Final Target by Steven Gore

Published by Harper on February 9, 2010

Graham Gage is a PI whose agency does high end work. When his best buddy, international transactions lawyer Jack Burch, is shot, Gage is drawn into a US Attorney's attempt to indict Burch for conspiring with SatTek Industries to launder money. The real conspiracy is something quite different.

Ample action and decent pace make up for a needlessly convoluted story that I won't even try to summarize -- Gore got a bit carried away with all the plot twists. The characters are cardboard although the portrayal of federal prosecutors and over-zealous law enforcement agents as willing to sacrifice the truth for the sake of a career boost rings true. Unfortunately, Gage is so full of himself I found it difficult to cheer for his success. It was easier to cheer for Burch since he's in a coma for much of the novel.

Novels of sophisticated financial crime and shady foreign markets are becoming more common. This is a decent entry in the field despite its flaws. I particularly liked the scenes that take place in Ukraine. With a tighter plot and stronger characters, however, this could have been a much better novel.  As it stands, I think readers would be better served by Gage's second effort, Absolute Risk, a novel that overcomes many of the faults that impaired my enjoyment of Final Target.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS