Spy School at Sea: Spy School

Spy School at Sea: Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

The Spy School kids end up chasing the bad guys on a super massive cruise ship. The ship is owned by the ex-wife of a Chinese crime lord (that they sent to jail in an earlier book.) She and her daughter are grateful that the kids send him to jail, giving them more freedom. They have a bodyguard that is a nice cousin of the "mean" bad-guy bodyguard that they keep fighting with. There are a number of twists and turns, including a ride with a friendly drug lord and uncovering a lot of smuggling. They discover that the ship is nuclear powered - and has been tricked out by the bad guys to be a bomb. They eventually diffuse it and all is good. (But there were some close calls due in part to teenage relationships.) This sticks well to the spy school formula. There is enough so it can be stand alone, yet plenty of references for those who have followed the series.