Reviewed by Kristin
J.A. Jance begins her latest Ali Reynolds adventure, Moving Target, with two
main storylines. Ali’s fiancée, B.
Simpson, is looking into a case regarding an incarcerated juvenile computer
hacker who is severely burned one night while putting up Christmas tree lights
in the detention center’s recreation room.
At the same time, Ali is flying to England with her friend and property
manager, 80-plus-year-old Leland Brooks, who has not been “home” since his
family disowned him in 1954.
Lance Tucker, one month short of eighteen and his release
from the juvenile detention center, is a brilliant computer programmer who
hacked into his school’s system as a protest against the proposed teacher and
student GPS tracking system. Lance has
been a well-behaved offender, and is hoping to find a decent college that will
accept him with a lowly GED. Lance is
famous in the hacker world for building GHOST, a computer program that would
allow internet users to explore the “dark web” completely undetected. B. is concerned about Lance when he lands in
the hospital due to burns accelerated by a spray adhesive because he, B., was the
cyber-security expert who testified in Lance’s trial. Feeling more than a little guilt and
responsibility for the incarceration and subsequent burns suffered by Lance, B.
is intent on finding out exactly why someone might wish Lance harm.
At the same time, Ali has arranged a trip to England for her
dear friend Leland, who was unceremoniously cut off from his family after his
brother lashed out at him for being attracted to another man. Their father was killed a month after Leland
set sail on a tramp steamer to the United States, and Leland never knew the
complete circumstances surrounding his father’s death. Even though his brothers and their mother
have all been gone for many years, Ali and Leland delve into an investigation
of what exactly happened all that time ago.
Police reports and evidence filed away in a musty basement begin to fill
in the missing details of this long unsolved homicide. Ali and Leland meet his delightful
great-nephew, and also encounter a couple of not-so-delightful cousins who were
young girls when Leland was shamed and forced to take his leave.
B. sends Ali encrypted files soliciting her help with
Lance’s situation as the potential danger escalates. Soon, the bulk of the action moves to Texas,
where Ali, B., Leland, and Lance’s family face the threat that comes at them
from unexpected directions. From rival
software developers to possibly corrupt law enforcement officers, Lance and his
protectors have their hands full.
With this fast paced and realistic novel, Jance has once
again outdone herself. Fans of the
series will enjoy this latest installment, and new readers could easily jump in
and appreciate the story. The two
separate plot lines move the story forward in a smooth manner, yet in the end both
tell tales of families coming together, rather than apart.
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