Masterminds Trilogy (corrected) - Gordon Korman

Written by Gordon Korman
Read by Ramon de Ocampo, Kelly Jean Badgley, Tarah Consoli, Mike Rylander, Maxwell Glick
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Masterminds
Series: Masterminds: Book 1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: February 3, 2015
Duration: 07:09:33

Eli Frieden lives in the most perfect town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico. Honesty and integrity are valued above all else. The thirty kids who live there never lie—they know it’s a short leap from that to the awful problems of other, less fortunate places.
Eli has never left Serenity . . . why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known.

The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents.

“A masterful story and a cast of five individual voices combine to deliver a real thriller. Told in the alternating viewpoints of five teenagers, the story begins in the boring, serene, and aptly named town of Serenity. Ramon de Ocampo as Eli is the best narrator of the quintet, transitioning from a bored, carefree, and pampered teen to a serious young man who is desperately unravelling a disturbing plot. Mike Rylander also shines in the difficult task of voicing Malik, the angry, cynical teen who will earn listeners’ grudging admiration. The five teens, three boys and two girls, will join forces against the adults in a town that is not what it seems. This thriller is the first in a series.”—AudioFile

Criminal Destiny
Series: Masterminds: Book 2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: February 2, 2016
Duration: 06:30:16

The clones of Project Osiris are free—but they’re being hunted. After their narrow escape from their “perfect” hometown, Eli, Tori, Amber, and Malik are finally in the real world and determined to expose the leaders of Serenity.

They decide to track down Tamara Dunleavy, the mysterious billionaire and founder of Project Osiris. Evading capture by breaking laws and sneaking into houses, hotels, buses, and cars—are they becoming the criminals they were destined to be?

What they discover will change everything, leading them straight into the Plastic Works and the heart of the experiment, in order to uncover the deadly criminals they’re cloned from—and any evidence that will convince the outside world to believe the truth.

But the outside world isn’t exactly what they expected—strangers aren’t just unfriendly, they’re dangerous. And the wrong move could send them right back into the arms of Dr. Hammerstrom—and trapped in Serenity for good.

On a breakneck journey from Jackson Hole to a maximum security prison—Eli, Tori, Amber, and Malik will stop at nothing to take Project Osiris down.

Payback
Series: Masterminds: Book 3
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: March 7, 2017
Duration: 06:53:38

After a serious betrayal from one of their former friends, the clones of Project Osiris are on the run again. Now separated into pairs, Eli and Tori and Amber and Malik are fighting to survive in the real world.

Amber and Malik track down the one person they think can help them prove the existence of Project Osiris, notorious mob boss Gus Alabaster, also known as Malik’s DNA donor. But as Malik gets pulled into the criminal world—tantalized by hints of a real family—his actions put him and Amber into greater danger.

Eli and Tori get sucked into even bigger conspiracies as they hunt down Project Osiris’s most closely guarded secrets—who does Eli’s DNA come from? With a surprising new ally and another cross-country adventure, the four will have to work together to overcome the worst parts of themselves if they are going to end Project Osiris once and for all.

(Adventure. Grades 5-8)