The Kiwi Target: A Novel of Suspense

It's likely that only New Zealand enthusiasts will enjoy this overplotted, confusing suspense novel. Ball ( In the Heat of the Night ) describes the country and its people in idealistic terms. When three men arrive there to pursue shady interests, their actions are immediately tracked by the omniscient police. Protagonist Peter Ferguson has been sent by his company, Swarthmore and Stone, to see recluse Alfred Bishop. He must get Bishop's proxy or his stock in order to prevent a hostile takeover of S and S by Pricane Industries. Ambitious Ted Kincaid, nicknamed ``the smiling assassin,'' must also ``persuade'' Bishop to sell his stock or proxybut to Pricane. The third man is assassin Edward Riley, who leads a group of Australian criminals in attacking cops, committing arson and murdering two men. These crimes seem to be unrelated to Ferguson and Kincaid but are not. When Ferguson goes to a small town to await a meeting with Bishop, he becomes involved with the death of an undercover policeman, an unexpected inheritance, a police investigation, and two beautiful women. Readers may need to take notes in order to follow this twisting tale to its conclusion. (Nov.)