The Amulet of Samarkand By Jonathan Stroud

Remember when our alphabet agencies--CIA, DIA, NSA, FBI--were actually competent? Are you sure? Maybe they were just better at burying their mistakes...
This book is almost too funny to be fiction. Phil Jennings' tales of hilarity and criminality are matched only by the front pages of Amercia's newspapers, and my laughter only stopped when I wondered: could this be true? -Nathaniel Fick, former U.S. Marine Captain and author of One Bullet Away