Book Review: The Target by David Baldacci

Finished May 22, 2014

Synopsis at Good Reads

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.


My Review at Good Reads

5 of 5 Stars

If I could give The Target more than 5 stars I would. Baldacci is definitely right up there in my list of favorite authors.

In the third Will Robie book, the second with Jessica Reel, drew me in from page one. The plot and subplot chronicle the lives of two very strong and deadly women that should be as different as their countries of origin, but the past experiences in the United States and North Korea have formed similar memories and present attitudes.

Robie and Reel are the CIA’s best or worst assassins. It depends which of their superiors you ask and some will still say “both.” The blood, sweat and torture they endure in “refresher” training definitely pose the question of whether it’s training or punishment.

I love that Reel and Robie are not impervious, but they succeed because they are very intelligent. There are three books in the series (so far?) and each has been better than the last. I highly recommend the whole series.