Max Gordon is back in the third and latest thriller in the Danger Zone series trying to get to the bottom of his mother’s death in a Central American jungle. After a former student and friend of Max from Dartmoor High, who was investigating the death, turns up dead of a supposed suicide, Max realizes he will have to look into it himself. From the opening page, Max’s hijinks and the danger that follows him will keep readers riveted to the final page. While his adventures are implausible, there is an explanation for why he is so resourceful in the wild, capable of getting out of any scrape, even with grown men, and able to survive another day—his boarding is no ordinary school though it is unclear what kind of training the students are receiving. This time a vicious assassin and an MI5 operative is chasing him from London to Miami to somewhere in the Central American jungle. He saves a drug dealer from being murdered, he escapes from a bombed speedboat unscathed, and avoids being killed by wild things in the jungle. (Not finished) ( )

From January 2012 SLJ:
Gr 6-10-Fans of The Devil's Breath (2008) and Ice Claw (2010, both Delacorte) will welcome the third installment in this British import. Max Gordon, 15, sends out a cryptic request for information about his mother's recent death in Central America. A former student from Max's boarding school responds but is killed before the two can meet. While Danny's death is initially ruled a suicide, the appearance of an ominous-looking agent raises Max's suspicions. Unsure why the death of his environmental scientist mother should be shrouded in such secrecy, he slips away from Dartmoor High to learn more. Meanwhile, MI5 wants to find out why Riga, an international hit man, has Max in his sights, and they send one of their operatives to get to the teen before the killer does. As he travels to London and then to the U.S., Max manages to elude his pursuers with enough inventiveness and narrow escapes to leave readers breathless. In Florida, he tangles with drug smugglers and finds himself heading for Central America in their speedboat, with the Coast Guard now adding to the chase. Once Max has reached the area where his mother died, he must avoid not only the various groups who are after him, but also the predators of the jungle. Max is an engaging and fully developed protagonist whose ambivalent relationship with his father adds extra depth. This title has enough backstory to fill in the gaps for newcomers to the series, and plenty of nonstop action to satisfy adventure aficionados who have exhausted all of Anthony Horowitz's "Alex Rider" titles (Philomel).—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA ( )

This is the third book by Gilman involving teen adventurer Max Gordon and although it isn't pushed as a series, it is best if you read them in order. When Danny Maguire, a student from Dartmoor High, is found dead in a London Underground, it is written off as a suicide. However, an envelope that he dropped prior to his death, addressed to Max Gordon, eventually gets delivered and contains a clue to Max's mother's death. The contents of the envelope set in motion a chain of events that have Max exploring the very dangerous rain forest of Central America in search of answers. Meanwhile, his best friend Sayid is pulling his usual computer magic to find out what really happened to Danny Maguire, and hopefully, save Max.
This series is a natural fit with the readers who love the Alex Rider series by Horowitz. There are several similarities between Max and Alex, and the style used by Horowitz and Gilman is similar as well. Definitely recommended to the boys who are Alex Rider fans looking for what to read next. ( )