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    The Girl Who Married an Eagle: A Mystery
    The Girl Who Married an Eagle: A Mystery
    The Girl Who Married an Eagle: A Mystery
    Ebook310 pages4 hours

    The Girl Who Married an Eagle: A Mystery

    By Tamar Myers

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Based on actual events in Tamar Myers's life, The Girl Who Married an Eagle is a beautiful addition to her Belgian Congo mystery series

    When Julia Elaine Newton, a young, pretty Ohio girl, volunteered to go on a mission to the Belgian Congo, she knew it was going to be a huge change. But she never expected to wind up teaching at an all-girls boarding school that consisted mostly of runaway child brides!

    Much to her chagrin, Buakane was born beautiful. If only she'd been ugly, Chief Eagle would not have noticed her. Escaping from an arranged marriage, the scrappy young girl finds her way to Julia Newton and the school. But this time her jilted husband will not be denied. Now it's up to Julia and Buakane to try to save the school as Congolese independence looms and Chief Eagle is set on revenge. With the help of Cripple, Cripple's husband, and even Amanda Brown, these plucky women must learn to save themselves.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 30, 2013
    ISBN9780062203861
    The Girl Who Married an Eagle: A Mystery
    Author

    Tamar Myers

    Tamar Myers is the author of the Belgian Congo series and the Den of Antiquity series as well as the Pennsylvania-Dutch mysteries. Born and raised in the Congo, she lives in North Carolina.

    Read more from Tamar Myers

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    Reviews for The Girl Who Married an Eagle

    4/5

    7 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Girl Who Married an Eagle takes place in the Belgian Congo shortly before it achieved its independence. Ohio native Julia Newton found herself enthralled by a missionary talk at her local church, and she signed up to go to the Congo. Meanwhile, eight-year-old Buakane found herself married off to a chief who had many other wives. Upon learning that she would be buried alive with him whenever he died, Buakane fled and had a too-close encounter with a hyena. Shortly thereafter she was picked up on the road by the vehicle taking Miss Newton to the missionary compound. Buakane also goes to live there, and the rest of the book details the progression of their lives together, along with the other missionaries. The thing is that there is really no mystery involved in this book. Perhaps this was a typo because it was an Advanced Reader Copy? No matter as the book is an enjoyable tale of life in African during that time period and is based on stories from the life of the author. Readers who like Africa stories will enjoy it.
    • 4/5
      I've often picked up a number of Tamar Myers' books for some of my 'cozy mysteries' displays at the library. She writes the Den of Antiquity as well as the Pennsylvania-Dutch with recipes series. But she also pens a third set of books that are quite different. These books are all set in Africa - the Belgian Congo - in the 1950's. The Girl Who Married an Eagle is the fourth book in this set. Julia Newton is entranced by a missionary's talk at her church in Ohio in the 1950's. The subject - the need for staff at a mission in Africa. Enthralled, this young woman heads to the Belgian Congo to teach at a school for runaway child brides. One runaway is Buakane - promised to Chief Eagle - a brutal powerful leader. Myer's narrative alternates between Julie, Buakane and Nurse Verna at the mission. But the most engaging voice is that of Clementine - the nine year old daughter of Henry - a widowed missionary. Clementine is precociously clever but still a lonely child. Can Julia adapt to this new land? Can she and the others at the mission keep the child brides safe? Will Chief Eagle reclaim Buakane? Myers has written a lovely little tale that will appeal to fans of Alexander McCall Smith. The language, the customs, the land, the people - I found all of the descriptions absolutely fascinating. "Forget all your preconceptions of what a town is, or ought to be, because the Belgian Congo had its own peculiar definitions. A place was a town only if it had white residents; no matter how large an all-black settlement, it was always called a village. But give it a handful of whites and it was sure to pop up on the map like mushrooms after the first September rain." I felt like I was sitting listening to a storyteller. Each of the narrator's voices is quite distinct and bring their own take to the tale. It was only after I finished reading The Girl Who Married an Eagle, that I learned of the author's background. Tamar Myers was born in the Belgian Congo to missionary parents. With that piece of knowledge, the book took on a different slant. Many of the situations and descriptions are from Myer's own life and are based on real events. I enjoyed this book, but the 'mystery' tag is a bit of a misnomer. There's not much mystery, but lots of questions as to the outcome of many situations. I found it to be an easy, enjoyable, informative read.
    • 3/5
      I received this book as part of LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I enjoyed the introduction into the way of life of the people of the Belgian Congo. The culture that was described was well-detailed and very interesting. The story took place right before the Congo became independent. I would have liked to have seen some of the aftermath of that independence written into the story, some of it was told in the aftermath at the end of the book. The characters of Buakane, Clementine, and Cripple were very well-developed and a joy to read about. I was disappointed in the development of the other characters, Julia just seemed superficial and immature and although she was supposed to be a main character, I really felt the story would have been better with her as a minor character. The Reverend Hayes was also not very well developed. I also felt the plot was not developed as well as it could have been. The plot only seemed to touch the surface of events that happened, and bounced between events without developing any plot points with great detail. The life at the girls' school, the situation the child brides found themselves in, or the political situation and the effects of Julia's and Cripple's actions were glossed over. Maybe if the book was longer so the plot could be more developed, would be a suggestion. The book was also advertised as a mystery, which it isn't., and the description on the back of the book does not match the characters or the story.
    • 4/5
      Other cultures are intriguing, aren't they? Very often a comparison between our own culture and that of a very different place can be not only educational, but surprising, illuminating, and amusing as well. When presented within the context of a light novel, such a contrast is both painless and fun, causing the reader to realize how provincial each of us is.Tamar Myers does this comparison smoothly and well in her Belgian Congo series. "The Girl Who Married an Eagle" tells the tale of a runaway child bride who fortuitously winds up at a missionary station where there is a school sheltering these young girls.While there is no mystery here, and only the tiniest possible amount of suspense, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. No hint of self-righteousness spoils the slight plot and marvelous look into a vanished way of life.
    • 4/5
      I received this book as an Early Reviewer and was looking forward the the advertised mystery, but this is not a mystery novel. That being said it is an interesting story based on fact. In the Belgian Congo African girls were married off as early as eight years old. This is the story about one such girl who runs away on her wedding day, is attacked by hyenas and is found by missionaries who save her. Initially I was put off by the heavy Christian themes, but they made sense as the story progressed. This story was compelling and full of quirky characters.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. I could hardly wait to finish it so I could find out what happened to Buakane. This book though did not really seem like a mystery though. I loved cripple. She had a sense of humor.
    • 4/5
      When a young girl, Buakane, is chosen to be the bride of Big Chief Eagle, she fears for her life and flees. Miraculously, she is found by missionaries who happen to run a school for escaped child brides.Julia Newton is an eager, inexperienced girl from Ohio who has just arrived in the Belgian Congo on her first misison.Big Chief Eagle threatens the mission when they refuse to return Buakane, and it is Julia, along with handsome widower Henry Hayes and his precocious daughter, Clementine, who work to save the school.This was a nice, light read. It was actually more of a romance than a mystery, but I really enjoyed it. The characters, especially Clementine, and the setting were wonderful.
    • 4/5
      For those of you who have read Tamar Myers' comic Amish and Den of Antiquity series, don't expect a cookie-cutter copy of her semi-slapstick cozy mysteries. However, for those of you who have read those series, be ready to tip your hat in salute to this writer's versatility. Myers' firsthand knowledge of the culture and geography makes this a colorful, slightly earthy, and heartily enjoyable read--a slightly grittier companion to the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. "The Girl Who Married an Eagle" came to me via Library Thing Early Review program, and I hadn't read its predecessors. No matter. It stands solidly on its own.
    • 5/5
      First, the bad news: This is the final book in Tamar Myers’s Belgian Congo series. It takes place in 1959, a few months before the country achieved independence.Now, the good news: It is one of, if not the best of her books. A wonderful story told with wit, humor, interesting characters, respect and understanding. It talks of beauty, sex, warfare, love, racism, laws, oppression, and human relations.Ohioan Julia Newton, fresh out of college, heard a missionary from Africa speak at her middle-of-the-road Protestant church in Oxford, Ohio, one Sunday morning. “It was a subject that made a lot of people uncomfortable, and since being comfortable was the American Dream, anything negative was to be left at the doorway of the church.” Afterwards, she had dinner at her minister’s home and heard more about his work. One of his concerns was a school for runaway child brides. Even though she was supposed to begin teaching school in Oxford, Julia decided to become a missionary and teach at the school.In the Congo, Julia learns about a life style totally different from her own. Not only are the lives of the African workers different, the lives and attitudes of the whites are also very different from hers. From Hank Hayes, a missionary whose late wife built the school, and his almost ten-year-old daughter Clementine, she learns about the African culture. The tribal system, for example, provided for a members survival. She is given a servant, an African woman named Cripple (who has appeared in previous books in the series) who presents the perspective of the Africans towards white people. Her thoughts and comments are often very funny as well as honest and informative.Clementine, a precocious child who reads the encyclopedia, is referred to as The Great Distraction by Verna Doyer, a nurse. She is married to Reverend Arvin Doyer. Verna is a very able practitioner who medical skills have helped the Africans immensely. However, she is also a very strict, religious, woman who firmly believes she is doing God’s work and considers the Africans inferior to the white race. At one point, as she is walking towards the clinic, she is admiring some pied crows. “Nurse Verna started to smile and even slowed her pace, before she remembered that she was on God’s mission and had not been led to Africa for the sights.” Near the end of the book, we learn why she is so harsh. The Doyers and Julia are very frustrated because the Africans will not accept the great gift they are trying to give them: Civilization and Salvation through Christianity. (The African’s response: “For was not the Old Testament, which the missionaries made them read in school, full of stories of betrayal and revenge?”) Only Protestant, though. Roman Catholics are doomed.Buakane, a member of the Bashilele tribe, was a perfect child: Beautiful, virtuous, honest, righteous, and more. When she is about twelve years old, the tribe’s chief, Eagle, decides he wants her to be his wife, the twenty third. Her father is paid a handsome dowry and she is taken to the Chief’s compound. While she is being prepared, she learns that when he dies (he is quite old), his wives are buried alive with him, often having their legs and arms broken. She runs away, is attacked by hyenas, and rescued by Hank and escapes with her only injury being the loss of a chunk of her thigh. He takes her to the Mission and, through her experiences, we see the way the Africans are treated by the missionaries. Eventually, Chief Eagle comes to claim her and the result of his visit wreaks havoc on the missionaries.The descriptions of the surroundings and the people are excellent. I felt like I was seeing it all for myself. The characters change and grow as their experiences influence their attitudes and behaviors. Reading THE GIRL WHO MARRIED AN EAGLE, like the other three books in the series, is an enjoyable, worthwhile experience. It is labled a mystery though it isn’t one in the traditional sense. Tamar Myers grew up the child of missionaries in the Belgian Congo in the 1950s and this book is based on actual experiences.I received an early reviewers copy of this wonderful book from LibraryThing.

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    The Girl Who Married an Eagle - Tamar Myers

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