One’s a Secret Agent, One’s Not.
Twelve-year-old Linc is a troublemaker with a dilemma. His antics on a recent school field trip went way overboard, landing his already poor family with a serious lawsuit. So when two secret agents show up at his house, Linc is eager to take them up on their offer to make the lawsuit disappear. They just need one tiny favor.
Turns out Linc looks exactly like one of their top kid agents—an agent who vanished during a vitally important mission. But no debriefing can prepare Linc for how dangerous the mission really is. It’s too bad he isn’t a black belt, a math genius, or a distance runner like his agent double. He’ll need all those skills and more if he hopes to make it out of this mission alive. . . .
Lincoln Baker is a typical twelve-year-old boy. He likes to skateboard. He has good friends. He is an okay student. Well, until his lack of impulse control kicks in, usually during field trips.
“Can I count on you to behave?” She gave me one of those death-ray looks. Mrs. Valdez had reason to be worried. On the last field trip when a kid from another school called Daryl a name I won’t repeat, I started a tomato food fight. It was loads of fun, but my parents had to pay for the lost fruit (apparently tomatoes are a fruit, not a veggie) and cleanup. At the grocery store field trip, I set off the Code Adam alert when we couldn’t find my other friend Sam, so customers were trapped for an hour (the Code Adam alert thing works great, in case you’re wondering). As it turned out, Sam was just taking a bathroom break, so he wasn’t actually kidnapped. But he could’ve been! So anyway, I’m Mrs. Valdez’s field trip nightmare.
“I’ll be good,” I said, and I really wanted to be.
After another field trip fiasco—setting free a barn full of chickens—Linc is in deep trouble. He is facing suspension, or even expulsion, from school. And his parents are caught in the fallout. The farmer is suing the Bakers for the damage Linc did, and then some.
Two agents show up on Lincoln’s doorstep. And they offer him a way out. All he has to do is pretend to be Benjamin Green, a top kid agent who has gone missing. A kid agent who looks just like Linc.
Agent Fullerton looked at his partner, then stepped closer. “You do this, we’ll take care of your chicken farm business. Our intel is that this Farmer Johnson has hired Zachary Quinn.”
“What?” I felt sick. So that was the lawyer Mom was meeting tonight. Zachary Quinn is one of those slick guys you always see on TV, ready to sue the pants off anyone he thinks he can get money from. I thought about how we Bakers wouldn’t survive a lawsuit, since we could barely afford the groceries, let alone a lawyer. How we might even lose the house because that’s all we owned.
With a clever ruse on the part of the agents, Mr. and Mrs. Baker agree to let Linc go with them. He is plunged into an immersion course on all things Benjamin Green so he can pass for the super kid agent on one quick mission.
At this point, Agent Fullerton started telling me all about this fantastic Benjamin Green. How he had a black belt in karate and could run five miles at Olympic record speed. How he knew Mandarin (apparently, that’s Chinese), aced every test at school, and could lift a hundred pounds with his pinkie.
All right, so I made that last part up, but you get the idea. The guy was a superhero, and I was Linc the Chicken Boy. By the time we exited the freeway just north of LA, I hated Benjamin Green.
Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Linc embarks on a race through Paris, deciphering codes and trying to stay ahead of the bad guys. He may not have the skills Benjamin Green has, but he brings his own special abilities—and some cool gadgets made just for him—to the party.
F.T. Bradley captures the voice of this twelve-year-old perfectly. He’s a funny, smart, and caring kid who may not always do the right thing, but whose heart is always in the right place.
The book’s target audience of middle grade reluctant boy readers should devour this thrill ride while solving the puzzles along with Linc. Avid middle grade readers will also like it, even plenty of girls. And I think more than a few parents will have fun reading the book, too. I’m certainly looking forward to Linc’s next adventure.
Attention true spy fans! Here’s a prize pack put together by author F.T. Bradley especially for you! Just leave a comment below and enter for a chance to win.
This sweepstakes has ended.
To enter for a chance to win a Double Vision prize pack including a hardcover copy of F.T. Bradley’s Double Vision, a poster of the book, and a DVD of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World make sure you’re a registered member of the site, then simply leave a comment below.
TIP: Since only comments from registered users will be tabulated, if your user name appears in red above your comment—STOP—go log in, then try commenting again. If your user name appears in black above your comment, You’re In!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, fill out entry at https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/10/fresh-meat-double-vision-by-f-t-bradley-debbie-meldrum-thriller-espionage-international-crime-kid-friendly beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) October 11, 2012. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 a.m. ET on October 16, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). Void outside of the 50 US and DC and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules at https://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-double-vision-prize-pack-comment-sweepstakes. Sponsor: Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010
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Debbie Meldrum reads just about everything she can get her hands on. She was the short fiction editor for Apollo’s Lyre and the Editor in Chief of the Pikes Peak Writers NewsMag. She’s currently putting the finishing touches on her first novel. You can follow her progress on Twitter at @debmeldrum.
sounds like a fun read and would be nice to win
Sounds like the kind of thing my brother would have actually read in school growing up. I think I know a few boys now who would be interested!
Forget giving this to a young person. I wanna read it!
I’m with Amy. Who says YA is for the young of years only.
Sounds like a great story! Congrats!
want this bad
My 11-year-old grandson will love this book! I think I will, too.
my son would love this
How fun! Thanks for offering this.
definately educational and exciting for girls or boys!
This looks very interesting.
DON’T FORGET! You must be logged into the site to be entered into the contest! Your name above your comment should appear in BLACK. If it doesn’t, go up to the top of the page and log in (register first if you haven’t already) and then log in before commenting!
If only life could be that simple when you get into trouble , just have secret agents show up at your door to make all of your problems disappear.
It sounds very interestind and my kids would love this.
great bunch of goodies, thanks for the giveaway!
sounds like a good read
Sounds great
My son really needs this right now.
What a fun-sounding book. Love to read about people out of their element, and this would be a great one to share with my son.
My nephew would love this pack.
Thanks!
Nice looking prize pack.
I could recommend this to my students.
My son would love this book! (I’m sure he’d enjoy the rest of the prize pack too.) It looks very cute!
If I wasn’t a librarian, I’d either be a spy or a ninja. Spies always have the best gadgets!
I’d love to give this to my nephew for Christmas!
I would love to win this!
sounds like a fun read.
My grandson would so love this book.
Sounds good.
Looks interesting.
This looks fun!
HEYY YAY!
Sounds like an awesome plot!
Sounds like a fun read, and a great addition to my daughter’s reading class library
A spy-Yes!
my grandson would enjoy this
Looks to be a great read for kids and adults!
This would make a great Christmas gift for my nephew. I’m putting it on my shopping list–but hoping to win your great prize pack.
This would be great for my two teens and myself, it sounds great!
I would like to read F. T. Bradley!
Great giveaway 🙂
I would read this, it looks like fun!
I will put this book on my to read list.
Sounds great!
Sounds like a great book that my 6th grader would love to read.
My 10 year old loves spy stories but detests reading.He goes as far as to act like he can not read.I have found that if the subject is one he likes then he will actually read it.I would love this for him as I know he would read it.I also am retty sure my 12 yr old daughter would also like it.
my nephew would love it
This looks like a great book to keep the interest of reading for those middle age boys! It also looks like a story I would enjoy 🙂 Lots of adventure and excitement. Thanks for the review!
Sounds like a great book and DVD. Thanks.
I would love to win this!
Thank you for the great giveaway please count me in 🙂
My son would love this. It looks loke a good read!
oh we would totally enjoy this!
I do reading club with my son’s school and I know the kids would love to have this as their next adventure and I have to addmit to wanting to read it myself 🙂
I love reading and my kids do too. I think we would enjoy reading the
copy of Double Vision by F. T. Bradley and the kids would enjoy the
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World DVD and the Spy School Secret Codes 101: Making and Breaking Hidden Messages spy kit.
Thank you for the Contest !!! This looks like A GREAT WIN !!! I would love to have this…………..Boys need reading material too……….. great package !!!
[url=mailto:californiapoppys@yahoo.com]californiapoppys@yahoo.com[/url]
Sounds like a fun book!
would love it
My great-nephew would love this prize pack…
Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
looks like a good book to have here when my kids come. thanks for the draw
I’m definitely going to be looking into this series. Thanks!
Wow seemed interesting!