Secret Agent Jack Stalwart: Peril at the Grand Prix (Italy)

Juvenile secret agent Jack Stalwart, is on a personal globetrotting mission to find his missing older brother Max. Jack’s parents think Max is safe in a posh school in Switzerland. Little do they know that Max (also a secret agent) has disappeared and that Jack is trying to find him. In this book Jack, who works for the Global Protection Force (GPF), is off to Italy, transported via his Magic Map. His task in Italy is to save his idol, racing driver Morgan Parks, whose life is being threatened. It’s the classic Smart Kid versus Bad Guys formula but there’s enough originality in the format of the book to engage the boys at the younger end of this age category, at whom this book is probably aimed. The first section contains facts about GPF, the Stalwart family, motor racing and Italy. The illustrations match the animated cartoon style of the story. Other titles in the eight-book series include The Secret of the Sacred Temple (Cambodia), The Mystery of the Mona Lisa (France) and The Pursuit of the Ivory Poachers (Kenya).