The Targets

by Sebastian Dark

[Kim Deister]

The Targets is the first of a new series starring the characters of Jackson Ryan and Mars Kilborn. The story was fast paced with all of the gruesomeness necessary for a good horror story. There were a ton of twists and turns that kept me guessing at the identity and motive of the murderer, and I love to be kept guessing. My only complaint was that, for me, there weren't enough questions answered for me by the end, which was a twist in and of itself. We found out the who but not the why. I'm hoping we get the answer in the next book.

The characters were great, very well developed, if a bit stereotypical. Ryan is a former NYPD detective turned PI turned police chief in the sleepy little town he grew up in. He was definately the stereotypical veteran cop from the big city set down in the middle of a backwoods town. His character was a little over the top, but furthered the contrast between himself and Kilborn. Kilborn was the well meanin, but less than stellar deputy and former leader of the police in the small town. He was the epitome of the bumbling country cop, not the brightest nor the most skilled at his job. They are a very unlikely pairing so it will be interesting to see how that plays out in future books in the series.

It almost seemed as if this is more of an installment in a serial rather than a novel within a series. Think of soap operas. Episodes are concluded with cliffhangers, with lots of questions unanswered, the "tune in next time" kind of thing. This book felt a lot like that, with lots of questions and an abrupt end mid-scene. And I found that I really liked that about it. It was a different feel than what I get from most books within a series and I dound it to be an interesting technique. And it worked. I definately want to read the next book!