Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Code-breaking genius Jonah is helping to steal a priceless sword when fellow thief and romantic interest Tye is kidnapped. Intrigue and action abound as Tye revisits her past and Jonah discovers that a shady cult's quest for the sword will end in mass murder. The ongoing mystery of leader Coldhardt's endgame and smoother plotting will reward fans of Thieves Like Us. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The young-adult crooks and whiz kids of Thieves Like Us (2006) are once again set to steal ancient artifacts for their mysterious employer, Coldhardt. This time, Tye, Jonah, Motti, Con and Patch need to steal the lost sword of Cortes. A straightforward-seeming theft goes awry when Tye is kidnapped by worshippers of the goddess Coatlicue, who plan to orchestrate mass murder in order to raise the goddess. Though Tye could escape, she wants to rescue her ex-boyfriend, the planned human sacrifice of Coatlicue's worshippers, from the villains—despite the fact that he's a selfish prat. Tye's seemingly turncoat behavior infuriates her friends, but they still work together to defeat the madmen and steal the sword. This classic Indiana Jones–style grave-robbing adventure places more emphasis on action than on character, and the over-the-top evil of the flatly painted villains fits well in this mixture of Aztec temples and high-tech thievery. Snarky, fun, action-packed adventure. (Fiction. 13-15) Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.

School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 9 Up-This sequel to Thieves Like Us (Bloomsbury, 2006) brings back Nathaniel Colhardt and his motley band of thieves-Jonah, Tye, Motti, Con, and Patch-in another Indiana Jones-type adventure. This time, the group is chasing after a long-lost relic-Cortes's sword, which was used to conquer and destroy the Aztec people. Then Tye is kidnapped by the mysterious Sixth Sun, a group that is also after the sword. Jonah must gather all his skills as a code breaker to beat the Sixth Sun to the weapon, rescue Tye, and, with the rest of the band, fight a battle of good and evil. Lots of action and suspense grab teens' attention from the start; chapters are short and paced to keep even the most reluctant readers on the edge of their seats.-Lori E. Donovan, Thomas Dale High School, Chester, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Do we work for the boss, or does he own us? The teen outlaws who first appeared in Thieves like Us (2006) return for another round of life-threatening adventures carried out in the service of their employer, Nathaniel Coldhardt, a shadowy billionaire who traffics in ancient artifacts, which more often than not held the key to secret, spooky mysteries. This time, the team races to find a buried Aztec temple before it falls into the hands of a nefarious cult with apocalyptic goals. As in the first title, the formula mirrors an entertaining action movie. The characters (particularly the villains) are stock, and the dialogue is rife with cliches (I think we've got company, one teen says during a chase scene). Cole breaks up the nearly nonstop action with sexual innuendo, but there's not much follow-through. The page-turning mystery's fun comes from the terrifying escapes, clever gadgetry and detailed Aztec lore, and, of course, the central cast of death-defying teen savants who discover that home is wherever they are, together. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2007 Booklist