Final Target

Graham Gage #1

by Steven Gore

From San Francisco to London to Kiev, investigator Graham Gage is in a race against the FBI and Ukraine gangsters to solve an intricate stock swindle and arms deal in time to clear his friend’s name. Gage peels away the layers of the collapse of SatTek Industries in San Jose to find a plot that morphs into something bigger, something that will put the American military in the Middle East at risk. Weaving a carefully-layered tale of greed, money laundering, and European politics, author Steven Gore takes us, with wonderful dialogue and local description to London, Geneva, the Channel Islands, and finally - featuring 2 fabulous Ukrainian gangster characters - Kiev. A great cast of characters throughout the book, and a great twist at the end too!

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Political Thriller, Legal Thriller

420 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Steven Gore is the author of the Graham Gage thrillers and a former private investigator in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been honored for his investigative achievements, has been featured on 60 Minutes, and has lectured to attorney and investigator organizations on subjects ranging from police misconduct to the design of investigative databases.

Series:
* Graham Gage

Reviews

[Daniel Audet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book yesterday, glad to have read the 1st in the 2 book 'Graham Gage' Series by Steven Gore. The detail in this book is really good, not too much but enough dizzying insider knowledge of the world of high finance, and, more important to this story, the corruption and intrigue that truly goes on, around the world. It's this corruption that involves Gage's long time and closest friend, a major league lawyer who gets shot twice in an assassination attempt. Gore sets his edge right away with a strange prologue that appears to have no bearing on the story, but it does. Gore's writer instincts are top notch, there's no mistaking his style and skill level. A voice all his own, a real-life history of globe trotting in the espionage trade, Steven Gore has the goods. I can't recommend this book highly enough for thriller readers. Get on board with Gore and his unique, engaging character Graham Gage as he risks it all in each episode uncovering frighteningly believable plots against truth and justice, around the world.
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I truly believe Gore has something here with this character. The realism in his description and narration and dialogue puts Gore's writing on it's own level and makes for a deeper involvement for the reader. Read the authors personal background for the answer to HOW and you'll see what I mean, I have no doubt fellow authors and readers alike will be greatly impressed. Gore could have easily been one of his own characters in real life. 30 or so pages in, our hero is thrust onto the world espionage stage following the brutal shooting of his close friend. What follows as Gage gets his bearings and locks on target promises to be what I expect from Gore, thriller ficiton at it's best. Having already read the 2nd book in the series, this book: Final Target being the 1st, published in 2010 I wanted to begin where it all started. Gore's finesse with words, sentence structure and flow are top notch. This really is a Class A piece of work. More soon! I will keep you posted on my progress.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the characters in the book, but found it real hard to read. It could have easily been 100 pages shorter and much less technical regarding all the stock manoeuvres, which added nothing to the book.

[Linda Howarth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful- could not read

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my blog....[return]Not since my introduction to the works of Ian Fleming decades ago have I been so engrossed in an international fraud novel. Final Target by Steven Gore is his debut novel and what a debut it is, filled with double crosses, greed, corruption, international gangsters, and brilliantly written characters as well as a captivating storyline. The novel opens with what appears to be a drive-by shooting of James Burke, an International Attorney who remains in a coma and in critical condition. Graham Gage, Burke's longtime friend, ex-San Francisco Police Officer and current private investigator, becomes involved first in trying to find out who gunned down his long time friend. It is not long before he realizes Burke is a target and Gage becomes involved in trying to find out who tried to take out Burke and why. What first appeared to be a random shooting proves to be far more complicated when Gage discovers that the Assistant US District Attorney, Peterson, has made a deal with Stuart Matson, President of SatTek, which is under investigation for fraud, insider trading, selling weapons to the enemy, among other crimes. It rapidly becomes apparent that Matson is lying and setting up Burke to take the fall, but worse, DA Peterson is buying Matson's story, and he needs a conviction. Will Gage be able to prove his friend Burke is innocent or will Burke be tried before a grand jury when he regains consciousness? Gage travels all over the world, looking for answers, following leads and dead ends. Steven Gore's Final Target is expertly written, with descriptive narrative crystal clear details of London, Ukraine, and Russia down to the culture and cuisine. It is evident that either Gore himself has been to these places or he has done extensive research into the countries and the cultures. Final Target is a fast-paced thriller that will keep the reader up well into the night trying to figure out the many plot twists, turns, and ultimately, the truth. The novel is clean; there is no need, thankfully, for gratuitous sex scenes or excessively foul language. Without hesitation, I recommend this book to any and all suspense and mystery buffs. I am ecstatic to learn that Steven Gore will be publishing a second Graham Gage novel, due to be released in November; I plan to be one of the first in line for that novel.

[Chris Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a private investigator, named Graham Gage, whose best friend Jack Burch, was gunned down as he was taking a morning jog in San Francisco. The police and other investigators call it road rage but Graham thinks there is more to it, he investigates further and uncovers all sorts of stuff he didn't know know about his friend. The whole case revolves around a stock fraud conspiracy at SatTek industries. After going deeoere in the investigation, Gage finds out about all the ties and crosses his friend was involved in, including gang activity in foreign countries. This book is great for people that like very suspenseful novels. the climax of the book is very exciting, with tons of things The book is just that, very suspenseful. There are very few "good stopping points" in the book once you get into about the third chapter. The book is full of rich imagery, you feel like youre riding along with the detectives on the case. The diction is very advanced, it doesn't at all leave you feeling like you're reading a book for elementary kids. My complaints I have are that the book is a little bit hard to follow in some spots where it switches settings, and that it somewhat slows down towards the end, other than that the book is very good and fun to read. The suspense leaves you itching to uncover whats next.

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good debut thriller from ex-P.I. Steven Gore.

When SatTek Industries collapses in a stock fraud case, government investigators move in hard on the company's former president, a guy named Matson. It turns out that the stock fraud prosecution is the least of the guy's worries given that he's also committed treason by transferring high-tech components and software to bad guys overseas.

On the bright side, Matson is in bed with a beautiful sexy mistress. On the bad side, he's also in bed with a couple of gruesome Ukrainian gangsters. P.I. Graham Gage is drawn into the case when his best friend is targeted by government investigators for his role in the stock fraud and then shot while out jogging.

Gage is determined to find those responsible for his friend's predicament, and the investigation takes him on an international hunt that leads to an explosive climax. The book bogs down a bit at the end as Gore takes his protagonist to Ukraine and leaves him there a bit longer than is probably necessary. Still, this is a very interesting book by a writer who clearly knows the territory both geographically and financially.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, well, don't read this book.

It's an ambitious work - the complexity of the crimes seem staggering, and the amount of characters to keep straight. Towards the beginning, it was a problem, but eventually things smoothed out.

At times, it seems as though Gore may not understand all the crimes well enough to explain them. It often read like a conspiracy/money-laundering mad lib: insert a character's name, a country, and a crime - with few details.

With all that said, even the compelling nature of many mystery/thriller novels wasn't present here.

Which lead's me to The Informant. Eichenwald's true story does everything Gore does, but far exceeds your expectations whereas Gore falls well short. There's no reason to read Final Target in a world where The Informant exists.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

SEC violations, international arms trafficking, securities fraud and numerous characters on several continents spread throughout several countries can make for a difficult reading experience. I liked Gore's writing style it just seems like he tends to shoot over the average laymans head with many of the dealings in this book. I have read many international thrillers and none were quite as complicated as this one. I think the author could help the reader by explaining some of the things he is talking about in the book. This would have gone a long way towards making this a more enjoyable reading experience.

[Mindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. I think this is the author's first book, so I must say I think he has potential and I will definitely watch his upcoming books. He initially jumped around a lot between the characters without proper character development which made it difficult to remember everyone and what part they played. Once I was able to get all the characters sorted out, then the book got more enjoyable to read. It did drag in parts and his descriptions of scenes, thoughts, and characters felt labored at times.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a debut novel I found this one really good. Once I got started with it, it kept me interested and inspired me to do some googling to learn more about grand juries. Graham, the main character, devotes his money, time & resources to prove the innocence of his best friend who is the focus of a government investigation into offshore bank accounts and fraud.There were parts that I really had no knowledge of to start, so I found a little extra reading helpful but still feel I can recommend this as a good suspenseful thriller.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

In spite of the publicity comments by authors who should know, I found this "action packed debut thriller" to have a vague, weak opening; too many characters; poor character development and a plot too complicated for people not interested in more stock fraud stories. The locales are described adequately, although shallowly, and the story takes too long to develop.

I don't think I will read his second book.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who like thrillers packed with an interesting premise and lots of international intrigue. This is Gore's first book, and I found his writing tended to rely on adjectives more than I like. Still, it was a very good read. Most important, Gore is an international private investigator, and he has first-hand knowledge of his material.

[T.J. Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the greatest book I have ever read but worth picking up. The plot builds really slowly and gets aggravating from time to time. A lot of characters to keep up with as well but the farther into the novel you get the easier it is to distinguish them. 3 out of 5. Not bad, not great.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

From an apparent drive by shooting in San Francisco, SEC investigations of a stock collapse to internation intrigue, Gore pretty much covers all the bases...not the "action-packed" thriller as advetised, though a decent read

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

a PI investigating massive international financial fraud involving "Dot Com'rs" and Russian Mafioso's...not the pace that I usually enjoy, though the characters were strong and likable...decent read only!!!

[Forrest · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a miserable time reading this book. Half way through it, I just skim read the pages. The plot was too complicated for me to figure out and too many characters to keep track of. My simple mind couldn't wrap around all the moving parts of this book.

[Phyllis Rile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but Repetitive

This book was OK but I found it difficult to keep track of everyone and everything. Finally I found actually coming together near to the conclusion of the long book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. Political/financial conspiracy

[Tom Kinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

More in-depth than your standard private eye novel. Very richly detailed story, and good depth of the characters. Some of the financial transactions were over my head, but overall a great read.

[Marjorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent work of fiction. Got bogged down in a complex convoluted mass of peripheral characters, the detail of which were not necessary. If the story was more focused it would be excellent.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: a man has been injured. His friend PI Gage believes he had no part in the criminal conspiracy of a defence contractor's collapse.

[Bill Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read with an awful lot of characters to keep track of. Lots of international intrigue.