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Quillan Tarquin is the computer nerd brain of a group (named SparrowHawk) of penny ante information brokers, consisting of the two friends who took him in when his mother disappeared. All three are teens, but this doesn’t keep Quillan from downloading some info from MI5 through an up-link (computer hack) with a local police station. This is where their troubles begin. Contrary to the other boys’ expectations, Quillan feels uneasy about the MI5 info, and is busy reading the files as the other boys are out setting up a meeting with potential buyers-who, unknown to them, are MI5 operatives who know about the hack. When he comes across some information that outlines a plan for the death of an American Special Projects team, Quillan immediately begins destroying all the data, not waiting for the other boys to return. The Special Projects team pinpointed for assassination by MI5 has been called in on the hunt for the boys, since the hack compromised allies’ information too. When Colonel Daniel Burke (U.S. Special Forces) and his team (SparrowFour) meet up with the head of the SAS Special Projects team (team JackRabbit), the sparks fly as they disagree with how to proceed with the capture of what Burke feels are kids involved in some penny ante crime who got lucky-or unlucky, as the case may be. Unknown to Burke, or even his own team, the British team leader plans to kill the boys. There are quite a few twists and turns in this story by Laura Baumbach, and they’re well worth following to their conclusion. Quillan’s main purpose in hacking has not been money, but the tracking down of his father, whom he has never known. And one of the American team may be his father. When the boys’ capture goes terribly wrong, Quill is taken into protective custody by the Americans, who then go on the run from the Brits, not knowing to whom, or how far up the betrayal has gone. There are several romantic encounters for the team, but they’re more asides from the story (although funny and enjoyable, all the same). I found this story a refreshing change from the romantic genre I usually read, and enjoyed the interactions of the team and its members with Quill, as well as the ongoing effort to uncover who was behind the danger to Quill. Each of the characters is unique to himself, with no blurring of lines between them, as can sometimes happen in ensemble cast stories. The juxtaposition of a group of elite military Americans trying to handle the care and protection of a rebellious British teen was fun to watch, with the inevitable uncomfortable moments encountered by a group of bachelors trying to cope with instant fatherhood providing a lighter element to contrast the action and drama. It was also very refreshing to read an author who uses contractions in dialogue the way people really use them in speaking. I noticed this immediately, and it gave the story a natural flow that’s often absent from works with more formal phrasing. Flight of the Sparrows is an action adventure political thriller with romantic elements. I very much enjoyed reading Baumbach’s style and this story. Reviewed by Lee M
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Flight of The Sparrows
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