Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra

Charlie evaded authorities in Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation and Charlie Thorne and the Lost City, and now feels that there are further clues to be found while she's wandering around the world with the Einstein's Pandora code lodged in her photgraphic memory. She's managed to break away even from her half brother Dante and his coworker and love interest Milana, and has crashed a party in order to look at a tablet inscribed in Latin that may have clues from Cleopatra on it. It's owner isn't thrilled to find her in his private quarters, and even less thrilled after she chloroforms him and escapes. This is just the beginning of Charlie's adventures being chased by just about all of the secret service organizations around the world, who all want something from her. Since Charlie has money she has stolen from a company that stole her computer program, money is no object. When she meets up again with Dante and Milana, they follow the clues and find directions and objects that no one else in two thousand years has been able to process or find. These clues take them from Greece to Italy to New York, and Charlie seems to be unstoppable. Will she be able to find clues from all of the brilliant minds that have left them behind?

What I Loved: Fans of Stuart Gibbs Spy School and the previous two Charlie Thorne books will be happy with this next edition of the Charlie Thorne series. Charlie is now 13 and is on the trail to figure out the treasure that Cleopatra left behind.
Her half-brother Dante and his girlfriend and CIA partner, Milana Moon, are trying to find her, keep her safe, uncover the mystery, and get her back to headquarters to learn the Pandora equation that only Charlie knows. Through their many dangerous adventures, Charlie trusts them to the degree that she trusts anyone that wants the dangerous knowledge she has. She is still an untamed spirit when they treat her as an asset or a child.
The Israeli Mossad agents kidnap her briefly in Egypt after she gets her first clue. They play an ambiguous role in her life. They want the Pandora equation and will take her forcibly back to their country and the promise of torture if needed to secure it. However, several times they protect her from other more sinister factions. They may even be safer than the CIA, which is a difficult realization for Charlie.
The Egyptian Mukhabarat are now after her and trade off between allies and foes. The definite enemies are the Egyptian citizens, Ramses and his son, Ahmet Shah that unknowingly owned the first clue to the treasure and do not take kindly to her overpowering them and stealing knowledge from them. They continuously underestimate what a genius can do because of her age and gender. It is exceptionally satisfying as these biases lead to a lot of pain on their part. Charlie is very good at accumulating enemies like the rest of her age group acquires shoes.
Once again, the clues lead to several places around the world steeped in history and culture. The background adds a lot of richness to the plot and really makes me want to add a few of these places to my bucket list! I love how the details inspire me to learn more about these places.
The CIA director, Dante, and Milana each have consequences due to Charlie’s continued ability to evade them and hide the knowledge of her finds. They have tough choices about career, family, and patriotic duty. Charlie has always been a robust character. It is nice to see these recurring characters take on more dimensions.

What Left Me Wanting More: Stuart Gibbs does a fantastic job overall of taking a fantastical near reality concept like a thirteen-year-old girl that could go toe to toe with James Bond and probably win! However, the “treasures” in books two and three of this series could have been more believable and still be awesome. I won’t put spoilers! You will have to read them and decide for yourself if you agree. At times, I was a bit uncomfortable with the very adult cynicism shown in regards to the Intelligence agencies knowing that my young child was being exposed to this viewpoint. I am glad we are reading it together and able to discuss the plot.

Final Verdict: I love this series and realize that I am enjoying all things that Stuart Gibbs writes. His books have taken on that hard to achieve mantel of an author that I will read and purchase anything he writes. Humor and sheer Bravada that Charlie's character possesses make for a fast-paced story that keeps the attention from start to finish every time. We all had to check the time on several occasions to stop reading and get to bed because it was so good!