REVIEW: Hit List by Jack Heath

Summary:

Ash and Benjamin are teenage mercenaries. They find stolen artefacts and return them to the owners - for a fee.

But when they are hired to rescue an imprisoned girl, they realise they're in over their heads. Because there are others looking for the girl too: corrupt government, ruthless corporations, rogue assassins.

As these forces converge on the place where the girl is trapped - the headquarters of the world's biggest intelligence agency - Ash realises she's made a terrible mistake; one that may cost her and Benjamin their lives...

Title: Hit List

Author: Jack Heath

Series: Ashley Arthur- 2

Publisher: Usborne Books

Date of Release: March 1st 2012
Original Date of Release: September 1st 2010

Pages: 288

Review:
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!