Defend the Clues.
"We cheated death so many times. It's going to end here, like this?"
— Dan Cahill's thoughts
Vespers Rising is the eleventh and final book in the first series of The 39 Clues, serving as a prequel to the second series, Cahills vs. Vespers.
Fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother Dan thought they could return to their regular lives when they found the 39 Clues that safeguard their family’s great power. But they were wrong. Powerful enemies – the Vespers – have been waiting in the shadows. And they’ll stop at nothing to grab the Clues. Four powerhouse authors unite to expose the 500-year-old secret struggle between the Cahills and the Vespers. The Vespers are rising... and the world is in jeopardy.
Tropes (Gideon Cahill - 1507):
- Doomed by Canon: Since this is a prequel story, it's already been established by the original series that Gideon will die in a fire, the four siblings will have a falling-out and go their separate ways afterward, and Olivia will survive and give birth to a fifth, Madeleine.
- Foregone Conclusion: The Cahill siblings will not stay together, as they are torn apart over their individual agendas. Of course, Olivia doesn't die, as she will give birth to Madeleine Cahill, the founder of the Madrigals.
Tropes (Madeleine Cahill - 1526):
- Hope Spot: At one point, Madeleine tells Luke that she is his unknown sister, and that she had come to try to bring him back to the side of good. For a moment, he is awed and seemingly confirms this, before he shuts her down with the revelations that other people have already tried to impersonate being relatives with him, and that he believes she is one of those people.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: At the end. Luke, being the manipulative, scheming sibling of the Cahills, can only kneel in silent fear when he sees a message scrawled in the ground for him:Beware the madrigal
- That Man Is Dead: By the end of the story, her attempt to bring back Luke has failed, and she declares this:From this point on, Mandy Babbitt was dead.
Long live Madeleine Cahill.
Tropes (Grace Cahill - 1942):
- I Am What I Am: Grace defiantly states this towards Beatrice by the end, after the latter is calling out the former on her disappearance:"I know exactly who I am. I'm Grace Cahill."
Tropes (Amy and Dan Cahill - Present):
- Early-Bird Cameo: Evan Tollier, Amy's friend at school. He has a bigger role in the second series, Cahills vs. Vespers.
