Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz

2015, first published 2003  

     

This is the fourth of the Alex Rider books. Alex is on holiday in France with his not-quite-girlfriend and family.  He encounters contract killer Yassen Gregorovich whom he has met before. So when an explosion happens at the holiday home Alex assumes it is caused by Yassen trying to kill him.  In fact it is aimed at Sabine’s father who has discovered some secrets about pop star Damian Gray. 

Damian Gray has a reputation for being generous and has donated millions to charity. Yet Gray has a disturbing agenda; he wishes to kill off the populations of countries that produce drugs.  He claims he is being cruel to be kind. 

In this novel Rider acts alone and MI6 becomes involved too late. 

Sabine and her family relocate to the US at the end of the novel and as Gregorovich dies he tells Rider something awful about his father’s past.    

We read a little more about Jack in this novel than in the previous ones. 

The stakes have been raised yet again.  Alex seems to be growing older with his reader.    

The book is 331 pages long, with blocked text and an adult but simple font. The chapters are quite long.