4 stars — After receiving a complimentary copy of “Paper Targets” by Steve Saroff from the publisher, I was afraid I was going to absolutely hate it. The book in a word is “strange” from beginning to end, but the more I read the more I was entranced by the plot and characters of a book that is unlike any other I’ve ever read. The book starts off slow and the author writes in very short, concise sentences. At times the dialogue is painful (especially when the author introduces the character Kaori...

In Paper Targets: Art Can Be Murder, Enzi, the enigmatic narrator says, "Every lie is a bent wheel, something that wobbles no matter how many attempts to straighten it and then keeps wobbling right up to its last hard turn." He is foreshadowing his wrongs that he will soon try to undo. Wrongs for love. Wrongs for money. And this doing and undoing make quite the story.The novel reads like a true confession from someone double cursed; he has skills that make anonymous fortunes, and the ability to ...

4.5⭐️” Secrets that are shared but still not understood remain secret.”The life of our protagonist Enzi, the child of accomplished immigrant parents takes a tragic turn after he loses his mother and his father’s alcoholism ultimately lands him in the system. Dyslexic, alone and without any support, he eventually becomes a runaway at the age of fourteen, drifting from place to place and from job to job. Taught by his mother to study patterns instead of the individual letters and numbers that he f...

*4.5 stars*Enzi, a dyslexic loner and drifter, bails a young artist, Kaori, out of jail, but he barely knows her and their relationship, (if you can call it that), quickly becomes extremely strange and unfathomable, not to mention dangerous. Kaori is a damaged and disturbed personality who’s behaviour can change at the slightest provocation. Originally from Tokyo, she mainly speaks via her art. Everything she feels or does is expressed in drawings on paper. But Enzi’s kindness in securing Kaori’...

Enzi is a refreshingly unique narrator. He seems to honestly assess his situation and actions. Even knowing that an act may have adverse consequences, Enzi seems to choose with his heart, rather than his head. Which is not to say he’s a whimsical romantic, but rather a person who sincerely wants to help, whoever and whenever the opportunity presents. The coder had already stepped onto a slippery slope when he found himself bailing out a compelling Japanese artist that he’d recently met. In spite...

A fast and furious lesson in what tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
"...almost anything is legal if you have a fishing license..."

WOW!! Incredibly riveting, fast-paced thriller that I highly recommend!

Steve Saroff does a terrific job with character development, particularly with Enzi, the protagonist. There are very unique individuals in this story, including a girl he barely knows that he helps get released from jail.

I was on the edge of my seat constantly as the action moved between Montana, Seattle and New York. Saroff's ability to ratchet up the drama and tension is masterful.

Highly recommend! Very unique thriller!

When you're not feeling holyYour loneliness says that you've sinned.Leonard CohenWhen I was hospitalized for my bipolar reaction to overwork in 1976 - as I describe in my review of Psycho-Cybernetics - my leering fellows there unveiled the truth of my suspicions.They were like the character Tsai in this novel. You got it. He plays the Heavy to Enzie. A Heavy who is an Agnostic Pharisee - the very Worst kind - like Pontius Pilate was.Heavies unveil the world’s dirty secrets in their entirety to t...

Enzi was born to academic parents but struggled to learn how to read, and as a young boy, he also developed a stammer. It was not a combination that was going to make his early life easy. But he learned that he had an affinity with numbers. He simply loved unpicking the mysteries of mathematics. This was to be his saviour, his escape. When he was a little older, his life was dealt another bad blow, and everything was thrown into chaos. Eventually, this enigmatic loner skipped town – no looking b...

Enzi meets an enigmatic artist at a party. When he drives her home, she gives him a mysterious and damaged painting. Later, when she leaves a message that she has been arrested and is in jail, Enzi makes a mistake that has fatal consequences.Paper Targets is a wild ride of a story about gifted and flawed misfits. Both riveting and heartbreaking, with memorable characters encountered along the way, the novel is based on the true events of one of the world's largest criminal frauds and the far-rea...