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The Rook Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Steven James / Revell Reviewed by Susan SleemanBestselling author, Steven James has mastered the thriller, and with only two fiction books under his belt, has surpassed many of the big name thriller authors.As in The Pawn, The Rook finds FBI geographic profiler Patrick Bowers hot on a serial case, this one seemingly involving only arson. But before long the stakes ratchet up to include kidnapping, suicide, murder, taunting video tapes, a challenging deadline, and a serial killer of surprising identity. And fueling it all is a biotech weapon, one of the world's most deadly devices and one of the military's darkest secrets. I want to give you more specifics about the plot, but I am forcing myself to stop here as I don't want to ruin the page turning surprises you will encounter in this almost five hundred page thrill ride. Bestselling author, Steven James has mastered the thriller, and with only two fiction books under his belt, has surpassed many of the big name thriller authors. Clearly James understands the concept of the BIG novel as in both The Pawn and The Rook, you couldn't ask for a more aggressive, big, and I mean really big plot. As a writer I admire his ability to think on such a high level, his unique plot lines, and his diligent research. Equally important as the race to the end plot are the characters James has richly developed. My favorite parts of the book involve the interplay between Tessa and Patrick. James gave us a glimpse of this tumultuous relationship in The Pawn, but in The Rook, Tessa is more of a starring player. James has captured the wit, sarcasm, and emotions of a teenager, though I have to say, Tessa like everything else in this book is not what she seems on the surface. I am one of the plethora of readers who loved The Pawn, but before I read The Rook I had the chance to sit down with Steven James for an interview. As the book unfolded and the plot built, I kept remembering what he told me in the interview--all this seemingly thrilleresc technology expertly used in The Rook exists today and is simply waiting for someone to put it together and make the weapon. Wow, did this up the thrill of reading the book for me. And hopefully it will for you as you listen to my interview with Steven James. |
Steven James is one of the nation's most innovative storytellers. He is the author of more than twenty books and a full-time speaker, having appeared more than 1,500 times throughout North America, Europe and Asia since 1996. | The
Pawn Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Steven James / Baker
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Special Agent Patrick Bowers has met only one person he's feared---until now. Working on a North Carolina serial murder case, he's caught in a macabre game of cat-and-mouse with a cunning killer called the Illusionist. The pieces of the puzzle don't add up. Can Bowers unravel the pattern in time to save the next victim? 432 pages, softcover from Revell. |
| The Rook,
The Bowers Files Series #2 Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Steven James / Revell
An arsonist has struck a top-secret research facility at a key US naval base. But it's not just a random terrorist attack. These people were after something specific. When Special Agent Patrick Bowers is called in to investigate, he is drawn into a deadly web of intrigue and deception. With his own criminology research being turned against him and one of the world's most deadly devices missing, Bowers is caught up in a race against time to stop an international assassin before it's too late. |







