The risk with sequels is that they don't always live up to the expectations generated by the first book. But this story is clearly an exception.
It's the same winning formula as the original -- narrow escapes, ambushes, betrayals and surprises to keep you hooked till the end -- but with fresh revelations to explain the criminal machinations of our 13-year-old hero, Artemis Fowl.
Two weeks ago, we looked at the first book, in which Artemis kidnaps Capt. Holly Short, a member of an elite police unit of the fairy world. In this new, deftly written tale, Capt. Short and her police team are in trouble again. Foaly, the tech-savvy centaur who helped to rescue her last time, is locked up in his office and can't bail out his friends. The mud-eating dwarf Mulch Diggums, who hoodwinked Cmdr. Root and absconded with a generous share of the gold ransom, is showing off his kleptomaniac skills again. And Cmdr. "Beetroot" himself has plenty more cause to live up to his nickname -- he's getting redder by the minute.