Book Review: The Last Musketeer - Double Cross by Stuart Gibbs (Last Musketeer #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of great action keeps the pages turning

Cons: Little new character development

The Bottom Line:

Greg’s time travels end

With one last grand adventure

With pages flying

Greg’s Musketeer Adventures Come to an End

Modern day teen in the musketeers.  That’s the premise of The Last Musketeer, a fun trilogy by author Stuart Gibbs.  And fans of the series will be happy with The Last Musketeer: Double Cross.

Being the last book in the series, background is given.  It was enough to refresh my memory on who the players are, but I’m not sure if it will be enough to catch anyone up on the previous events.  So I recommend you go back and read books one and two before you read this one.  They’re fun reads, so that’s not an issue at all.

The essentials?  Greg Rich, a young teenager from our time, has been trapped back in 1615 France where he has joined up with the Musketeers, also his age.  All the while, he is trying to stop a villain and figure out a way to return to our time.

This book opens pretty much where the last book left off.  Greg and his friends have been captured and are facing execution in the morning.  Even if they do find some way to escape, they would then have to race back to Paris in hopes of beating an army bent on overthrowing King Louis.  Can they do that?  Will Greg find the second half of the Devil’s Stone so he can return to his our time?

The action starts off quickly and never truly lets up.  There is one section that isn’t break neck pace, but even then a musketeer’s life is in danger.  There were some twists along the way to the ending that kept me entertained.  I was constantly turning pages and never wanted to put the book down.  And yes, I cheered a time or two and the characters defeated a villain.  Even with all the action, there was plenty of fun.

The characters are still great as well.  Greg is really the only one developed here, but some arcs from the previous book are still resolved.  The focus is on action, action, action with most of the character work having been done in previous novels.  The target middle grade audience won’t care, and the fans of the series will hardly notice.

Really, there is nothing to complain about in The Last Musketeer: Double Cross.  I’m sorry to see the trilogy end, and I’m glad I came along for the ride.

This is my entry in this week's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.  Visit Shannon Messenger's blog to see more entries.