Nightshade is the 12th book in the Alex Rider series released on April, 7, 2020 in both the U.K. and the United States. It is the longest Alex Rider book to date.
Synopsis
Following the shocking events of Never Say Die, Alex Rider’s world has changed: his biggest enemy, the evil organization SCORPIA, has been destroyed. Alex is hoping his life can finally go back to normal, that he can go to school and spend time with his friends–but very quickly everything changes. A new and dangerous criminal organization–Nightshade–is rising.
When Alex discovers they’ve planned a mysterious attack on London, he will stop at nothing to take them down. But protecting his home city means facing off a ruthless new enemy and putting his life at stake, again. And this time, there’s no one to save him if he makes a mistake.
Goofs (SPOILERS)
- When preparing for the Leap of Faith, The book acts like Alex Rider has never been skydiving before. This is inaccurate, as he previously had to parachute in the book Stormbreaker in order to reach the Museum before Herod Sayle enacted his plan.
- On pg 207 Dr Flint refers to Alex by his name in front of Freddy whilst Alex was undercover as Julius.
- British Airways operate their only Airbus A318 on a transatlantic route, so Alex couldn’t have taken one to Amsterdam.
- At the end of Never Say Die, Freddy Grey’s parents are called Sir William and Caroline Grey, yet in Nightshade they are renamed Sir Christopher and Lady Susan Grey.
Plot
Prologue:
Alex Rider and Jack Starbright arrive at Heathrow Airport, coming back from a holiday in Amsterdam after their reunion at Smoke City, an industrial compound in Wales, where he fought the Grimaldi Brothers in Never Say Die. Below them, James Clifford (also referred to as Lord Clifford), a former politician, buys a cupcake from two supposed Girl Guides, which contained sodium cyanide. Fifteen minutes later, he suffers from a seizure, which led to a heart attack, which killed him.
Part One: Genesis.
Tulip Jones (also referred to as Mrs Jones) arrives at the Headquarters of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She is there to meet the Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Dominic Royce. He tells Mrs Jones that he had found out that she had employed Alex Rider, saying that she was acting against the law and told her to never use Alex again.
In Rio de Janeiro, Pablo (his undercover name, his real name never mentioned), an undercover MI6 agent, is going to meet John Crawley in the park. He tells him that Nightshade was planning to conduct a major terrorist attack in London. Before he can speak more, a model Spitfire plane with a knife on its wing flies by two kids, slices Pablo's neck and kills him.
[UNFINISHED]