The Target by David Baldacci – a Review
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Description:
The President knows it’s a perilous, high-risk assignment. If he gives the order, he has the opportunity to take down a global menace, once and for all. If the mission fails, he would face certain impeachment, and the threats against the nation would multiply. So the president turns to the one team that can pull off the impossible: Will Robie and his partner, Jessica Reel.
Together, Robie and Reel’s talents as assassins are unmatched. But there are some in power who don’t trust the pair. They doubt their willingness to follow orders. And they will do anything to see that the two assassins succeed, but that they do not survive.
As they prepare for their mission, Reel faces a personal crisis that could well lead old enemies right to her doorstep, resurrecting the ghosts of her earlier life and bringing stark danger to all those close to her. And all the while, Robie and Reel are stalked by a new adversary: an unknown and unlikely assassin, a woman who has trained her entire life to kill, and who has her own list of targets–a list that includes Will Robie and Jessica Reel.
Review:
The Target by David Baldacci is the third book in his wonderful Will Robie series. I first became a big fan of Baldacci when reading his awesome Camel Club series, and this series is equally as good. Baldacci writes political thrillers that are action packed, suspenseful stories, and super heroes/heroines.
The Target is about CIA assassin Will Robie and his female counter part, Jessica Reel, as they are called in to help on a major mission that is backed by the President. In fact, this mission is so secret, only the President, CIA Director and National Security know of this mission. If it fails, the consequences will be disastrous.
In the last book, Robie joined hands with Reel, who had gone rogue, to stop American traitors, putting themselves on the line, with everyone gunning for them. But they survived, and in the end they both received medals. The CIA director resents them, and now before they can go on this mission, he puts them through a tense, exhaustive, life threatening training session, to prove that they are still the best.
But before the mission can begin, everything goes wrong, and the President calls Robie and Reel in to help alleviate a dangerous situation with North Korea. Robie and Reel are the best at what they do, and both the President & the CIA Director know that they are the only ones who can get them out of this. To help safe face and prevent a war, they are sent to France to remove the only person who can identify the US as participants in this misfired attempt against the leader of North Korea.
From the start, we are also given a glimpse at two other backstories. One a young Korean lady, who came from a concentration camp, with deplorable conditions, and who eventually has become their best assassin. We see her discover the original plot, then given the assignment for revenge against the Americans. Along the way, we learn from her memories, the torture she endured to get where she is today, which plays a major part in this exciting race to the finish.
The other story was about an old man on death row, who is considered one of the most dangerous and violent criminals. He however is dying of cancer, and wants to meet his daughter. We know he is evil, but we have no idea what his real plan is.
Most of this is early on the book when it sets the stage for an exciting, amazing storyline that has you holding your breath many times. I do not want to give spoilers, but there is so much action, and even though you know there isn’t a better team than Robie and Reel, we thought so many times this was the end. If you want a thriller, excitement, non-stop action and a story, with so many twists, as well as a hero and heroine that you marvel at; then The Target by David Baldacci is not to be missed.
Reviewed by Barb
