Steven James's The Knight ~ Reviewed

The Knight (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 3)
Steven James
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Revell; 1 Original edition (August 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0800732707


Product Description:

In The Knight, the third installment in the bestselling series of thrillers featuring FBI criminologist Patrick Bowers, the stakes have never been higher. Agent Bowers is used to tracking the country's most dangerous killers, but now it looks like a killer is tracking him. When he realizes the murderer is using clues from an ancient manuscript as a blueprint for his crimes, Bowers faces a race against time to decipher who the next victim will be and to stop the final shocking murder--which he's beginning to believe might be his own. Gritty, chilling, and intense, this psychological thriller is guaranteed to keep readers up all night.


Review:

A wild ride. This is a police procedural that not only delivers the details, some of which makes it a novel the nightmare prone might not want to read right before bed, it delivers strong characters and great writing.

The idea, a serial killer with a tricky scenario/agenda, isn't unique, but the story is compelling and suspenseful and kept me wondering to the end. I had three or four folks picked out as the cold-blooded killer, but I didn't pick correctly. James creates fleshed out characters who pulled at my heartstrings. Some moments of introspection slowed the plot enough to add a different kind of tension, and surprising poignancy. The evil characters might rival some of worst-of-the-worst literary baddies.

Though a Christian publisher, this novel is very light in faith elements, so if you love cat and mouse games full of forensic and investigative detail but think that it may throw Bible verses at you, I'm pretty sure you won't even notice the subtle faith elements once the story starts rolling. This is a great read and it guarantees that I'll pick up any book with Steven James name on the cover.

Reviewed by: Kelly Klepfer