Rating: 
Summary: I expected MUCH more
Review: This was the first Johansen book I read and it might well be the last. Actually Final Target was not that bad, but very close.The main flaw of the story was the lack of any background. Not only characters' background, but also information about the trauma condition and all the psycho-related things going on. And they were hardly believable. Toward the end it turns almost ridiculous. I was amazed by Johansen's lack of vocabulary. First the book has no descriptions whatsoever, that would establish some kind of mental picture of what and where the action is taking place. But also Johansen keeps using the same and the same words and phrases thorughout the whole book. Her characters "shudder," "stiffen" and "twist their lips" at least a couple of times in each chapter. As if the book was written overnight. No editing at all. If I can employ Johansen's style to comment on her book:
"Bland. Plain. Boredom."
Rating: 
Summary: Egh - not worth it...
Review: Final Target is an easy read to say the least. The story did captivate from the first few pages... but I think the author needs to purchase a thesaurus. How many times can one use the phrase "She narrow her eyes" on someone's face or "She moistened her lips." Didn't any editor pick up on this? I was getting annoyed each time I saw the same words over and over. If you pick up this book, do me a favor and keep track - I can't bare to re-read this... I didn't find that I [cared] about any of the characters - especially Jessica. She seemed a little too closed-minded for a shrink. I wanted to finish it rather quickly just to move on to something better.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly crafted
Review: Final Target is, at best, a dismal achievement. The conversation is trite and full of long passages of information that the reader needs to know but the characters would never discuss or should have done so long ago. The plot takes many inconceivable turns, from the President putting a dangerous man so close to his beloved daughter, to the flight, to the twist where the lead character changes. The psychic element could have been interesting but it was portrayed badly, and I simply cannot believe that the three people in the world who have this talent would magically all appear in the same place at the same time ... like, huh? And as for the poor little girl ... I wanted her to get better, that was why I kept reading the story. But I never got to know her, never got to picture her face lying on the pillow, never got to touch her. Supposedly the book was full of her, but somehow I missed her.
Rating:
Summary: Shallow rambling yarn
Review: After reading a parade of female writers, top picks by Oprah's Book Club, it was heart wrenching to discover that my gender lacks the talent to write a decent book. Along comes Iris Johansen and I was thinking, this woman "can write", oh my God. Only I didn't expect much to begin with. In
Reap the Wind, the author puts her fictitious "historical treasure" Wind Dancer in line with national treasures like Mona Lisa, David, Night Watch. Her characters are somewhat shallow, Caitlin's has more strength, her mother is vain, her lover a scoundrel, who takes her from the romantic setting of lavender and roses called Vasaro in France into a quagmire of international gangsters. Compared to her mediocre and somewhat exhaustively boring novels Reap the Wind and Long after Midnight, this one has more zing. In Final Target, I found her female characters bratty, spoiled, hostile, and
feeble minded, always exposed to the bad boys for rescue or destruction. I will give this author another try, because of the entertaining quality of her books for those evenings when I am content with some shallow rambling yarn.
Rating:
Summary: bland - don't waste your time
Review: Lacks intelligence needed to support a true thriller - stereotypical situation with an absence of character development and plot depth. I am writing this review simply because I was horrified about the positive comments, yet I wasted 3 hours of my life reading this...
Rating: 
Summary: This book was good, but drug out way too long.
Review: This is the first Iris Johansen book I have read and I was not really impressed.While the story was good it was too long and drawn out. I got bored about 1/2 of the way because it seemed that much of the action was repeated and I found the "mind conversations" dull and unrealistic. I had to make myself finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: Yuck
Review: Basically, here you have a romance writer trying to produce an action thriller. Very bad idea. There's a wildly implausible plot hanging on the idea of a mysterious psychic connection between two of the characters. Also a President who decides to let a career criminal spend time with his daughter (but who isn't otherwise deranged). I can usually suspend disbelief enough to enjoy a book of this kind, but not if it's completely off in goofyland, as in the case here.
Rating:
Summary: The worst one so far.....JUST AWFUL
Review: Thank goodness this wasn't the very first book written by Iris Johansen that I have read, or I wouldn't have picked up another written by her. Final Target was awful!! It took me 3 times as long to read FT than her other books (I'm determined to read all of her "mystery" series books...I'm not into romance novels). FT just dragged on and on, I almost gave up on it once or twice but I have to finish what I start. I just finished reading Body of Lies, Iris Johansen has redeemed herself a bit with this book. On to the next book.......
Rating:
Summary: Not my type
Review: There's no doubt the author attempted to imbue Melissa with strength, but it turned out sounding more like fool heartiness. I stopped reading when the book fell off into the cliche of when the brave but foolish woman charges out into danger and falls right into the bad guy's trap. Of course, the hero comes to her rescue. Also, Melissa's convenient psychic connection with Cassie means that she is quite typically saddled with a child. How respectable; please pardon my retching. My impression of Melissa was of a woman who was crazed by her emotions into reckless behavior while Travis came off sounding like the typical dark hero: cool, in control and desperatly trying to restrain a madwoman.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'd read many other books by Iris Johansen and enjoyed them thoroughly. This one, however, was a chore to get through. The plot was constrived and highly unbelievable and the characters were underdeveloped and boring. The only reason I finished the book was that I was hoping it would get better and it never did. Too bad!
| 
