Review of Off Target
A Clever, Layered Whodunit with an Excellent Detective Partnership
Review: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1058246104
Off-Target by D.J. Maughan is an absorbing mystery that combines two apparently separate investigations: the suspicious death of a wealthy woman and the shooting of a congresswoman during a political fundraiser. As detectives Hank Gardener and Joyce Powers follow the evidence, seemingly unrelated people and events gradually become part of one complicated and carefully constructed puzzle.
The novel opens with a dancer named Luna behaving strangely after receiving a large amount of cash. From there, the story shifts to Idaho Falls, where Hank and Joyce are examining the death of Brandy Schwartz. Brandy appears to have fallen down a staircase, but small inconsistencies at the scene lead the detectives to suspect that her death was no accident. Before they can make much progress, a sniper fires during an appearance by Vice President Merrick Holmes, killing Congresswoman Kylie Maverick-Trevino. The obvious assumption is that the vice president was the intended target—but, as the title suggests, assumptions can be dangerously misleading.
The strongest element of the novel is the partnership between Hank and Joyce. Joyce is unusually observant, confident, and quick to recognize details that others overlook. Hank respects her abilities but sometimes worries that he will never equal them. Their relationship is affectionate, funny, and believable. Their continuing arguments over music trivia and who owes whom a Coke add welcome humor without diminishing the seriousness of the investigation.
Hank is especially likable because he is not presented as an infallible detective. He is intelligent and persistent, but he has insecurities, makes mistakes, and occasionally struggles to understand what Joyce has already seen. His personal life also complicates the investigation, giving him an emotional vulnerability that makes him more than a conventional mystery protagonist. Joyce, meanwhile, has painful family history beneath her tough exterior, and the later scenes involving her family give the novel additional emotional depth.
Maughan tells the story through several viewpoints and moves backward and forward in time around the shooting. Chapters labeled according to how many days or months before or after the event gradually reveal the histories, motives, and private decisions of the principal characters. Congresswoman Kylie Maverick-Trevino’s chapters are particularly effective. They show the pressures placed on an elected official caught between personal conviction, party loyalty, political ambition, and the expectations of her family. These sections transform the shooting from a simple crime into a tragedy with moral and emotional consequences.
The mystery is more complex than it initially appears. Potential motives include political ambition, corruption, family conflict, blackmail, addiction, gambling, and fear of public exposure. The large cast and shifting timeline require attention, particularly during the middle of the book, but the structure ultimately pays off. Details that may initially seem incidental become important, and the connections among the victims, suspects, and investigators are gradually uncovered.
The story also raises an interesting question about the danger of believing that we know what is best for another person. Several characters make destructive decisions based on incomplete information, misplaced certainty, or a desire to control someone else’s choices. That theme gives the final explanation considerable impact and makes the title especially meaningful.
The concluding chapters provide both suspense and emotional resolution. The confrontation involving Hank and Joyce is genuinely tense, while the solution to the larger mystery is logical and supported by clues placed throughout the novel. The final personal scenes also give Joyce’s story a moving sense of closure while leaving Hank with an intriguing decision about his future.
Off-Target is a satisfying combination of police procedural, political thriller, and character-driven mystery. Readers who enjoy intricate investigations, multiple suspects, shifting perspectives, unexpected connections, and detective partners with warmth and humor should find a great deal to appreciate here.