All Fall Down
By Ally Carter (Scholastic Press, January 20, 2015)
Description from GoodReads:
A new series of global proportions -- from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.
This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.
Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay--in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.
Carolyn's thoughts on the book:
As a fan of Ally Carter's other book series (The Gallagher Girls Books and The Heist Society Books), I was eager to dive into the first book of her new Embassy Row series; it did not disappoint. Full of complex diplomacy, secret meetings, and international conspiracies, All Fall Down is a thrilling and compelling read. Grace is a likable and complex character, and Carter's nuanced portrayal of Grace's mental issues doesn't just read like a plot device (as can so often happen). Her quest for her mother's killer, as well as the complicated web of international secrets that she discovers along the way, propels the story along with never a dull moment. Grace's tempestuous relationship with her grandfather (and as his control-freak of an assistant) are realistic, as are her friendships with the other teenagers of Embassy Row (although when foreign diplomacy is involved, nothing is as simple as it seems). The novel culminates in a shocking and surprising revelation but leaves everything open to more books, and if the GoodReads page for the series is any indication, more books are on their way. I enjoyed the book and definitely will look forward to the publication of the sequel.
Overall, the book is a fast-paced but complex and nuanced read. All Fall Down is a great for fans of Ally Carter's other books or anyone with a taste for action with a hint of thriller and mystery.