conspiracy 365 – Aussie Reviews

Missing, by Gabrielle Lord

I looked out the window from my desk, trying to stop my mind from worrying. It was getting late and the house was breathlessly still. I was the only one awake, wasting my time trying to study. As if the strange message wasn’t enough to take my mind off my already overdue physics assignment, almost a week had gone by since anyone had last seen Ryan and I was finding it hard to concentrate.

Cal has received a strange message, indicating he has 90 days. But 90 days for what? He is sick of riddles. But his identical twin, Ryan, seems to be missing, and when Cal is asked to go undercover to investigate an island retreat for troubled teens, he realises it may also be an opportunity to find Ryan. Soon he is in once again in the thick of heart stopping adventures as he races the clock.

Missing is the first in a new trilogy, Black Ops featuring Cal Ormond and his friends from the Conspiracy 365 series. For mystery and adventure loving tweens, the book offers a fast paced adventure, with plenty of action and twists and turns. Spanning a month in time, the book takes Cal from home, to secondment to an covert surveillance group, and on to the island where he switches places with Ryan to try to unearth what is happening to missing teenagers – and what this might mean for the world beyond the island. The cliffhanger ending will leave them eager for the next instalment.

A knowledge of the earlier books is an advantage but readers new to the series will find plenty to engage them.

Missing , by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2013
ISBN 781742835181

Available from good bookstores or online.

Malice, by Gabrielle Lord

It looked like the top right corner of a very old newspaper. There were four words – two in thick black print, and another two, added like an afterthought, in scrawling handwriting.
As I read them, a chill crept up my spine.
The Drowner 30 days

Once, Cal had 365 days to solve a riddle and save his life. Now it’s his friend Winter who is on a countdown – something is going to happen in just 30 days time. But even though she is sure she is being watched, she doesn’t know who could be after them this time. With Cal away at flight school, Winter must try to solve the mystery herself, before time runs out.

Malice is an action packed addition to the Conspiracy 365 series, with favourite characters (and villains) reappearing and some new ones introduced. The change in viewpoint character allows the character of Winter to take centre stage, but the format is unchanged, with events told in first person voice counting down through the days.

Suitable for upper primarya ged readers and older, and of appeal to relcutantr eaders because of its digestible length and language.

Malice (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2012
ISBN 9781742833828

Available from good bookstores or online.

Revenge, by Gabrielle Lord

Revenge is a stand alone sequel to the 12 books which initially made up Conspiracy 365. It has the same fast paced action, count down style and first person voice – though this time as well as Cal’s voice, most of the story is told in his mate Boges’ voice.

I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw the envelope.
It was waiting for me on my pillow. A red wax seal marked it like a thick, wet drop of blood.
I ran to the window and looked out, but the front yard was dark and quiet. Cautiously, I pulled the curtains back across and picked up the creamy-coloured envelope.
The front was blank, but the seal on the back was carefully pressed with something feathered. I held it under my lamp.
A chill shuddered through my body.

In Conspiracy 365 Cal Ormond spent a year of his life on the run from a plethora of enemies, all after him for his link to the mysterious Ormond Singularity. With the help of his friends he had to unravel the mystery of the singularity and outwit his enemies, all the while being hunted by the police and the press who believed he was a criminal. Now he is back with his mother, sister and friends, his new inheritance ensuring a comfortable future. Until he finds a note on his pillow and realises someone is still after him.

Now there are just 30 days until something terrible happens – but Cal has no idea what that terrible thing is. And, when he disappears, it is up to his friends to find him and solve the mystery.

Revenge is a stand alone sequel to the 12 books which initially made up Conspiracy 365. It has the same fast paced action, count down style and first person voice – though this time as well as Cal’s voice, most of the story is told in his mate Boges’ voice. There are mysteries to solve and readers will enjoy guessing at these and looking for the clues as they joining the ride which feels somewhat like a junior James Bond, with high-tech devices, larger than life baddies and exciting settings.

Fast paced action for upper primary and lower secondary aged readers.

Revenge (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2011
ISBN 9781741699760

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

June, by Gabrielle Lord

Everything fizzed and flickered out.
Then the force of the crash-landing had shaken up every cell in my body. I was trembling all over, but my arms and legs felt numb and helpless. I couldn’t see a thing—I was surrounded by darkness…
Darkness and smoke!

Lurching from one drama to another, Cal Ormond survives a plane crash only to be chased through the bush by armed thugs. Cal can’t be caught – his life depends on staying free for long enough to find the Ormond Jewel and solve the mystery of the Ormond Singularity.

June is the sixth instalment in the Conspiracy 365 series from crime master Gabrielle Lord. With a new title released each month and the action taking place over a year, the books (and the whole series) is fast paced, with Cal repeatedly confronting perilous situations and making unlikely friends – and enemies – in the process.

Suitable for readers aged 10 and over, the series is best read sequentially, though there is a brief recap at the beginning of each.

June (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2010
ISBN 9781741690385

This book can be purchased in any good bookstore, or online from Fishpond.

April, by Gabrielle Lord

I was finally free to stand up. I stretched out my arms, and clenched and unclenched my aching fingers, sore from bearing the weight of Lachlan’s head. While the cop had been talking, my mind had been racing in overdrive – desperately thinking of a way to get my stuff and get out of there. More cops were coming and I knew that if I didn’t run, I’d be recognised and cuffed in no time. Psycho Kid, public enemy number one…the guy who’d attacked his uncle and put his sister in a coma.

Callum (Cal) Ormond has been on the run for three months, suspected of having tried to kill his sister and uncle, and being pursued by police, a private investigator and groups of baddies who want to kill him, for reasons he can’t grasp. What he does know is that he needs to keep on the run if he wants to stay alive. In the meantime, he must also solve the mysterious Ormond Riddle, which is his only chance at having a normal life again.

April is the fourth title in the Conspiracy 365 series, a fast paced action series from author Gabrielle Lord. With each of the eventual twelve titles being released in the month which bears its title, this series is both unique and satisfying in its blend of action and adventure. Like its predecessors, this title offers twists and turns and ends with a cliffhanger which will leave the reader looking forward to the May instalment.

April (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic Australia, 2010

This title can be purchased online from Fishpond . Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

April, by Gabrielle Lord

April (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic Australia, 2010

This title can be purchased online from Fishpond . Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

March, by Gabrielle Lord

I realised, as the train was bearing down on me, that I would never see my family again. I would die, never knowing the mystery of the Ormond Singularity. There was a loud shriek…and then, just before impact, the whole world seemed to open up and I’d fallen into a gaping blackness. I felt the terrifying sensation of falling into some dark space beneath my body, as if the earth had opened up and swallowed me.

In his third month on the run, Callum Ormond is in a heap of trouble. Wanted by police for assaulting his sister and uncle – an assault he didn’t commit – and relentlessly pursued by criminal gangs who want Callum and the answers he can give, he seems thwarted at every turn in his quest for answers.

March is the third title in the Conspiracy 365 series, a fast moving, action-packed series, comprising twelve books released monthly as the action, and the mystery, unfold over the year. In this instalment Callum makes some new friends, but is also faced my more life and death situations. keeping the action moving throughout, and finishing with a cliff-hanger which will see readers looking for the next instalment.

March (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Conspiracy 365 – February, by Gabrielle Lord

Some miracle had put an end to the process. What had happened? I was shaking all over. I was almost completely submerged in oil, but I was alive…

Before January, Callum Ormond was a fairly ordinary teenage boy, in spite of the recent death of his father. In January, however, all that changed. First Callum met a man on New Year’s Eve who told him he should hide for the next year. Then Callum was nearly killed in a boating accident, before being framed for the attempted murder of his little sister. Now Callum is on the run, not sure who to trust, but knowing he must solve the mystery about why so many people are after him.

February is the second title in the Conspiracy 365 series, and sees Cal almost drown in oil, set on my bullies, come face to face with a lion and more, as his 365 day countdown continues.

Aimed at upper primary aged readers, the fast pace is sure to appeal.

February (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2010

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

January, by Gabrielle Lord

With superhuman strength, the sick man tore himself away from the medics’ hold. His eyes were wide with terror. ‘If you don’t disappear, you’re going to have to survive them for a whole year! Do you realise what that means? They’re going to be after you for 365 days! Week after week! Day after day!’

Callum Ormond’s life is thrown into chaos when, on New Year’s Eve, he is chased by a seemingly crazy man who warns Callum that he must disappear – or else be pursued by unnamed pursuers for the next year. Callum doesn’t know what the man is talking about, but in the days that follow he almost drowns, his house is robbed and he is framed for the attempted murder of his little sister. Suddenly the crazed man’s warning seems terrifyingly accurate.

January is the first title in a bold new series from Aussie crime writer Gabrielle Lord and Scholastic books. Conspiracy 365 will consist of 12 books released one a month for twelve months, with action packed instalments in Callum’s adventure. The story is pacy and is complemented by a website with games, blogs and competitions which will appeal to young readers aged ten to fourteen.

An intriguing concept which will be interesting to follow throughout 2010.

January (Conspiracy 365), by Gabrielle Lord
Scholastic, 2010

This book can be purchased from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.