No surprises?

David Lubar's new book, True Talents, is a stand-alone sequel to his excellent Hidden Talents. As it is published in the wake of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it will come as no surprise to anyone that the evil scientists who try to use psi powers for their own gain come to no good end. It might be a surprise to some, though, that True Talents is an even better book than the first one was. True to its title, it shows the group of boys growing into their talents and learning that with their great power comes great responsibility.

My favorite part is when Martin sends the evil scientist to Cheater's hospital room, in an attempt to escape from his clutches.

"The man pulled the curtain around the bed and sat in the chair. 'Your friend Martin tells me you can see the future.'
'No, I can read minds.' That's what Cheater would have blurted out if he hadn't been trying to avoid moving his jaw so much. As he bit back the words, his brain went from high gear to overdrive.
Obviously Martin had spilled their secret. But he'd spilled the wrong information. Why? Because Martin must have wanted to bring the two of them together. But why would Martin mention psychic powers? He would never reveal their secret. Which meant it wasn't a secret. So the man knew something. But not the right thing. And he definitely didn't know anything about mind-reading."
Cheater felt like he was holding a weak hand in a game he had to win. He couldn't fold. He had to play it out. Barely moving his lips, he whispered, 'I can only see blurry stuff.'
'What?' the man asked.
Cheater whispered again, even more quietly, making sure he slurred his words.
The man leaned over so his ear was directly above Cheater's mouth. Cheater opened his mind to the man's thoughts.
This time, it was even harder to keep from blurting everything out. The man had taken Martin, Flinch, and Trash to a building somewhere and locked them up. He was on a mission to find anyone with useful psi talents.
'Where's Martin?' Cheater asked.
'Just tell me about your power,' the man said. But the address ran through his mind.

Although it's not a surprise that the evil scientist is vanquished, it's fun to see how it happens, and there are some big surprises along the way. I can guarantee you won't be able to guess all the secrets before they're revealed.