I have not heard of the Spy School series! That sounds very promising.

Yeah, now that I've read the first Gallagher Girls book, I agree it shouldn't qualify -- though I looked up synopses and it looks like some of the later ones might. But I'm letting E count it for the "thriller" category, which is stretching things but not unduly so (whereas I think it would be stretching things a little too much to call it "political thriller") :) I don't know anything about the Embassy Row books -- had not heard of them before this morning! :)