The Queen - A Review

The fifth Patrick Bowers thriller, “The Queen”, by Steven James, careens through a Wisconsin winter like a snowmobile at full throttle.  James starts our protagonist on a case related to his old nemesis, Richard Basque, then changes gears as Pat Bowers is assigned to a seemingly unrelated side-case that acquaints him with a new conflicted  nemesis, Alexei Chekov.

For those who love high tech adventures and suspense, this book stands toe-to-toe with the best Clancy novels.  From Agent Bowers’ geospatial three dimensional profiling program, ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) transmission technology for submarine contact, to the behind-the-scenes experimental government technologies used by spy agencies and Eco Terrorism, this book has it all.

James does an excellent job at balancing the thrills with deep character development where we dig into Agent Bowers’ past with an introduction of his brother and sister-in-law, Sean and Amber.  Bower’s complicated relationship with his daughter Tessa creates a nice tension with an underlying question of what forgiveness and reconciliation mean.  Did Pat Bowers and his on-again, off-again love interest Lien-hua Jiang finally get around to tying the knot?  You’ll have to read the book to find out. 

Having read the past four Patrick Bowers novels, I am always expecting the unexpected twists at the end and “The Queen” didn’t disappoint.  This is required reading for adrenaline junkies!

“Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

The Bishop

How long has it been since you’ve picked up a book you literally could not put down until you finished every last sentence of the epilogue? The Bishop by author Steven James is that book for this year.

Book four in the Bowers Files starts off with a disturbing scene like the jerk of a roller coaster as you head to the first big hill. In Steven James fashion, our hero, FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers, is pulled into another thrilling mystery pitting his unusual investigative techniques against psychopathic monsters.

James does a wonderful job of mastering the use of the first and third person to give the reader just enough information to let them play detective, yet withholding enough of the converging plots that you feel compelled to keep reading. His books are graphic, violent, informative, and introspective. The Bishop is no exception.

Midway through the book I was sure the mystery was about to be solved, but wouldn’t you know it…the first half was just the tip of the iceberg as far as the story was concerned. The story pulls you behind the scenes of the halls of the FBI, body farms, primate research facilities, the offices of lawyers, politicians, and hotels.

The Bishop is not a run-of-the-mill thriller. It tackles the scientific and ethical definitions of what it means to be human covering subjects such as transhumanism, metacognition, and intentionality.

Patrick Bowers’ personal life is the glue that holds the novel together and is woven into the story ingeniously giving the feel of a seamless transition between action, drama, romance, and horror. By the end of the book, I had no less than four people tagged as the person or persons “whodunit”. Now THAT makes for an exciting ending.

I anxiously await his next novel, The Queen, due out in 2011.

The Bishop is available August 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

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