The cost of freedom is treasure
If you are looking for a book filled with action and adventure then James Patterson's "Secret of the Hidden City" is for you.
Author: James Patterson
Reviewed by: Seromo Mochatsi
Review made possible by: Penguin South Africa
The story begins with the Kidds (their surname) who are Bick, Beck, Storm and Tommy and have to travel all around the world in an attempt to rescue their mother from kidnappers in Cyprus.
Beck is Bick’s twin sister.
Tommy is the oldest brother.
Storm is the genius sister who has a photographic memory that proves useful throughout the story.
Their mother (who is a CIA agent) has been kidnapped by Dionysus Streckting, the main villain in the story.
In an attempt to get their mother back, the Kidds have to embark on a worldwide hunt of “priceless” treasures.
The reason the Kidds embark on a journey of collecting expensive artifacts is because their mother’s kidnappers prefer priceless antiques over hard cash.
Hence the book refers to the kidnappers as “the strangest kidnappers in the world”.
The Kidds then discover that, throughout this journey, they must travel to Munich and Germany and all around the world, searching for their dad’s safe-deposit boxes, which hold pieces of an amazing treasure map.
It is this treasure map that Dionysus is in most pursuit of because it is the key to unlocking stolen World War Two paintings that the Nazis have hidden at different points around the world.
As the Kidds embark on this adventure, they come across many obstacles and many opportunities for discovery at each stop point.
The excitement of these adventures lies in the fact that, just when it seems the Kidds will get caught by villains, they manage to just barely escape by hatching a marvellous plan for their escape.
It is at these points in the book where I was kept on the edge of my seat.
Like all happy endings, the Kidds manage to rescue their mother after being involved in a survival battle against Dionysus at sea.
Upon their rescue, the kidnappers are arrested and in the words of Mr Kidd, “Those louts will all be spending the next several decades behind bars.”
While this is the third edition of Patterson’s Treasure Hunters series, I was able to follow the story quite well.
I do believe that it would make it more enjoyable to read the first two books of the series as these books resemble an adventure ride.
The fact that the story is 419 pages long does not make it any less interesting.
The font is not too small and the book very well-written, with a myriad of illustrations by Chris Grabenstein, which make the visuals come to life as you are reading.
This is a great read for anyone in primary or high school as it also makes use of words that leave you with a broader vocabulary upon completion of the book.
