Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer)

This audio book kept me company on a long car trip, and I loved every minute! Artemis Fowl is a 12-year-old genius, the only child in a very wealthy family operating on the fringes of the law (and often over the edge). After his father disappears, his mother becomes unhinged, and the family fortune is diminished, Artemis and his loyal bodyguard Butler embark on a complex plot to restore that fortune: kidnapping a fairy to extort gold as her ransom. This fairy is a trained operative in the fairy military, and the entire force of fairy might is focused on getting her back and defeating Artemis. The story is delightfully inventive, with unexpected but entirely logical twists and turns, and led to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion. I will definitely read more.