Moving Target

Oracle sends Richmond, Virginia based FBI profiler Athena Academy graduate Francesca "Chesca" Thorne to Boston seeking a link between Arachne and the Queen of Hearts; several people at the Athena Academy and at the FBI believe that they are the same person. Whether separate females or not, both are dangerous especially Arachne who loathes the Athena Academy and will do anything to destroy it. Francesca makes some progress at Boston University, but finds her tires deliberately slashed. She calls in for back-up and Athena Academy Principal Christine Evans arranges for her great-nephew, Will Evans to act as her bodyguard. As Will and Chesca work together linking clues, an unknown adversary, most likely connected to either Arachne or the Queen of Hearts, seems to know much of what they are doing; making staying alive a top priority. From the opening serial killer sequence in Baton Rouge to the final confrontation involving who is Delphi, MOVING TARGET is an exciting Athena Force tale. The story line moves the saga forward with several revelations especially a humongous one, but too many little events seemingly all over Beantown occur so that none become deeply illustrated. Still this is an entertaining entry that fans of the series will need to read as the revelations keep on coming. Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Diane Snyder Francesca Thorne, a member of Oracle, is also an experienced forensic psychologist for the FBI. As an FBI agent, she is one of the top profilers available. Having just completed her assignment to profile a serial killer in Baton Rouge, Francesca is able to take some leave when Delphi, the anonymous head of Oracle, gives her an assignment. Oracle, a secret intelligence gathering entity, is made up of those select few outstanding women graduates of the Athena Academy for the Advancement of Women. Each was chosen to become a member of Oracle because of their outstanding attributes and abilities in their chosen field. For the past several years, the Athena Academy has been a target of an unknown person or group. The founding head of the Academy was murdered a year ago, and Francesca has been assigned to use her training and talent to profile someone known as Arachne and determine whether Arachne is the same person known as the Queen of Hearts, a recognized assassin. Francesca, or Chesca as her friends call her, has to return to Boston where she was raised--and this is the part of the assignment she dreads the most. Although Chesca prefers to work alone and is trained to take care of herself, she has been given a bodyguard as a partner. The bodyguard is Will Evans, a career military man on medical leave after being shot during his last assignment. Chesca cannot refuse having him as a partner as Will is also the grand-nephew of one of the heads of the Athena Academy. During the dangerous and challenging investigation that leads them into the darker side of Boston, Chesca and Will begin to form a working relationship that turns to a more personal attraction and a subtle romance develops. Moving Target, a romantic suspense novel, is part of the Athena Force series - each novel written by a different author but with the central theme being about the women of the Athena Academy. Armchair Interviews says: Although it is a "stand alone" novel, Moving Target will trigger your interest in reading others in this series.