“The Target” by David Baldacci – The Assassin’s Gauntlet

Though Will Robie and Jessica Reel are assassins, they keep on existing far past what their line of work entails for two reasons: they work for the “good guys” (that is to say, the government) and are the best at what they do.

In The Target David Baldacci brings to us yet another story featuring the two protagonists; this time around, they are paired up by request of the President, sending them on a very dangerous mission with incalculable potential repercussions to put an end to a global threat. They already have their work cut out for them, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Both Robie and Reel also find themselves on the hit list of a mysterious killer who trained her whole life for it, there is someone working in the shadows to ensure they do not survive this mission, and just to top things off, Reel finds herself having to contend with personal demons, ones that could put her as well as her loved ones in terrible danger.

As one can expect from David Baldacci, and of course from the short description of the book given above, what you are getting into here is a fast-paced, no holds-barred international thriller that pits assassins, politicians, spies, masterminds, and all sorts of dangerous personalities one against the other. The whole mission is indeed quite risky, and Baldacci does a very good job of making you understand and feel what is really at stake.

He also magnificently creates just enough doubt to make us believe that a bad ending would not be out of the question, without of course making things unrealistically-hard for our heroes. The main hunt certainly drives the story at a furious pace and seeing Robie and Reel plan such a complex endeavor really is captivating.

Of course, as is always the case, there are numerous side elements besides the main plot which serve to complicate things, make them more interesting, and develop the characters.

At this point, it should not be surprising that someone is working from the shadows to manipulate Robie and Reel, but it still manages to come across as a palpable menace which may end up delivering on what it promises.

Reel’s personal life segments are rather endearing I’d have to say, adding to her depth as a character and allowing us to see her as a real human being, rather than a ruthless killing machine.

Finally, the addition of the last mysterious assassin to the bunch may feel like a bit of an overkill, but she isn’t overdone nor is she paid more attention than she deserves. That mysterious assassin subplot does go into unexpected places, in the sense that it has more depth and elements of interest than you probably imagine.

In the end, The Target is, in my opinion, one of the more solid and enjoyable David Baldacci novels out there, being solid on literally every front there is, perhaps only being just a slight bit disappointing in the innovation department… but no book is perfect, and this one seems to comes as close as it possibly can to it, at least for the genre.

If you want a captivating and fast-paced international assassin thriller that goes beyond the call of duty to provide us with a complete work, then this is definitely worth a read.

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David Baldacci Personal site Certainly one of the more famous authors of the 21st century, David Baldacci was always gearing himself to become a prominent writer, beginning his work at a very young age as a child. He gifted the readers with countless classics and bestsellers such as The Innocent and Absolute Power.