Crocodile Tears

Crocodile Tears

Second edition cover
Author	Anthony Horowitz
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Alex Rider series
Genre	Adventure, Spy novel
Publisher	Walker Books
Publication date	12 November 2009 (UK) 17 November 2009 (US)[1]
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	408
ISBN	9780399250569
Preceded by	Snakehead
Followed by	Scorpia Rising

Crocodile Tears is the eighth novel in the Alex Rider series by British author Anthony Horowitz. It was released in the UK on 12 November 2009, published by Walker Books, and in the U.S. on 17 November 2009. On 17 December 2008, the title was revealed (in code) to be Crocodile Tears.^[2] The book was succeeded by Scorpia Rising, released in March 2011.^[3]

Plot

Ravi Chandra (an Indian technician working at a nuclear power station) plants a bomb in the nuclear reactor of the Jowada Nuclear Power Station just north of Chennai in India, after being persuaded to do so by a European man who promises him a lot of money. However, the bomb explodes when activated, killing him, the European having lied that there was a ten-minute countdown. Among the charities to respond to the disaster, one is First Aid, a British charity known for its unfailing generosity.

A couple of months later, Alex Rider is on vacation with Sabina Pleasure and her family in Scotland, and they (except for Sabina's mother Liz) go to the New Year's Party in Kilmore Castle. During the journey, Edward Pleasure tells Alex about their host Desmond McCain and his history, including his criminal record and his apparent conversion to Christianity. During the party, Alex meets McCain himself and is drawn into a game of Texas Hold'Em Poker with him and another man. He ends up winning the game but decides to donate all the money to First Aid (McCain's charity). When they are driving back home one of their car's tires blows and it plunges into the loch below. Alex frees Sabina and Edward from the sunken car wreck which almost killed them. They wash up ashore and luckily all three are rescued by a man Rahim, whose origins are currently unknown. Despite his doubts that it was a sniper, Alex ignores it and returns to London.

While on his way back from school one day soon after, Alex walks to Brompton Cemetery and visits his uncle's grave. However, in the graveyard he is ambushed by three Chinese men, who claim that they have come for revenge for Major Yu, the main antagonist in the previous story, and tried to kill him. Alex uses his karate skills to defend himself from the men and leaves, unaware that his movements are being tracked. He and his guardian (Jack Starbright) are then visited by a freelance journalist called Harry Bulman, who is aware of Alex's past missions with MI6 and offers to break the story. Alex, fearing his life is spinning out of control, contacts MI6. He meets Alan Blunt and Tulip Jones, who tell him to gather information on a man called Leonard Straik while on his upcoming school trip to Greenfields, and in exchange, they will discourage Bulman. Alex reluctantly agrees, and is supplied with gadgets by Smithers, including two explosive Gelignite pens. Thereafter, John Crawley devises a plan entitled ‘Operation Invisible Man’, which involves measures such as draining the money from Bulman's Oyster card, as well as broadcasting on the news that he has been found dead. Afterwards, he meets Bulman and makes it clear that his life will be over if he ever tries to approach Alex Rider again.

Meanwhile, Alex has one of his friends cover for him as he breaks away from the main group to break into Straik's office. He recognises Straik as the other man from Desmond McCain's Poker Game and is shocked to find McCain himself. He steals a sample of deadly poisonous mushroom soup from Straik's desk, and narrowly escapes the compound guards, rejoining his friends. Alex takes the mushroom soup sample to MI6. Redwing, the Chief Science Officer, and Smithers analyse the sample but cannot make anything dangerous about it. Meanwhile, whilst looking on CCTV surveillance with Dr Bennet and Leonard Straik, McCain recognises Alex and puts out the word for information. McCain meets Harry Bulman and the journalist tells the priest about Rider. McCain, distrusting Bulman, shoots him to silence him. At this point Blunt and Jones are still trying to figure out the relevance of the stolen sample.

After McCain finds out about Alex's secret life with MI6, Alex is kidnapped by Myra Bennett (McCain's assistant and lover) and flown to the Simba Camp in Kenya. McCain meets him and tells him about his plan: to bring about a biblical plague that will destroy half the continent of Africa to earn billions of dollars through a fake charity appeal by First Aid. The sample is actually an activating agent that transforms wheat fields into lethal weapons harbouring Ricin, a natural toxin. He also tells Alex that he has murdered Straik. The next day, McCain interrogates Alex, torturing him by making him hang over a lake with Simba Crocodiles. McCain will only get rid of the crocodiles if Alex tells him the right information. Alex tells him but McCain changes his mind and leaves him with the crocodile, with Bennett staying watching from the observation platform. Suddenly, Bennett is stabbed by Rahim (the man who rescued Alex and his companions in the loch) and she is torn apart by the Simba crocodiles. Rahim explains briefly that he is an Indian RAW operative attempting to exact revenge on McCain for what he did in the power plant. Alex and Rahim quickly escape to where Rahim parachuted and Alex sends a message to MI6 through RAW. When Rahim passes out due to sickness, he takes it upon himself to destroy the crops. While McCain's guards try and stop him, Alex blows up the Simba Dam, killing them and flooding the valley with the water from the Zambezi River, destroying the crops. He is rescued by Rahim again on a stolen crop duster. However, when they land for refuelling at Laikipia, McCain appears and shoots Rahim. Alex tries to get away but dislocates his ankle in the process. Just as McCain is about to shoot him, Alex uses a leaking petrol drum and the last Gelignite pen to initiate an explosion that sets the priest aflame.

A few weeks later, as Alex recuperates in a London hospital, Mrs. Jones and Jack meet and confirm that this was his last mission. Jack congratulates Alex that his Fifteenth birthday is finally here and promises him that MI6 won't ever use him again.

References