“Alex Rider lay on his back, drying out in the mid-day sun.”

From Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider: Eagle Strike.

Teen spy, Alex Rider, is vacationing/recuperating with his friend Sabina and her parents in France, trying to enjoy a bit of normal life, but just like everything else in his life lately, it quickly turns into a deadly mission.  This most recent  life-or-death turn of events is kick started with Alex catching sight of Russian assassin, Yassen Gregovich (who killed Alex’s uncle, Ian), while on vacation.  An explosion injures Sabina’s father and comes close to killing Alex, which leaves him with an internal struggle with guilt for putting the innocent family in danger.  Alex sets off after Gregovich and quickly ends up on the trail of a famous pop star named Damian Cray.  Alex is convinced that Cray is up to something evil given his connection with Gregovich, but MI6 refuses to look deeper into the issue.  Left with nowhere else to turn, Alex decides to find out what Cray is planning and stop him before it’s too late… even if he has to do it alone.  Alex is quickly finds himself in the middle of Cray’s plan as well as a hostage situation that leaves young Alex no room for error if he wants to save those closest to him.

The fourth book in the Alex Rider series is action-packed, to say the least.  Horowitz does an amazing job of giving Alex’s character life, depth, and a wide range of emotion; instead of just throwing the same main character into a new mystery, he writes a character that has been changed by the events of the previous books.  Horowitz’s writing style is also enjoyable for readers that like a quick-paced, but strongly developed plot.  Eagle Strike is a crazy, fun read from start to finish and not to be skipped.