The Final Target

You saw the cover and, well, that’s all it took.

Throughout your life, you’ve been told that’s no way to judge a book, but it happens every day. With books and with people, the cover’s the first thing you see and judging is natural. Besides, you can always change your mind. As in the new novel, “The Final Target” by Nora Roberts, first impressions aren’t always final.

Arden Bowie was understandably nervous, but she knew she was in good hands.

Next Chapter bookstore had been her part-time home-away-from-home while she worked on her debut novel, so it was a natural choice for a book signing. She was overjoyed to learn that a nice-sized crowd had shown up – although one attendee was kinda creepy.

He told her his name was Dustin and he tried to engage her in conversation; Arden was polite but he persisted until she finally sat down with him at a coffee shop near her home and firmly told him no, she was not interested in befriending him. He seemed disappointed, but also harmless.

And that was that. Or was it?

She saw him here and there, often enough that it was no coincidence. She thought she spotted him sneaking around at a signing event in New York City, but who follows an author across the country like that? When someone broke into her apartment shortly after she returned home and stole a few random items, she thought of Dustin immediately. Then he showed up on Arden’s doorstep and forced himself into her apartment, and she knew politeness wasn’t a strong enough deterrent.

He beat her, assaulted her. She escaped; he was caught.

Once arrested, Dustin was sentenced to five years in a psychiatric facility, and Arden breathed a sigh of relief. She moved on with her life. Moved to Oregon.

Five years is an eternity, though, enough time to think about revenge. For five years, Dustin Dubecki seethed, cried pretend-tears, begged his mother for help getting early release.

When he got out, he’d kill her first. And then he’d hurt Arden Bowie...

At the outset of “The Final Target,” there’s a distinct Misery vibe that might feel disappointing. Been there, done that?

Patience, dear Reader.

Give it a minute, let this book stretch and settle into its own creepy groove, the kind that lurks just on the periphery of your sight, leaving an unsettling feeling that comes but never fully goes. Wait, as it quietly fusses at you, gently flapping as you devour a nice little romance within an otherwise mundane plot, one in which author Nora Roberts lulls you with quiet life, friends, family, conversation, and normalcy. Wait, and enjoy this romantic thriller.

Just don’t let yourself relax. Don’t do it. You’ve been warned.

If you’re casting about for your first afternoon-in-the-hammock, relaxing on the patio book, you can stop the search right here. “The Final Target” is exactly what you want to start your season, or to pause your book club for the summer. You'll love it cover to cover.