Customer Reviews

Bishop, The: A Patrick Bowers Thriller

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4 star:		(1)
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The Bishop was the first book I had read by Steven James, although it is the fourth book in the Patrick Bowers thriller series.

Although previous cases and players are mentioned in the beginning, I was able to easily 'catch up'. The book opens with a pair of killers committing a horrific crime. They have a detailed plan to continue their 'game.' FBI Special Agent Bowers and his team are called in.

Bowers' speciality is fascinating - he consults with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency for the FBI. "Using the locations related to serial offenses and sttudying the timing, location, and progression of the crimes, we can work backward to find the most likely location of the offender's home base." The degree to which this was used was intriguing.

I liked Bowers as a character. He's introspective, intelligent, confident yet fallible. He is the sole guardian of his step daughter Tessa. Their relationship is a work in progress. Tessa herself is just as interesting as Bowers. She's highly intelligent and it is some of her reveries that spur truly thought provoking. philosophical conversations between many of the characters. Good vs evil, what separates man from beast, is evil predetermined, pre emptive justice and more. James has produced some incredible chilling characters in the killers.

The main plot is intelligent and carefully crafted, drawing on cutting edge technology and news. Read carefully though as there are twists and turns just when you think you know where the story is going. There are many sub plots playing out at the same time - political machinations and Bowers' love life. Lots of foreshadowing had me reading 'just one more chapter' and I found myself sneaking a peak a few pages ahead more than once.

The Bishop is put out by a publisher that focuses mainly on Christian books and authors. The plot of The Bishop is not for the faint at heart. It is violent and would be disturbing to many readers. How can these two jibe?

From the author:

'In my books I want people to look honestly at what our world is like, both the good and the evil. The evil in my books is not senseless; people's lives are treated as precious and I want my readers to hurt when an innocent life is taken. The only way to do that is to let them see it on the page and then reflect on its meaning.

I think that an effective way of dissuading someone from doing something is to make them see it as deeply disturbing. And the only way to make people disturbed by evil is to show it to them as what it really is. I believe that including graphic material within the broader context of a redemptive story, just as the Bible does, is appropriate when trying to reveal the truth about human nature and our relationship with the Divine. I believe that the Bible includes graphic material to show how far we as a race can fall, and how far God came to rescue us from ourselves. That's what I hope to do in my novels as well."

All in all, a great thriller. Following a chess theme, The Queen, the next in the series is due out in the summer of 2011. I'll be picking it up.

A brilliant book!!! The characters were amazing the story lines were riviting and the case, although decribed in graphic detail which I was warned ahead of time would be as such, was very well handled. It was so well done it was like I was watching it on screen, not just reading. Very well done!!

Thinking about it after, if I had not know it was graphic content and just stumbled onto content like this I may have been alarmed, however that was not the case. I found that the content was not sensationalizing anything but was just describing what was going on.

So without giving anything away, if you like crime scene tv shows or movies then I think you will like this book. It is easy to get wrapped up in so clear some time from your schedule! It's a thick book to get through.

I have read all 4 Patrick Bowers novels and have enjoyed them a great deal. The author does a marvelous job and the story is quite intelligent and really clips along.
The single criticism I have is that (semi-spoiler!) the book has yet another villian who is 12 steps ahead of Bowers and is able to orchestrate & execute a complex series of events to lead to the desired conclusion. Quite simply, it strained credulity particularly when similar devices were part of the earlier books in the series.
The character of Tessa and her relationship with Patrick is terrific and the author shines in making them seem genuine.

If you love detective thrillers this one is for you. You really get to know the characters throught the course of the series.

Book Review

"The Bishop"

by Steven James

This book was one of the best suspense thrillers that I have read for a long while. I am not a great fan of this genre, so did not know what I would encounter when reading it. I do question the fact that it is classed as Christian Fiction, as I did not find any reference to the faith that I feel it should have portrayed to be put in that category. That put aside, it was a fantastic read and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The first chapter grabs your attention and keeps it!!

FBI agent, Patrick Bower, has cutting edge skills and in this book push him to the limit when a young woman's body is discovered brutally murdered in Washington DC. Her killers continues his spree of murders which tend to be the perfect crimes- it seems no mistakes are made to leave clues behind to aid solving the crimes. As nothing seems to link the crimes, FBI Agent Bower faces the most difficult case yet- finding an answer to these murders is his quest. You can live this situation with him as the scenes are vividly described. Bower's personal life is crumbling around him, but he persists! He must find the answer at all costs and he does!!

The adrenilene flowed in my veins as I read this thriller, always wanting to know what was going to happen next- no predictable events in this book!! The author definitely engaged you actively in the crimes and emotions - his and others in the story. Well done. I highly recommend this to other readers- even those who don't like thrillers, may get "hooked". OH, and I love the connection to the Bishop in the chess set. What a unique idea!! Creativity flows in this author!! Now, I want to read the other books in his series!!

'Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc. Available now at your favorite book seller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Patrick Bowers was hoping for a few quiet weeks in DC with his step-daughter Tessa, but when a congressman's daughter is found dead, Bowers is called in to help. As Bowers struggles to put the pieces together in this perfect crime, his home life gets tilted on end. Tessa's real father wants custody of her, and is willing to take Patrick to court to get it. Patrick and Tessa both struggle with the implications that are presented to them. Then the killer raises the stakes. It is a race against time, a fight against good and evil. The game is on. Who will win?

Steven James does an amazing job crafting this novel. The graphic nature of the murders and getting inside psychopathic thoughts can be a little unnerving. This book is not for someone who has a weak stomach or is given to nightmares. Still, James does justice to the topic. The plot is well constructed, the pace is amazing. I really appreciate the workmanship of this novel and I look forward to reading the next one in the series.

If you like thrillers and suspence, this book is for you! I would suggest, if you have never read Steven James that you start with book one in the series, The Pawn.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review.