Moving Target: A Novel of Suspense (Ali Reynolds Book 9)

This is not an extremely tense thriller, nor is it filled with extreme mind-boggling suspense. Well, maybe just a bit tense in places and some mind-boggling pages; however, it is an easy entertaining read with just enough mystery to cause the reader to keep turning pages to find out who-done-it. It is well edited, and has likeable characters.The case of a teenager, in a Texas juvenile detention center, who is found with broken and badly burned legs and whose life is hanging by a thread, is a bit more complex than the cold case homicide of 60 years prior across the Atlantic in England.The heroine, amateur sleuth, Ali Reynolds is very involved in trying to solve both cases, as is her fiancée, B., and her good friend Sister Anselm. Ali is spending a few days in England with her ageing British born friend and employee, Leland Brooks, who is getting reacquainted with long estranged family members. He discovers that his father's death, so long ago, was a homicide and was never solved. He asks Ali to investigate. She does, and lands herself into a bit of personal danger which has the prospect of becoming life threatening. As Ali follows the clues, the reader may be a bit surprised at the development and ending of this cold case.B. is in Japan on business and believes the Texas teenager's accident was an attempted homicide. Well, of course, in spite of the land and water between, Ali gets involved in this case as well, and the investigations become interesting indeed. Sister Anselm is the guardian angel for the badly injured teen. Sister Anselm, sometimes called the Angel of Death because of her role as a patient advocate to seriously injured patients, is quite a colorful individual herself. Ali and B. are putting the puzzle pieces together while body counts are climbing for those trying to either help or steal from the teenager. He has a secret that could be worth mega bucks and somebody wants it badly enough to kill for what is not rightfully theirs.Slowly and methodically things fall into place to find a satisfactory ending for everyone......the good guys, that is.

"Moving Target" is one of the most unexciting crime/cyber thrillers that I have read recently. It is a lot of mundane private detective mumbo jumbo mixed up with a bit of cyber nonsense to give it a contemporary feel.Ali Reynolds is getting stressed with plans for her forthcoming wedding to wizard computer security expert, B. Simpson. She is only too happy to go with her octogenarian gay assistant Leland Brooks to see his estranged family in England that he hasn't seen since his father disowned him at the end of the Korean War because of his sexuality. The big plus is that she can choose a wedding dress away from the watching eye of her interfering mother.While in England they meet with Leland's mixed up family ranging from a charming and helpful gay young man to a couple of bitter and nasty cousins - Maisie and Daisy (oh dear!). In the process they find out that nobody had told Leland that his father was murdered and the case is still open. Ali and Leland get access to bloodstained clothing and set out to get DNA to try to prove that the murderer was Leland's unscrupulous but now dead brother, Langston.Back in Texas teenage computer genius Lance Tucker has developed some ground-breaking software GHOST that will revolutionise web security. Before he can finalise the software he is put into juvenile detention after he hacked and closed down the school district's computer system in protest at a proposal that all students should wear a trackable identity bracelet. While Lance is in detention someone sprays him with a flammable liquid and sets him on fire. His computer teacher apparently commits suicide and Lance and his family are in danger from people wanting to use the software for criminal purposes.Ali's fiancée B. Simpson, called B. because his real name is Bart [oh dear!] is a rich computer security expert. B investigates what is happening to Lance because he feels responsible for Lance getting an excessive sentence for a reasonably trivial offence. B. is interested in hiring Lance to develop GHOST for legitimate purposes. From all parts of the world B. get his associates try to protect Lance from evil forces. The most charismatic character is a Catholic Sister that B. sends to help Lance. She doesn't believe in guns but always carries a taser for her personal protection (of dear!). B. also uses a retired priest who happens to be a former Navy SEAL (oh dear!).All in all this was not a very exciting read. The English sidetrack added nothing to the plot and IMHO Ms Jance should leave cyber-crime to others who are better qualified in that complex area. This is the first time I have encountered Ali Reynolds and B. who are not exactly the kind of charismatic characters I would expect to see as the lead in a popular crime series.

I've enjoyed reading J.A.Jance's novels for more than seventeen years, and love all the characters, who are like old friends by now. This one, like every other one I've read is exciting, well thought out and believable. I'm off to order the next one now.

good

If you're a Jance fan, this is a must. Another in the Ali Reynolds series sees the bad guys caught with the able assistance of her now fiancé and his sidekick. In this book, two separate cases are solved. And in true Jance fashion, there is a happy ending. Can't wait for the sequel with the wedding! Obviously that will go off without a hitch... or will it?

I always enjoy Judy Jance's novels. They have a good story and a good mystery