The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl #2) by Eoin Colfer

The Arctic Incident sees the slightly older, perhaps slightly more mellow arch-criminal Artemis recovered from his last adventure, richer now that he has his half of a hoard of fairy gold, and happier since the Clarice Starlingesque superfairy Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon returned his mother's ailing mind to full health. But there is still much unfinished business: Artemis Fowl Sr. disappeared when a daring escapade designed to free his family from their criminal--not to mention deeply lucrative--past and move the family's assets into legitimate enterprises went horribly wrong. Held captive by the Mafiya (the Russian organized crime syndicate) for over two years, he has been declared officially dead, but Artemis Jr. knows in his heart (yes, he does have one) that his beloved father is still alive, and he is determined to find him. Meanwhile Captain Short is temporarily on assignment to Customs and Excise as punishment for letting Fowl separate her and her People from their gold and is finding her stakeout duties a little dull. It soon becomes obvious that the pair have need of each other's considerable skills, and before long they are on track for an adventure that will ultimately have far-reaching consequences for both of them.

The Arctic Incident is a worthy follow up to Artemis Fowl in every way. Like its predecessor it’s short and easy to read with a lot of action and adventure packed into a little space. I liked how the plot made Fowl and the Faeries friends, it was a good twist and made it so much easier to find a villain to root against. The villain behind the Bwa’Kell is well written. I was especially appreciative of how many characters were re-used from the first book. It is nice to watch them grow, especially Holly and Artemis. I like how Holly has to get over her problems with Artemis because she needs him. Artemis does a lot of growing in this book, he's shown as a lot more emotional and acts a bit more like his age.  The few new characters are very thought-out, and I look forward to seeing them again (wow, it’s hard to write this without spoiling the book!). I received a copy of this book free through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.