When teenage CIA agent Jake Morrow fouls up a mission in Ukraine, he convinces his boss to change his termination to an "indefinite" suspension. Jake tells her that it has always been a dream of his to attend Carlisle Academy and that, while there, he can "amass quality intel on some of the nation's top science research laboratories." Since the "Company is never supposed to spy on the homeland" and Jake is technically "off the job," his boss agrees and enrolls him as Peter Smith at the school. His real plan? Capture the hacker-for-hire he tracked to Carlisle--the one he nearly blew his cover trying to find in Ukraine. The problem? He's responsible for the death of Marchuk, head of the criminal network that hired the hacker, and Marchuk Jr. wants revenge.
Former foster kid Jake was chosen as the first agent in the CIA's high school recruitment program because he'd "always kept a low profile" as a criminal hacker. He's not fooling his new best friend, Bunker, however, a "freak thanks to fifteen years underground with... [his] dad's pre-millennium comic book and DVD collection." But Jake's not too worried about his cover until a photo of him tagged "#Prettyboy" goes viral. Hours later, masked gunmen--Marchuk Jr. among them--infiltrate his school.
With cell service and the Internet cut, Jake tries to figure out how to "stop the bad guys" with just "what's in [his] backpack." But Bunker and Katie, Jake's crush who has a mission herself, won't let him work alone. Readers will enjoy watching the crew neutralize hostile after hostile as they slowly unravel the real reason Marchuk's at Carlisle. With #Prettyboy Must Die, Kimberly Reid (Perfect Liars) gives adventure-seekers a fast-paced and suspenseful thriller. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer