HARD TARGET G. Beahan St. John's, Breakwater, 1990. 191 pp, paper, $14.95 ISBN 0-920911-91-9 Grades 11 and up/ Ages 16 and up Reviewed by Ted Monkhouse. Volume 18 Number 6 1990 November Beahan has served up a comical treat of Canada's favourite locale for colourful characters. Set in a fictional outport, Hard Shore, on the Newfound­land coast, this novel pokes delightful fun at some CIA spooks who are out of their depth amongst the locals. It all revolves around oil develop­ment (read Hibernia) and taking advantage through insider information. Local dialect and the unique characters we have all come to expect from this special province offer a chuckle page after page. Justice is appropriately served on those from "away," who are as far fetched as their mission. For those who treasure this special part of Canada and who also love a bumbling comedy of errors, a double treat is in store. The pace of the story is brisk, the action satisfying, the locale real, and the focal point ever shifting. The slim story-line is purely a vehicle for pure fun with a touch of truth. Ted Monkhouse, Wellington County Board of Education, Guelph, Ont.