Moving Target [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Lowell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2001

When her aunt mysteriously dies, Serena inherits rare leaves from a legendary volume known as the Book of the Learned. Shortly after they are appraised by Rarities Unlimited, and Internet company, Serena discovers that at least one 'collector' will do anything to keep the leaves hidden, including murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When Serena inherits some rare pages from the mysterious Book of the Learned, she discovers that someone is willing to kill to keep their secrets under wraps. Of course, this being a novel by a doyenne of romantic suspense, Serena also gets involved with the man set to appraise her valuable inheritance.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lowell leaves behind her best-selling Donovan clan (although they do make a cameo appearance) and introduces a fresh cast of characters in her latest romantic-suspense tale. Serena Charters, a weaver by profession, was raised in an isolated, primitive stone cabin in the desert outside of Palm Springs by her seemingly paranoid grandmother. When her grandmother dies a violent death, Serena inherits an ancient scarf and beautiful illuminated pages from a medieval manuscript. An accompanying note cryptically refers to their source, the Book of Learned, which, it suggests, will be her heritage if she wishes to search for it. When Serena decides to have the pages appraised, the ninetysomething patriarch of the House of Warrick, an auction house akin to Sothebys, insults her, proclaims the pages to be fakes, and then offers her $1 million. Deciding to get a second opinion, she meets Erik North, a local manuscript expert who, it turns out, has also been searching for the Book of Learned. Even though both she and Erik have had dreams about the medieval couple described in the book, Serena keeps her distance, unable to trust men as a result of her traumatic past. Undaunted, Erik comes to her rescue when he realizes that their quest has unleashed the same evil that drove her grandmother into hiding. Nothing is quite as it seems in this intricate story, which is as finely woven as the wondrous scarf Serena inherits, granting Lowell fans everything they want and have come to expect from her enormously popular romances. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (June 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060198753
• ISBN-13: 978-0060198756
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell has numerous historical and contemporary novels in print, including her four-book series of suspense novels featuring the unforgettable Donovan family--AMBER BEACH, JADE ISLAND, PEARL COVE and MIDNIGHT IN RUBY BAYOU. Ms. Lowell's current release, DEATH ECHO, is Book 5 in her St. Kilda Consulting series and features twin yachts, international gangsters, and plenty of romantic-suspense. There are more than thirty million Elizabeth Lowell books currently in print. Ms. Lowell lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much to hope for, June 24, 2001

By 

Julianna B. (Montreal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving Target (Hardcover)

Spoiler ahead... If all you Elizabeth Lowell fans have been waiting with baited breath for Erik & Serena's story after Untamed, Forbidden and Enchanted, this book is a huge letdown. As a fan who has read a lot of her early novels, and all of her historicals and contemps, the author's recent books simply are not up to par with her older works of fiction. In this book she spends too much time on snappy dialogue between too many characters; she was clearly trying to set up the context of characters for the entire new Rarities Series. If she would have cut out the non-essential chatter we could have pared 40 pages or so OR had room for important things like the medieval storyline. And let's face it: the author is not Iris Johansen. Thrilling intrigue are not her forte. If she would have stuck to what she clearly has excelled at - romantic fiction - she would have had a surefire winner. The chemistry between the characters is forced; the medieval Erik & Serena are used to bring the modern twosome together yet all we hear about the characters of the past is practically Erik's torment over what he has squandered. Tidbits here and tidbits there. Of course the book wraps up with a tidy bow on that story, but the meat of the medieval drama is non existent. It was almost as if the author gave us what we wanted - the sequel to Enchanted - but had written all she could about that timeline in the previous books and couldn't come up with a real story for the sequel so she placed them on the back burner. Such a disappointment, I wanted to stamp my feet and scream when I turned the last page. I hope next time Elizabeth Lowell writes the book we want to read.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth Lowell's Moving Target, June 15, 2001

By 

Jennifer L. Bailey (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moving Target (Hardcover)

Elizabeth Lowell's "Moving Target" is another in a long line of fast-paced, exciting, romantic suspense stories. In many ways, this book was the meeting place, or reunion as it were, or many of Lowell's other stories. The dangerous Donovan men, including the hereto unexamined Lawe--dare we hope his story is coming soon?--and the indominable April Joy, make a minor appearance. Erik the Learned and Serena of the Silverfells, mentioned in the Enchanted, Forbidden and Untamed series play an integral in this modern version of their story. While I have always wished that Lowell would tell Erik's story after reading the others', this was the next best thing. The action prevents you from putting the book down until it was finished and the love story makes you image what it would be like to actually meet your soul mate. If there was one negative that I could mention, it is that there are a plethora of characters brought into play whose purposes are vague and unimportant, which made it difficult to track those who were involved and in what way. Overall however, the book is another example of Lowell's exceptional work.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointment, June 18, 2001

By 

"spacious" (saginaw,Mi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moving Target (Hardcover)

Until this book I have never regretted buying anything by Elizabeth Lowell. She repeatedly introduces new "characters" and then just sorta leaves them hanging there. I got no sense that her main characters were actually people. Everyone in this book is one dimensional. The book doesn't end, it just stops.