''Into the Gauntlet'' is the tenth book in ''
The 39 Clues
''The 39 Clues'' is a series of adventure novels written by a collaboration of authors, including Rick Riordan, Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis, Jude Watson, Patrick Carman, Linda Sue Park, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Roland Smith, David Baldacci, J ...
'' novel
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
. It was written by
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Margaret Peterson Haddix (born April 9, 1964) is an American writer known best for the two children's series, ''Shadow Children'' (1998–2006) and ''The Missing'' (2008–2015). She also wrote the tenth volume in the multiple-author series '' ...
and released on August 31, 2010.
The message on the cards is, "Only together can we fight the true enemy."
The secret message in the book is "The Cahills aren't the only ones looking for the Clues. The Vespers are coming."
Plot
''Into the Gauntlet'' begins as Amy and Dan Cahill enter a
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
hotel tired and with no lead whatsoever. They receive another lead, which Amy realizes leads to
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, so they go to a performance of ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' in
The Globe Theatre
The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...
. Once there, they confront the Starlings, who are back in the clue hunt after being sent to the hospital in an explosion back in ''
The Maze of Bones
''The Maze of Bones'' is the first novel of The 39 Clues series, written by Rick Riordan and published September 9, 2008 by Scholastic. It stars Amy and Dan Cahill, two orphans who discover, upon their grandmother Grace's death, that they are par ...
'', and steal their lead, but they are trapped by Jonah Wizard, who was forced back into the clue hunt by Cora Wizard, the Holts, Alistair Oh, and the Kabras. Hamilton Holt steals the piece of paper with the lead, but Dan rips off the top and bottom, and he and Amy run away while everyone else is fighting over the rest of the lead.
Amy and Dan realize that it leads to Shakespeare's grave site in
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
, and are among the last to arrive there. However, they are surprised to find that no one is fighting with each other and are instead making unsuccessful exchanges of clues and information. After the other teams leave, Dan rubs the grave and finds a secret message in which Shakespeare asks them to dig up his grave.
Inside Shakespeare's grave, Amy and Dan find a lead that takes them to the house of the original Cahills—a house on an island off the coast of Ireland. The other teams follow them there, but they are forced to work together as they make their way through the gauntlet, a series of doors with questions about the clue hunt. However, every door except the last is opened, and when they reach the vial that supposedly has the master serum, they find that Isabel Kabra beat them to it. She reveals that the serum is fake and forces them to give her all their clues to save the people they love. However, when Isabel is about to drink it, Ned Starling bursts into the room, and she turns towards him, about to shoot him with her gun.
Everyone unites and charges her, knocking the gun and the serum out of her hands. Only Amy and Dan hold her down while everyone else chases after the serum. In the ensuing fight, Amy destroys the serum, but everyone gives Amy and Dan their clues because they were the only ones that held down Isabel while they all chased after the serum.
After finding their way out of the gauntlet, the teams separate on amiable terms, and Amy and Dan stay behind with Fiske Cahill and Mr. McIntyre, who give them a letter from Grace. They then reveal that the entire Clue Hunt was just a preparation for the battle with another family. Amy and Dan are left in the legal custody of both their Great-Uncle Fiske and Nellie, but the letter makes it clear that their adventures aren't over yet.
References
External links
The 39 CluesOfficial website
Excerpt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Into The Gauntlet
2010 American novels
2010 children's books
Novels by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The 39 Clues novels
Sequel novels
Collaborative fiction
Novels set in Warwickshire
Novels set in London
Children's books set in London
Children's books set in Warwickshire
Children's books set in Ireland
Scholastic Corporation books