Target

by Simon Kernick, Random House, 368 pages, $38.99.

Reviewed by Victoria Guild - Nelson

Last updated 10:45 20/01/2010

Relevant offers

Book Reviews

A world full of words as art Seeing Further Line of Fire Ripping good stories evoke place superbly The 7 Gifts That Came To Earth by John Mellor Fallen Lustrum The Wonder of Whiffling and Other Extraordinary Words in the English Language, Cravat-a-licious Promised New Zealand: Fleeing Nazi Persecution

On a boozy night out Rob Fallon ends up at the apartment of his best mate's ex-girlfriend Jenny, but before anything can happen, two men break in and kidnap her while Fallon is in the bathroom.

When they discover his presence they try to kill him, but he escapes and reports the incident to the police.

Unfortunately no-one believes him, as her father claims she is overseas and the doorman says he didn't hear or see anything.

We follow Fallon as he refuses to let the matter rest and attempts to find Jenny, while trying to avoid being killed.

It's a non-stop ride from the first chapter with plenty of blood spilt along the way.

There's no room for sentimentality as likeable characters are bumped off even quicker than the rotters.

Fallon seems to have nine lives as he barely survives several attempts to knock him off, getting a little more banged around each time.

The first half of the novel was a good read as Fallon regularly fought for his life while trying to find Jenny.

Then there's the obligatory twist, which is a bit of a let down to be honest, then a resolution to the twist, which does not give rise to the usual happy ending.

The book kind of loses its way after that, seeming to hastily speed to its conclusion.

However, the characters are well drawn.

Kernick manages to convey the central thug's cold and calculating killing ability so well you begin to fear him showing up, and Fallon's determination to keep trying to find Jenny despite being battered and bruised doesn't fall into action-hero parody.