Customer Reviews

The Pawn (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 1)

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Yeah, you read that right...Steven James really makes me mad. I'll tell you why in a moment, but this is a review of his novel and I'll start with that.

On the surface, "The Pawn" looks to be yet another in a long, somewhat wearying string of serial killer novels. I mean, how many more of these can we read before the genre dies? Pun intended. The reason the genre remains strong, however, is because of well-crafted thrillers such as this, ones that include believable characters and original villains. In fact, I suggest that "The Pawn" elevates and transcends its market niche.

The book's protagonist, Patrick Bowers, is struggling to understand his wife's death from cancer and the resulting estrangement from his step-daughter. He doesn't have much time for such things, though, while trying to track down a ruthless and brilliant games-man, a killer who leaves chess pieces at the site of each murder. These are workable elements for any such novel, yet nothing that new to the market; it's the manner in which James ties them together with larger conspiracy theories and historical mysteries that turns this into a true page-turner. Not only do we care about this killer being stopped, we care about Bowers and his relationships. We care about the future victims. We care about others caught up in the dizzying maze of deception.

So why am I mad? Well, as a published novelist myself, I often wrestle with my own inner editor while reading other novels. This makes it hard to enjoy some of them. In the case of James, I found myself challenged instead to sharpen my craft even more. Not only that, he combines in "The Pawn" some of the elements that it's taken me two or three books to explore--a love of coffee, an eye for chess, and an interest in history. In fact, I've had some readers doubt the history in my novels, and I've told them to go read the facts. I thought, in the case of Mr. James, maybe I'd catch him sleeping on the research, but no...I looked up his underlying historical premise--and it's right on target. Wow! In his debut thriller, he's trumped my books and raised the bar.

Yeah, that really torques me! And I can't wait to read his next, "The Rook."

The Pawn, a thriller written by Steven James, is at once a book that you want to stop reading so you don't have nightmares, but one you don't want to put down either.

Thriller readers familiar with James Patterson's "Alex Cross" series will find themselves thinking of Alex Cross and his Washington D.C. home, but Special Agent Patrick Bowers is a strong character in his own domain: North Carolina. Further, his specialty in environmental criminology is apt considering the newsworthiness of environmental issues in the present time.

Further complicating Bowers's work is high powered political figures, such as North Carolina's governors and higher ranking bureau officials, including his supervisor. We hear news stories often where police officials are criticized for not doing their job and then when the story comes out, it turns out their ability to do this work is being blocked by other parties. This is very much the case in this story, leading a real world feel to this work of fiction.

Although there are numerous characters that appear in the story, it isn't a challenge to keep them straight, and some such as Tessa, you can't help but grow attached to. Another testament to the author's abilities, the characters come to life and the reader almost expects to meet them when they go to town.

The author's background in storytelling, in which he received his MA from East Tennessee State University, shows clearly throughout the book, allowing the reader to feel as if they are hearing a personal account of the tale. Further, he uses simple words, such as `pawn' with multiple meanings and to keep the readers thinking. In a manner similar to John Grisham writing about the Delta locations he knows best, Steven James brings North Carolina to life in readers' eyes.

This is the first of a planned trilogy, and I look forward to reading more of Patrick Bowers's cases and Steven James's work.

Both The Pawn (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 1) and The Rook (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 2) are very well written with good character development. However, the books are very graphic and gory. A serial killer who gets high on strangling a person and brings them back just so he can do it again and again is troubling. There are many authors who can tell a murder mystery without these disturbing images. I certainly hope that Stephen James will be able to weave future tales without all the terror and erotic gore.

Steven James takes us into the world of FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers in this exceptional psychological thriller. A serial killer is at large in the Appalachian area of North Carolina, and Bowers, known for his expertise in environmental criminology, is called in to help make sense of this baffling case.

The killer has dubbed himself "The Illusionist," thriving on misdirection and confusion to further confound the authorities at every turn. As Bowers and his team search for clues, they realize they are facing a madman who is as cunning as he is evil. As answers are uncovered, more mysteries surface, linking the Illusionist to a charismatic cult leader with ties to the infamous Jonestown cult. Patrick Bowers now faces seemingly insurmountable odds as the case becomes larger and more dangerous than anyone ever anticipated.

Steven James writes at a break-neck pace, effortlessly pulling the reader along on this incredible thrill ride. With the backdrop of the Jonestown disaster, James has added a clever dose of history that brings a sense of relevancy to the story. The plot twists and turns while never hinting at the destination, and the characters are rich and absorbing. Patrick Bowers is an intriguing hero who is extremely brilliant, yet very fallible. While he excels in his professional career, his personal life is in shambles, and his struggles in parenthood are real and pertinent.

While The Pawn holds its own both as mystery and a suspenseful thriller, the strength of the novel is found Patrick Bowers' spiritual journey. As Bowers is drawn closer to danger, he finds that he must also face his difficult past and come to grips with some hard, yet hopeful truths about life and death. In the end, James leaves us enough to satisfy and whets our appetite for more. With this first installment of The Bowers Files, Steven James has left his mark as a writer to watch for.

Armchair Interviews says: With this first installment of The Bowers Files, Steven James has left his mark as a writer to watch for.

"The Pawn" is a well-written, heart-pounding, fast-paced forensic/detective thriller. The novel had a somewhat bleak tone. The crimes and crime scenes were very chilling, though not particularly graphic (i.e. he gives you just enough to let your imagination fill in all the gory, horrifying details). Combined with the high tension level, I'd strongly suggest you think twice about reading this novel right before going to bed.

The characters were interesting and complex, and I especially loved Bower's step-daughter. She's a very smart and brave, though emotionally hurting, young woman. (The author portrayed the main women in this novel as smart, competent, respected, and not trying to be men. As a woman, I liked that.)

The world-building was excellent, with the details about forensics, the case, and the town bringing the novel alive in my imagination. I felt like this was really happening in North Carolina, which gave me shivers that most mystery/suspense/thrillers don't achieve with me.

The main characters weren't Christian (at least, not that we're told). However, Patrick Bower was struggling with why God allows Christians (like his wife) to suffer. This was not the focus of the book, but Patrick does finally find some peace about it. (This doesn't mean he converts to Christianity.) I felt this aspect was handled realistically. Unless strongly against Christianity, I think most non-Christians would be comfortable with the amount of Christianity and how was handled.

There was no sex, a little bit of romance, and the bad language was of the "he cussed" style. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in forensics fiction and/or who likes to read chilling thrillers.


Reviewed by Debbie from Genre Reviews (genrereviews. blogspot. com)

Wow. It was because of the positive reviews that I purchased the book. I also agree with most of their thoughts regarding how creative the author is. In addition, I was surprised by his `twists' and thought they were imaginative.

However, I kept getting frustrated with how the author portrayed the protagonist, Patrick Bowers. I had a problem when Bowers (half way through the novel) decides to fly his step daughter (who lives in a different state) to where Bowers is staying so he can, `keep her safe.' This is a bit ridiculous because Bowers (at the time) is aware that the antagonist (who kills females) is somewhere in the same state Bowers is AND is constantly watching Bowers! I think any reader (at that point) realizes the author is setting up a latter encounter between the three. I am safely assuming (I dropped the book at chapter 66- when the antagonist see's the step daughter and begins his plan to take her- umm, yea, we saw this coming) that this is what happens. I get irritated when a good book (or good movie for that matter) throws in a needless and blatant dim-witted move (discrediting anything rational at that point) just to bridge a future set up. The author blew his characters credibility at that point.

I also had a problem with how Bowers figured out the killers patterns. This too was overly frustrating. The author goes to great lengths to write original themes. However, he sabotages himself with poor discovery. Several times Bowers here's a comment (sometimes it's about the game of chess) and the epiphany happens; Bowers makes a critical connection (how the killer is doing things) based on the comment- which on prima facie- has zero comparison! It's like somebody saying (this example is not in the book), "when you place your pawn at the end of your opponents board you earn a queen" and somebody in response saying, "Yea, I get it now, the killer dresses up his victims after eating waffle cones!" I mean, come on- absolutely no contrast. This was a letdown. It was as if Steven James had a difficult time trying to piece his own storytelling.

There was also the problem that all the characters in the book had the same personality. This can become a dull read. However, if the material is excellent, then things like that can get overlooked. I think Steven James is on to something. However, it wasn't exactly in `The Pawn'. Maybe next time he can avoid the move of making his protagonist look stupid for the sake of a predictable story line. In addition, don't tell me how smart your protagonist is- make him smart in his evaluations. I'm thinking if James had shaved about 75 pages (leave out the daughter, maybe) and synched up his story telling- it would have been a hit. I look forward to HEARING about his next book and maybe buying it. Good luck.

Steven James' thriller THE PAWN starts with a bang and doesn't let up until the final word. Bowers is an FBI Special Agent still mourning the death of his wife from cancer and trying to reconnect with the step-daughter he hardly knew. This book takes the reader on a thrill ride that is part police procedural, part thriller, and full of evil villians. For a Christian novel, this book contains an incredible amount of violence and deranged thinking from the minds of evil killers. Not a bad thing, but readers should be aware that this book pushes the limits on what I've seen in Christian fiction.

The book opens with Aaron Jeffrey Kincaid and his girlfriend preparing to carryout a suicide pact. After this haunting chapter, the novel skips forward twenty years to the present. Patrick Bowers is being flown to a crime scene to assist his friend Ralph Hawkins. The victim is a young woman, and the fifth to be killed by a probable serial killer. Bowers works with Hawkins and an attractive agent named Lien-hua Jiang. Bowers struggles to find meaning in the murders. How are the victims connected? Why does the killer leave a chess pawn at each crime scene?

The plot is intense and leads to some dark places involving cults and a CIA conspiracy. The novel is never preachy but does offer a message of hope. A sequel is already written and will be released this summer. I can't wait.

I love Michael Connelly, John Sandford and Robert Crais and truly believe THE PAWN is just as good as books by these great authors. Its nice to read such exceptional Christian fiction and I hope James continues to write thrillers.

This book is fast paced, well written, and full of surprises. There are lots of plot twists and last minute revelations. If you are looking for a typical "soft-ball" Christian crime fiction, this is not it. This is a bit more graphic than, say, Dee Henderson. I read a lot of True Crime and Sereial Killer books, so this did not offend me, in fact I truly liked that the main character seemed a bit more on the "normal" (just a man dealing with life, family, faith, work, and of corse serial killers)side for a fiction character, as opposed to a man struggling with a crisis of faith who just happens to solve a murder or two in the corse of figuring out his faith.

As a retired federal law enforcement officer I enjoy reading the occasional crime novel, mystery or thriller.

Living as I do in the general area in which the action takes place, I thought it might be fun to read this novel.

Unfortunately, I found the plot overly convoluted and contrived, the characters one dimensional and not very likable and the police procedures flawed.

I did make my way through to the end but I can't say that there was anything about the storyline or characters that would make me want to read the next in the series.

Unlike some other reviewers, I did not find the action portrayed overly explicit or gratuitous.

I wish I could have given this work a higher rating as I "wanted" to like it.

The author does a tremendous job in describing the main characters to the point that you can picture them in your head. I sat down and found that I could fly through chapter after chapter anxious to see what would happen. I can't wait for The Rookie to hit the shelves.