Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. Will appeal to readers who appreciate action-oriented tales. Also, his multilingual, ethnically ambiguous protagonist is so much smarter and more competent than any of the grown-ups that none of the pickles she gets into are more than briefly suspenseful. Though-except for the paucity of high-tech gadgets and a refreshing centering of a highly competent girl hero-comparisons with the Alex Rider series are almost inevitable, the author’s fondness for overexplaining never lets the pace build up a compelling head of steam. What might the “Greatest Treasure” be? Gibbs plays his cards close to his chest as he employs multiple point-of-view characters to spin out a chase through crowded city streets and teeming tropical forests, punctuated by big explosions and hails of gunfire, to a climactic flurry of lurid fatalities. Holed up in the Galápagos Islands and hotly pursued by both the CIA and the KGB for knowing Einstein’s most deadly secret (see Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation, 2019), Charlie decodes a message about the “Greatest Treasure in Human History,” carved by Darwin almost two centuries ago on a tortoise’s plastron, and follows further coded clues first to Quito and then on into the Peruvian wilderness-with, eventually, no fewer than four sets of secret agents and treasure hunters in her wake. When an ancient hidden treasure is at stake, people will do anything to find it first.Hints left by Charles Darwin of a world-changing discovery send a 12-year-old supergenius deep into the Amazonian rainforest. In a daring adventure that takes her across South America, Charlie must crack Darwin’s 200-year-old clues to track down his mysterious discovery - and stay ahead of the formidable lineup of enemies who are hot on her tail. Afterward, it vanished, never to be seen again.īut Darwin left a trail of clues behind for those brave and clever enough to search for it.

When he returned, he carried a treasure that inspired both awe and terror in his crew. In 1835, Charles Darwin diverted his ship’s journey so he could spend ten months in South America on a secret solo expedition. That is, until she’s approached by the mysterious Esmeralda Castle, who has a code she knows only Charlie can decipher. Charlie Thorne isn’t even 13.Īfter saving the world, Charlie is ready to take it easy in the Galapagos Islands. In this sequel to the New York Times best-selling Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation - which number-one New York Times best-selling author Chris Grabenstein called “a real page-burner” - Charlie searches for Charles Darwin’s hidden treasure in South America.Ĭharlie Thorne is a genius.

Charlie thorne book 1