Conspiracy 365: November

(Conspiracy 365: Book Eleven)

by
Gabrielle Lord

Kane Miller, November 2010, 185 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-935279-60-0

Genre: Young Reader
Subgenres: Thriller
Reviewed: 10/28/2010

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

29 November

Stadium

5:20 pm

Over the commotion of the rowdy fans, attendants were yelling about tickets.

I wondered where my pursuer was.

I ducked under some scaffolding and found myself on a ramp where the players themselves suddenly appeared, charging up the slope, pumped to the max, about to hurl themselves onto the field. But it wasn't only the players who suddenly appeared: alongside them was Pepper Spray Cop!

Somehow he'd managed to keep me in sight. He was bearing down on me, pushing his way past people to get closer. He looked more determined than ever to get me.

"Hey!" he shouted, as I ducked into the line of players. They were so fired up and focused that they didn't even notice me as they surged along.

Before I knew it, I was running out onto the oval with them! I ducked behind one of the players as I ran into the stadium, barely conscious of the exposure of my surroundings, desperate to escape the vengeful cop and the rest of the police backup he'd have behind him.

I was dimply aware of the roar going up from the tens of thousands of fans who seethed with hysterical excitement for the upcoming game and their team.

Players from the opposing team stormed onto the oval, and the home crowd exploded into menacing booing and hissing. I looked around me--huge spotlights shone down like a hundred police choppers. I was a fugitive, mixed up in the beginning of a highly anticipated game!

My eyes darted around, searching for an escape, running over the crowd like a wave. Another tremendous roar erupted--even louder and more intimidating than before. My sight stopped circling. I'd landed on the massive television screen, looming high on one end of the stadium. On it was a huge close-up of me!

My face!

I'd been recognized! Again the crowd roared like thunder. I ducked and ran, but was immediately tackled by one of the players who'd spotted the imposter. The audience went wild! Winded, I struggled to my feet. Now the crowd was yelling out my name!

"Cal-lum! Cal-lum! Cal-lum! Cal-lum!"

I took off running as fast as my legs would carry me. I had to go faster than ever--I had professional athletes on my tail. The sound from the crowd was insane! The TV cameramen were providing a new game--Chase the Fugitive--and the crowd was loving it. They were all pointing at me like I was a horse at the races.

I couldn't avoid seeing myself up there on the screen as I moved this way then that, sprinting in zigzag angles, confusing the players who were trying to catch me.

I'd almost forgotten about Pepper Cop--I was just running! Players came at me from all angles, but I was smaller and faster. I'd had almost a year's training now, and I wasn't just here to win a game, I was running for my life!

I ducked and swerved, avoiding them, while the crowd was chanting, "Cal-lum, Cal-lum, Cal-lum!"

A stream of police poured onto the field, and now a siren was wailing over the top of the chanting. In the grandstands, the crowd started booing the police! The angry mob was whistling and hissing at them, like the police were the opponents!

For some strange reason, the crowd was on my side! It didn't make sense! I was the Psycho Kid, not their hero.

The masses in the stands were now shouting, "Go Cal! Go, Cal!" It spurred me on, and I exploded in one direction, then, swiveling like an ice skater, I skidded away in the completely opposite direction, and off of the field.

Synopsis

After saving his Uncle Rafe from a sniper, Callum "Cal" Ormond flees the ruined wedding of his Uncle Rafe and his mother with police on his heals. The police helicopter has him in his lights until he runs into Ryan Spencer, his twin. Ryan says that he was watching the chase on television and decided that he needed to help. Cal gives him his coat and Ryan takes off leading the police away from Cal while Cal heads over to Winter's place.

The next day, Boges comes over to Winter's place so they can all talk about what has happened lately. Since Cal doesn't have a place to stay at anymore, Boges suggest that he stay in the treehouse that he, Cal and Luke Lovett built years ago at the back of Luke's property. Boges has a GPS transmitter and gives it to Cal, who hides it under the sole of his shoe. Boges suggests that Cal can use the transmitter as a distress signal if an emergency arises.

When Boges checks Cal's blog, they find that someone has hacked it and all it says is "November 11" over and over again. None of them know what might be important about that date. As they continue talking, Cal senses danger. When he looks out of Winter's window, Cal sees a lot of police quietly making their way up the fire escape. The place is surrounded and Cal has to flee again jumping from the roof of a building toward another.

Cal and Boges end up at the treehouse, which Boges has been working on cleaning up. Cal realizes that this little treehouse will have to do for now.

Soon, Cal meets ex-detective Sharkey and tells him that he needs to get to Ireland. Sharkey informs him that he knows a guy that will make Cal a fake passport, but it is going to cost five thousand dollars. Sharkey sells the rest of Cal's gold, but that still leaves him four thousand dollars short. Winter suggests that she go over to Sligo's place and take the money they need out of Sligo's scram bag, a bag of money, passports, and other important items Sligo keeps hidden at home in case he has to leave town suddenly.

Later, Cal is picked off the street by two thugs that work for Murray "Toe Cutter" Durham. Durham is old and dying and confesses to Cal that there is one job he did sixteen years ago that always bothered him. He and a companion kidnapped two twin babies and was supposed to kill them. He couldn't kill them, so Cal was left in a warehouse, found by the police, and returned to his home. The other baby, who is now Ryan Spenser, was taken by Durham's sister and given to a lady. All of this happened on the day of November 11th. Before Durham's tells Cal who hired him to kidnapped the he and his brother, Cal has to flee the building.

Winter successfully steals ten thousand dollars from Sligo's scam bag and Cal has Sharkey make his passport so he, Winter and Boges can fly to Ireland. They also learn that Sheldrake Rathbone has headed out to Dublin, Ireland to snatch up the Ormond Singularity for himself before Cal can get there. The three youngsters realize that they must get to Ireland and stop Rathbone from obtaining the Ormond Singularity.

Conspiracy 365: November is the eleventh thrilling book of twelve in the Conspiracy 365 series written by Gabrielle Lord. This book is intended for young readers 10 and up.

Review

Conspiracy 365: November is another adventure-filled month in the life of Cal Ormond. Cal is getting closer and closer to the deadline for him to solve the mystery of the Ormond Singularity. He doesn't have the Ormond Riddle. He doesn't have the Ormond Jewel. And he must somehow get halfway around the world to Ireland. Time is running out and Cal is going to have to move fast if he wants to solve the mystery that has been plaguing him for almost a year now.

Having now read eleven of the twelve books in this action-packed series, I can safely say that I absolutely love these books. Each book brings Cal a little closer to solving the mystery of the Ormond Singularity, and it is all going to end in the twelfth and final book. Cal is somehow going to have to make his way to Ireland while avoiding the police, Sligo and Oriana de la Force. I don't know how he going to do that, but I look forward to finding out how it all ends.

Young readers should really get into this series that will leave them gnawing off their fingernails while sitting on the edge of their seat flipping pages later into the night. The books are fast-paced, packed with action and adventure, filled with daring chases and escapes, and stuffed with the biggest mystery of all time. Plus, I cannot forget the wonderful lead characters that make this entire series work so well.

Gabrielle Lord has created something quite extraordinary in the Conspiracy: 365 series that should not be missed by any young reader. Like I said at the beginning of the series; these books are like FOX's television series 24, but for a younger audience. Cal has one year of his life to solve the clues his dead father left behind. He has been on the run now for eleven months and it all comes down to what is going to happen in December. Will he be able to make his way to Ireland and finally put an end to all the drama that has been unfolding in his life since January? All he wants to do is to have this bi mess end so he can go home and live with his mother and his sister, Gabby.

Overall, Conspiracy 365: November is another great book and a terrific series that I highly recommend to all readers, just not young ones. The series grabs you, shakes you around a bit, and leaves you lying breathless on the floor as you finish each book. I cannot wait to find out how it all ends in the final book, Conspiracy 365: December. Bring it on!

I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.