This book was brilliant! I read it as soon as I could, after reading the first one, The Revenge of Praying Mantis and I was not disappointed. You learn a lot more about Hattie’s past and more about her parents in this book, among other things.

Cover:
The cover is beautiful. Blue is my favorite color, and this blue is just gorgeous! I love the patters surrounding the face and the ninja shadow.

The Heroine:
Hattie Jackson/Hattori Hachi: Hattie’s very brave and skilled, and sort of reminds me of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. I love how strong she is, but she can act rashly when it comes to her friends. She is loyal to them and would her life for them, which reminds me of Percy Jackson.

Other Characters:
Mad Dog: Mad Dog and Hattie are closer in this book. He kind of reminds me of Peeta Mellark from the Hunger Games… Mad Dog is my favorite character. He’s funny-he isn’t as skilled a fighter as Hattie, but he’s brilliant at disguises and has a good heart. His relationship with Hattie’s dad is kind of father/son now, given that in the first book Hattie’s dad didn’t really like Mad Dog, it’s a big change (but a good one!)

Neena: Neena is Hattie’s best friend. She’s loyal and kind and a great friend. She is kidnapped by the Kataki in this book, but she manages to help Hattie and Mad Dog when they come to save her. She’s very clever.

Dad: You hear a lot more about Hattie’s dad, and his link to the Hachi family in this book. He finally discovers that his daughter and wife are ninjas, and almost kills his son. He can’t believe *SPOILER* Toby’s his son.

Toby: *SPOILER* Toby is Hattie’s brother. *SPOILER ENDED* He is working with the Kataki, but Hattie thinks he’s faking it and that he’s actually in their (Hattie’s) side. I quite like Toby, even though I thought he was a bit of a show off in the first book, and I REALLY want to know how he’s makes his animus’ eyes glow!!!

Raven: The main “bad guy” in this book. He’s deformed because of a fire, and he only is truly ninja-like when he’s flying. Hattie tries to discover what his link to the family is, and why he is trying to kill hundreds of people.

The Kataki: Evil organisation who want to take over the world. They have infiltrators in high places.

The Plot:
Hattie’s mum and Yazuki(Hattie’s trainer) have travelled to Kielder. Hattie doesn’t know why, but she knows its something to do with the Kataki. She makes an excuse to her dad about needing to travel to Kielder, which coincidentally is where Hattie’s dad used to live when he was a child. After Hattie’s mum going missing in the last book, Hattie’s dad wants his wife where he can see her, so the take the car over to Kielder for the weekend. While there, Neena is kidnapped by Raven, and Hattie tries to rescue her. She, along with Mad Dog and her dad are captured.
Trying to escape, they bump into Neena, who is being made to cook for the Kataki, and they try to fight off a bunch of Kataki, resulting in Hattie’s dad almost killing *SPOILER*his son*SPOILER ENDED* Toby.

They soon realize that Yazuki and Hattie’s mum are working undercover in the Kataki’s base, and are searching for the Diamond Dagger, which, if given to the inheritant(is that a word?!) of the Hattori fortune, will give them great powers. But the Kataki and Raven are also searching for the Dagger, and plan to flood the whole of Kielder because they believe the Diamond Dagger is beneath the dam.

Will Kielder be flooded?
Will Hattie find the Dagger and inherit the Hattori fortune in time?
And what is Raven’s link to Hattie’s family?

My Final Thoughts:
I thought this book was brilliant, and I’m definitely going to be reading the next book. I’d recommend this book to people aged 10+.

My Rating:
I’m giving this book a 5/5!