it makes the book far more exciting and there is constantly tension that something else unexpected is about to happen!

There are numerous moments of humour for children in this book, and if silly humour is the thing for you, then you will like this book. I'm not going to give you examples of this, as it will ruin the jokes when you come to read the book, but many jokes revolve around the stupidity of Nick's brother, Herbert. These jokes were something that worked well in "The Falcon's Malteser" - the first book in the Diamond Brothers series.

This book retails at a maximum of £5.99 (paperback), but there are better offers around. If you can buy this with other books in the series for a cheaper offer, then I would advise this, because all of the books are great in terms of the fun factor, the tension factor and the excitement factor.

Although this is written as a children's book, I would say that it is better perhaps for people above the age of 12 (teenagers and young adults will enjoy this book). This is because the plot is complicated in places and it may confuse children. Moreover, seeing as the book is about London gangs, there are many scenes of graphic violence in the book that may not be suitable for young children. However, for teenagers in particular, this book is a lot of fun and a great read!

Summary: Fantastic - I love all the books in this series