Nightshade

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It BLEW MY MIND by how much it completely surpassed my expectations. Now I know most of us are most familiar and devoted to the early iconic AR novels, the ones with TONS of explosions and gunfire and witty puns and banter. In my opinion as the series went on some novels were more boring; it felt like the same thing each new book. I loved Scorpia but Scorpia Rising felt like scattered, leftover pieces of a storyline. I was super glad when Never Say Die came out, continuing the series chronologically, but the book was kind of a bummer for me because it felt formulaic, the same thing over again. It felt like AH was just dragging the storyline along. 
Don’t get me wrong, I love all the action scenes even if some seem repetitive in certain novels, but what I feel truly makes an AR book amazing is seeing Alex as a person, not just a spy. When you can feel Alex’s inner turmoil or sense of betrayal, like in Scorpia or even Snakehead with Ash, that’s what makes a novel great. Alex going over to Yassen at the end of Eagle Strike and accompanying him in his final moments spoke volumes about who he was as a person. The best Alex Rider books involve something personal to Alex where he shows his own character.