Target Practice

by Nicholas Meyer

Mark Brill, a private investigator, is hired by the grieving Shelly Rollins after a chance meeting on a plane to investigate charges of treason laid against her brother, a former Army officer who has recently committed suicide.

Genres: Mystery

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Nicholas Meyer graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in theater and film-making, & is a film writer, producer, director and novelist best known for his involvement in the Star Trek films. He is also well known as the director for the landmark 1983 TV-Movie "The Day After", for which he was nominated for a Best Director Emmy Award. In 1977, Meyer was nominated for an Adapted Screenplay Academy Award for adapting his own 1974 novel, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, to the screen.

In addition to his work on Star Trek, Meyer has written several novels, and has written and/or directed several other films.Most notable being the 1983 made-for-television anti-nuclear movie The Day After.

Meyer wrote three Sherlock Holmes novels: The West End Horror, The Canary Trainer, and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. The latter was Meyer's most famous Holmes novel and the project for which he was best known prior to his Star Trek involvement. It was also adapted into a 1976 film, directed by Herbert Ross, for which Meyer wrote the screenplay.

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read a film noir set in the Watergate era -- but it works, even with all the typical "gumshoe" cliches. It was an interesting Vietnam era mystery ... with cliche blonde client hiring a private detective. But I liked it. I think the ending was a bit ... too out there, and leaves you hanging (to a certain extent), but it's a quick read for people who like the film noir novels.