Heather’s Bookshelf: Paper Targets: Art Can be Murder
Author: Steve S. Saroff
Released: 07/29/22
Genre: Literary Thriller
“She told me all this between rapid breaths, nearly in a whisper, but still, I was left with a feeling that she had been yelling at me. Her English moved back and forth in tense and correctness, but I understood. I was suddenly afraid of her. Afraid of her question-and-answer game. Then she was quiet again and drew in her sketchbook. The waiter returned to our table, and I asked him to bring some wine, whatever he thought was right. I asked Kaori if she wanted some too.”
“Paper Targets” follows Enzi, beginning as an adolescent and through his twisty life as an adult.
Enzi’s mother passes away at a young age, leaving him in the hands of his alcoholic father. After a couple of DUIs, his father loses custody and Enzi becomes a warrant of the state. He promptly runs away, living a life as a nomad on the street until he becomes old enough to earn a living for himself. To make it more challenging, Enzi is dyslexic and struggles to study and read. He finds a love for numbers and eventually computer programming.
As an adult, Enzi does not make the best of decisions and ends up selling his successful computer company to a parent company. He meets Tommy Tsai, a not-so-good-guy who introduces Enzi into a life of crime. Meanwhile, a troubled young woman named Kaori also comes into his life. She’s an unpredictable and seemingly unbalanced artist. When she’s arrested for assaulting her ex-boyfriend and his lover, Enzi bails her out of jail and invites her along on some of his adventures.
Trigger Warning: violence, sexual situations, adult language, murder, alcohol use
Overall, I enjoyed this tale as a whole. There was an underlying tone to the story that was intriguing and Enzi’s perceived indifference made me want to learn more about his life. Kaori as a character was also super interesting and kept me guessing. I was genuinely surprised by where her character started and ended up. The way her dialogue was written was almost haunting at times. However, the pacing of this story felt a little off. There were parts (mostly with Kaori) where I had to keep reading and it pushed the story forward. Then there were other areas (like details of programming) where I felt it dragged on. I was confused by the jumping in time early in the book but felt it cleared up by the end and I understood why the author wrote it as such with parallels between the two main characters. The ending also felt complete in telling the story of Enzi, his bad luck, and questionable choices.
I mostly listened to this story on Audible and was surprised to hear the narrator was also the author. Professionally done, the narration is smooth, especially with the dialogue. The tone was a little one-note, though, and didn’t always hold my mind from wandering.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A tale told by a protagonist along for the ride of his life and overshadowed by his interactions with those around him. Strong characters with some difficulty in pacing.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Steve S. Saroff
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here, Audible or Kindle Unlimited
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