This isn't the first Matt Royal book I've read, and I enjoyed all the others I read, but this one was disappointing; it didn't measure up to the previous books in the series. The action read like an cheesy 80s movie; the dialogue was very cliche and stilted. It almost sounded like it was written by an over-eager high school freshman in a creative writing class. Every chapter ended with a "But little did we know..." or "But we never made it to..." to build suspense for the coming chapter, I guess. Unfortunately it didn't come. The plot itself was so convoluted as to be unbelievable and predictable. I don't know if this concept just petered out or what, but maybe it's time Matt and friends retired for good.