Amy and Dan are nearly at the finish line. After the revelations made to them by their Uncle Fiske at the end of the last book, though, they no longer know what they are fighting for. The siblings now know they are Madrigals (Nellie too), and they learned that their branch desires for the other branches of the Cahill family to be reunited. Their whole world has been turned upside down.By this point, Amy and Dan have realized that the 39 clues lead to a recipe of some sort, creating a serum that delivers the consumer enhanced power in all areas of Cahill genius: creativity, brilliance, athletic prowess, and cunning and strategics. Most of the other teams have figured this out, as well. They have collected their own share of the clues/ingredients, but no one has all 39. Now, however, Amy and Dan are trying to obtain the serum not for their own advancement, but to help bring their extended family together. Amy and Dan receive a tip off that the next clue is at a Shakespeare performance at the reconstructed Globe theater. Midway through the performance, they see they are not the only team to figure this out. In fact, every other team in play in the series shows up, including the Starling triplets, who have been out of the race since the explosion in the first book. A battle royal breaks out in the theater, but Amy and Dan don't get caught in the tussle. They know enough to figure out their next stop is Stratford upon Avon. At Shakespeare's cemetery, though, all the teams have shown up again, except the evil Isabel Kabra. Ian and Natalie are acting strange, and everyone is behaving oddly civil. Dan finds the next clue when he makes a tombstone rubbing for his collection, and putting the pieces together, Amy and Dan learn the coordinates of the Madrigal stronghold, their next destination. I enjoyed watching all the teams come together for the first time since the hunt began. Generally, Amy and Dan only have one or two teams to deal with at a time, which makes sense, as the clues lead teams all over the world. In fact, when I first read the theater scene, I thought it was too contrived, until I learned the Madrigals had tipped everyone off. The Madrigals feel the time is right to attempt another reconciliation, and they are manipulating everyone (even Amy and Dan) to force them into the moment. Makes sense, and the whole group interacting was a new and fun experience. The author did a really nice job juggling so many different characters in a way that only added to the story. I even felt close to the Starlings, and they've been absent in the previous eight books. I do think if the authors intended to bring them back in at the ending, they should have worked them into some of the earlier stories. I know this series has a different author for each new novel, but I would think the long-term planning would have addressed that issue. Nonetheless, Sinead and her brothers add to the anticipation that events are heading towards a climax. Amy and Dan beat the others to the Madrigal Island, but just barely. Soon, the Holts are climbing the sheer cliff face, and the other teams are disembarking from boats or parachuting in. The familiar habit of competition is undermined when the Madrigal design forces teams to work together. One person from each branch has to touch the elevator keypad, and everyone is supposed to work together to answer questions drawing on knowledge from all of the branches to progress deeper into the cave. By the time the teams are in the cave, their numbers have been reduced to mainly the children, besides Alistair, because the elevator could only hold so many. They soon enter the gauntlet, a long hallway filled with sealed doors that call on the Cahills to work together to open them. Yet the ingrained competition remains, and everyone knows that they are just biding their time until they can get their hands on the final clue first. Ian and Natalie reveal that they tricked their mom into heading to the wrong destination, and it's only a matter of time before she catches up to them all. Then the explosions start, and the sealed doors are hanging open, and the Cahills realize something is amiss in the gauntlet. When they reach the final laboratory, one person has somehow beaten them to the prize: Isabel Kabra. Now the teams must work together if they hope to survive the evil Lucian. The first adventure ends here, although the series does have one more book, to work as an epilogue and a preview to the second 39 Clues series. The 39 Clues venture has been successful enough to create two more follow-up series, a set of short ebook novellas, and a collection of prequel novels. I understand why. The books combine treasure hunting adventure stories with an underdog story and complicated relationships. I have had a lot of fun reading these stories. This book, the climax to the first series, continues the tradition of clues buried in history and a quick plot that rolls to a suspenseful conclusion. Isabel is a horrible woman and a fitting antagonist for the end of the hunt. The final confrontation is filled with menace and emotion, although the way Isabel was finally defeated was a bit underwhelming. Despite that, this book is a strong conclusion to a series with a great premise and stories that became stronger as the series progressed. Yes, I'm a middle-aged woman, and I'm into this series. Someday my girls will be old enough to share the fun adventure with me.