In Class A James Adams went undercover to destroy the Kevin Moore Gang. In the absence of a strong leader, Moore's old turf is being fought over by two other gangs, and two Cherub agents, Gabrille O'Brien and Michael Hendry, have infiltrated the Afro-Carribean gange the Slasher Boys. It's been a couple of months and progress has been made, but when Gabrielle's hospitalised after bing stabbed, the ethics committee want to pull Cherub out of the operation.
James has been involved in the training of red shirts (junior Cherubs), with new girlfriend Dana, when the chairwoman decides to take advantage of his previous relationship with Moore's son, junior. He and agent Bruce Norris are sent in as cousins, with James recreating his previous persona, and they begin working on the other side of the turf war.
As I've mentioned before, the Cherub series explores elements of young adult life that are often ignored in series writing, and problems are simply resolved at the end of one book. In addition to his temper, James has had problems reconciling being in a relationship with his fifteen-year-old libido, something that was a significant component of his break up with long-time girlfriend Kerry. Though his relationship with Dana is more meaningful, as well as more physical, James once again finds himself involved with a girl while on a mission, and has to make some hard decisions.
Interestingly, after a lot of emphasis on James' flaws, Mad Dogs turns the focus to Lauren - though in some ways more mature than her brother, when her behaviours of concern are listed it becomes clear she has some issues to work through, too.
This series is continuing as strongly as it began, with characters that are three-dimensional, that develop over each book as well as over the series as a whole, and storylines that are believable and exciting without being repeditive. I've already reserved the next two at the library, and will then have to wait (im)patiently for the next one to be released. - Alex
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