Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz is the fourth book in the Alex Rider series. It starts with Alex on a vacation to the south of France with his new friend Sabina Pleasure and her family. While on the beach one day he manages to accidentally catch a glimpse of Yassen Gregorovich and decides to tail him and figure out what is going on. Discovering he is working for international pop star and philanthropist Damian Cray, Alex decides to not get involved. A decision that lasts as long as it takes to discover that the beach house the Pleasures are staying at has been bombed. Convinced that Yassen is involved Alex investigates and manages a rather narrow escape when caught. Returning to England he tries to convince first Sabina about what is happening and then MI6. When they refuse to investigate based solely upon his word and scant evidence Alex becomes more determined than ever to discover the truth about Yassen and the involvement of Damian Cray. He instead quickly discovers that there is way more to the story and that the Pleasures are not the only target. Now he must find and stop Damian Cray, but this time he is without the support of MI6.
This book was a great read and it works to further break the mold or pattern that was set in the earlier books. I say that because Alex does the same type of thing he did in the earlier books but almost entirely on his own with minimal support from Jack instead of any agency. In fact MI6 practically goes out of their way to try and convince him not to investigate. It shows just how much of an impact his previous work with the agency has had and just how much Alex has changed from the first book. He is no longer that relatively naïve teenager that was first recruited and is instead a fairly competent agent. The part that, as an adult, I find disturbing is the fact that he is still a kid. Mind you that did not stop me from enjoying the book as it was still a great read and watching how Alex has changed and not entirely for the positive, was engrossing. Much like the previous books this book had an exceedingly complex and intricate plot. More so than some of the previous books actually. It also did a much better job with delaying the grand reveal of what was actually going on in order to help build the suspense. The whole time it was delaying the reveal it also did a good job of hiding what the ultimate plot was. I can honestly say that it was extremely difficult to put the pieces together as to what Damian Cray was planning. Definitely a hallmark of a good mystery or thriller. This book gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.
A great example of a teen thriller that would hold the most appeal for teen or young adult readers who prefer that genre though I could also see it appeal to adult readers who also enjoy that genre, like myself. There are the usual levels of violence and other related shenanigans associated with books about spies so keep that in mind when considering this. I would not recommend it for readers who are younger than their teens because of that. Outside of that there isn’t really any content that would be questionable so I genuinely have no problems recommending it. Though I would suggest you read the earlier books they are not required to enjoy this book even if they provide some extra background. If it sounds interesting I hope you will try it and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.