Eagles Die Too

The Jessica James Mysteries, Book 4

By: Meg O'Brien

Narrated by: Cathi Colas

She's been called headstrong. She's been called opinionated. Hell, she's been called everything in the book, and now, in this fourth mystery in the acclaimed series, the outlaw Jesse James rides again.

It's springtime in upstate New York, where the lilacs are in bloom and love is all around—even for Jessica James, full-time investigative reporter and part-time fool. Well, why shouldn't she be? Everyone else is in love: her mother, still honeymooning with the mischievous Charlie Browne; and her sometime lover, mobster Marcus Andrelli, who seems to have forgotten Jesse and taken up with another woman. For Jesse, though, love is literally in the air, with a handsome pilot named Mac Devlin.

The mystery starts simply, and in Jesse's never-dull world, that's a feat. A mysterious man is shadowing Mac, and the reporter instinct in Jesse takes over. What does this stranger want, and how does it involve her mother's elusive new husband, who disappears as quickly as he appears, always with Jesse's mom in tow? Mac and Jesse team up—reluctantly at first—to find the vanished newlyweds. Together, they are drawn into a perilous and deadly game of blackmail and secrets from the past, where the high-flying stakes mean life or death.

©1992 Meg O'Brien (P)2024 David N. Wilson

Familiar Characters & Beats

The continuity in the Jessica James mystery books is one of their strengths, familiar characters solving mysteries and evolving relationships. Here this is a strength and a weakness ending up feeling like a soapy rehash of earlier books by revisiting character traits in somewhat the same way they were visited before. I appreciate the breezy nature of these novels and their character minded basis but it is starting to feel a bit formulaic despite a cool aviation atmosphere here with some moral ambiguity. These books often have interested challenging subtext that don't take away from the plot but pop more when you think about the storyline. The main plot here feels too similar to Hare Today Gone Tomorrow (book 3) with it’s basis in Jessica’s mother’s guy being secretive and an unknown, which is an interesting plot but too soon to revisit on the heels of the last book centered on a similar plot. There is a love interest child subplot that is starting to feel similarly a bit stagnant, introduced but backburnered and re-referenced in a way that doesn't seem to move forward - more a reminder of status quo than an entertainment or engagement of interest. The text starts to feel more conversational after a while, which really lets the characters breath but is less visceral. I’m enjoying these well enough to look forward to the most recent iteration of the series. So far I think book 2 has been my favorite in the series.

Interesting characters

Enjoyed the story. The author does a great job bringing the characters to life. Does have some language. Good narrator.