THE TARGET by David Baldacci

Finished Sa 10/13/19

This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. Typical Baldacci stuff- action packed and a relentless pace, yet the characters are more 'one dimensional' and not fully developed- more caricatures rather than actual personalities.

Jessica Reel and Will Robie- two federal agents that would give James Bond, or Maxwell Smart, a run for their money.

TWO PLOTS:

1) Jessica's father is a Neo-Nazi and is in prison and dying of cancer incarcerated for life. Jessica entered witness protection after decimating her father's group. Her father lures her to the prison by telling a doctor that his last wish is to see 'his baby girl'. The group kidnaps a close friend of Will's and forces Jessica to turn herself in to the group in exchange for the release of  Julie. Julie is a teenage girl who Will had saved in a previous novel.

2) A North Korean assassin, Chung- Cha grew up in a violent North Korean prison camp. She was forced to murder her family just to live. All inmates are forced to squeal on each other and the guards show no mercy.
She is sent on a mission to kill the first lady of the president of the US and her two children.
The First Family (without the president) spends Halloween on Nantucket Island. This is where Chung-Cha and her team of killers make the assassination attempt.
Chung-Cha 'adopted' a ten year old girl from the prison camp, Min. She takes Min on the hit because she convinces her bosses that Americans are more sympathetic to a woman with a young child. 

SUBPLOT: The US had contacted a senior official in North Korea and this man was going to overthrow the government. This man is found out by the Koreans and Chung-Cha is sent to kill him, but the man commits suicide before she can do the hit. Before he dies, he asks the US to save his two children. They are in the same prison camp that Chung-Cha was from.

RESOLUTION:

In the hit at Nantucket Chung-Cha and five of her assassins have Jessica, Will, and the president's family cornered. But Chung-Cha switches sides and takes out the five assassins in less than a minute. However, an American policeman comes down into the basement and kills Chung-Cha because he didn't realize that she was actually saving the day.

Min is allowed to live in the US and she stays with Julie's foster father. And it's alluded to that Jessica and Will will play a large role in teaching Min the ways of Americans.

This is the third book in the Will Robie series.