Contact by Chris Morphew

The Phoenix Files: Book 2. Hardie Grant Egmont, 2010. ISBN: 9781921502408.
(Ages 10-15) Highly recommended. The countdown to the destruction of the human race continues: there are now just 88 days left! Peter takes over as the narrator of this, the second book in the series. Although he had at first been dubious about what he and his friends, Jordan and Luke, had found he can no longer deny the truth of their discoveries. As the three go about decoding the messages which have been left for them by Crazy Bill and investigate the Shackleton Corporation, they realise that they are not dealing with human beings who have social consciences but a group who want only to serve their own ends. In the process, they manage to jeopardise the lives of those who try to help them in their quest to put things right.
Whilst the first book served as a somewhat more gentle introduction to the various characters and plots which have been hatched, Contact begins to expose the true evil and the teenagers make some gruesome discoveries and continue to put the lives of themselves and their families on the line. They discover the lengths to which Shackleton and his team will go in order to achieve their aims. One can only suspect that by the end of the sixth book, descriptions may well become even gorier and possibly not as palatable to the younger readers. I, however, am now going to have to wait patiently for the release of the next title sometime in August!
Jo Schenkel, Pilgrim School