The Girl Who Married an Eagle

Flashes of talent are evident in Myers’s uneven fourth and final Belgian Congo mystery (after 2012’s The Boy Who Stole the Leopard’s Spots). The main action opens with the winning line, “Julia Elaine Newton was young and naïve, but she was not altogether stupid”; the novel then goes on to recount Julia’s experiences as a missionary whom the locals dub “She Whose Name One Can’t Be Bothered to Remember.” And every so often, Myers comes up with a memorable way of describing the land where she was born and spent her early years (e.g., “Travel in the Belgian Congo was like pulling the handle on a slot machine—one that was rigged so that it never came up with three matching numbers”). But those looking for a mystery storyline are likely to be disappointed. Julia’s confrontations with a chief intent on getting his wife back will strike many as stagy rather than dramatic. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (May)