Beneath Books

Roland Smith, the master of middle-grade adventure, returns with a new novel full of high-speed chases, secret identities, and a dangerous underground world.Pat Borroughs has always idolized his older brother, Coop. He's even helped Coop with some of his crazier plans -- even risking his life to help his big brother dig a tunnel underneath their entire Washington, D.C., neighborhood. Coop is . . . different. He doesn't talk on the phone, doesn't use email, and doesn't have friends. He's never really cared for anything but the thrill of being underground and Pat. So it's no surprise to anyone -- even Pat -- that after a huge fight with their parents, Coop runs away. Exactly one year later, Pat receives a package containing a digital voice recorder and a cryptic message from his brother. He follows the clues to New York City, and soon discovers that Coop has joined the Colony, a self-sufficient community living beneath the streets. Now it's up to Pat to find his brother -- and bring him home.

What dangers lurk above? Pat O'Toole and his brother, Coop, are on the run from an enemy that specializes in hiding in plain sight. Along with their new companion, Kate, they've narrowly escaped a cultlike community situated beneath the streets of New York City. Kate has lived underground since birth, and the world above thrills her, but it's treacherous as well. With the cult's leader -- Kate’s grandfather -- hatching a new scheme of global consequence, the three runaways may be the only ones who can stop him. Will they face him head-on, or will they spend the rest of their lives as fugitives? The adventure that started Beneath concludes Above in this action-packed middle-grade thriller by Roland Smith!