cover image Final Target

Final Target

Steven Gore, . . Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (420pp) ISBN 978-1-59058-749-2

Getting shot during his morning jog through San Francisco's posh Pacific Heights neighborhood may be one of attorney Jack Burch's lesser problems, as his best friend, cop-turned-PI Graham Gage, swiftly discovers in Gore's promising, Bourne -again debut. Among other problems Burch faces while he remains in intensive care are a violent robbery at his law office; pressure from Russian and Ukrainian gangsters steamed about a natural gas deal he just brokered; and rumors he might be the focus of a probe into fraud at a failed Silicon Valley defense contractor, SatTek. Within days, Gage and his gumshoes are chasing leads on three continents—and finding a toxic web of corruption, treachery, and dead ends. Gore, a former Bay Area private investigator, knows how to tell a compelling story, though the overly convoluted plot and uneven characterizations undercut the suspense toward the end. (May)