Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 10))
Rebellious, cocky Evan knows he'll never be able to please his father, a wealthy, stern and angry man who refuses to give Evan any money. Evan retaliates by failing in school and stealing from his father's company. When Evan's father is arrested for murder, Evan realizes he has the murdered man's computer. Following clues they find on the computer, Evan, his secret heartthrob, Erika, and his friend Ruben decide to find a man they think can clear his father. The trio heads off to a wild and expensive tour of Paris and find themselves in far worse trouble than when they began. Writing in first person mostly for humor, Simmons reveals Evan's character while maintaining suspense. While the writing style is deliberately choppy, most sentences do at least have subjects and predicates. Although the book is longer than necessary, it should be a fun read for many high schoolers. 2005, Razorbill/Penguin, 288p, $16.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 12 to 16. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Michele Winship (KLIATT Review, May 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 3))
So this is basically a story about a murder"--so begins Simmons' newest novel with yet another engaging narrator. Evan's father, a wealthy business owner who won't spare an extra dime for his son, has been arrested for murdering a man named Emil Belachek and stealing millions of dollars. Evan knows his dad is a cheapskate but definitely not a murderer, and he sets out with his best friends Ruben and Erika to clear his father's name. However, he has to do that without revealing that he has been financing his prep school social life by boosting electronic equipment from his father's company and selling it on eBay. Fortunately for Evan, one of his "appropriated" items just happens to be Emil Belachek's laptop that just happens to have some vital information that could be the key in proving his father's innocence. The critical e-mails are from someone named Lubchenko, and Evan and his friends have to travel to Paris (using his father's credit card, of course) to find Lubchenko and get his father out of jail. This is a fast-paced comic thriller, with plenty of twists, turns, technology and good old adolescent fun, including a trip to Paris and lots of Chinese food. Teens will enjoy Evan and his antics, laughing both at him and with him. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2005, Penguin, Razorbill, 281p., $16.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Bridget Slayden (Library Media Connection, April/May 2006)
In this easy-to-read computer-age mystery, the reader meets Evan, a self-proclaimed poor boy who lives in a world surrounded by extravagance. Yet, he never really gets to partake in the luxuries because his father, founder of MRI, a medical company that established its name by the invention of a liver cancer wonder drug, believes his son should work for everything, including jeans and sneakers. One day, Evan finds out his father is being held on suspicion of murder. Evan realizes that only he can clear his dad's name. He just so happens to have Belachek's (the dead man) missing computer, but only because he has a sideline business. He hunts for stuff at his dad's company to sell online, all without his dad's knowledge, of course. That poses a big problem. Evan must do his investigating on his own (with the help of his two good friends) or risk having his theft operation discovered and really getting into trouble, at least more than he normally does! Ruben, Erika, and Evan travel to Paris to search for Lubchenko and finally find the evidence they need to free Evan's father, but not without drumming up their own share of work and danger. This funny, interesting adventure/mystery will hold interest as it makes the reader wonder and laugh simultaneously. Recommended. 2005, Penguin Putnam, 280pp., $16.99 hc. Ages 13 up.

Lucy Schall (VOYA, June 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 2))
Genius, underachieving, delinquent sixteen-year-old Evan Macalister combats biological terrorism, saves his father from a murder frame-up, and gets the girl in this hilarious mystery framed in generational conflict. Evan's seventy-year-old, emotionally distant, multimillionaire father wants Evan to learn the value of a dollar and star academically. Evan, who reads people rather than books, steals equipment from his father's medical company, which has a biological weapon division, and earns D and F grades as well as discipline referrals at his uptight private school. When Evan's father is arrested for strangling an employee whose laptop Evan has stolen, Ruben, Evan's unwilling partner in crime, breaks the computer's codes and discovers the name of the murdered man's Paris contact. Ruben, Evan, and Evan's love interest, who speaks perfect French, travel first class to Paris to meet Lubchenko. Distracted by Paris nightlife, they find Lubchenko, who fingers the culprit, reveals plans to sell a smallpox virus, and gives Evan information to clear his father. But they must get that information to the proper authorities without getting killed or revealing their source. As with Simmons's Pool Boy (Roaring Brook, 2003/VOYA June 2003), this coming-of-age story features a lovable anti-hero telling his story in a sarcastic, insightful voice. It also shares a father in jail, a stabilizing parent figure outside the family, and a seemingly impossible love interest. Because Evan keeps his underground activities secret, it could produce many entertaining teenage detective/spy sequels. VOYA CODES: 5Q 5P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Razorbill/Penguin, 288p., $15.99 and PLB $16.89. Ages 12 to 18.