The Pawn Book Review (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 1) by Steven James

BOOK REVIEW: The Pawn
Author: Steven James
Kindle Book
Copyright: 2007
Excellent Thriller.
* * * * ( 4/ 5 ) rating
Contains violent descriptions not suitable for young adults.

I found The Pawn (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 1) by Steven James an exceptionally written suspense thriller—yet, not your classic Christian novel. Patrick Bowers uses 21st century techniques and his powers of observation to tracking down a ruthless serial killer. Throughout the book, James shows each character’s wide range of emotion that brings them to life.

A captivating novel, The Pawn, shows there truly is a fine line between right and wrong – and how it all comes down to choices. The characters were fully developed and I found empathy for the main character, Patrick Bowers – a recently widowed man, trying to maintain a semblance of a normal home life with his stepdaughter, Tessa, all the while tracking down a serial killer.

Patrick is struggling with an emotional tidal wave. While still grieving over the loss of his wife, he fails to recognize the needs of his troubled teenage stepdaughter Tessa. Instead he chooses to cover the pain by keeping busy, thinking “time” will heal both of their hurts, but it only makes Tessa feel unwanted and unloved. And during this struggle to keep his home life from falling apart, a serial killer is on the rampage, and has his sights on Patrick.

Patrick appears to make several errors in judgment, especially when he flies Tessa to a safe house she he can iron out their problems. But it happens to be in the same town as the serial killer – the same killer that knows everything about Patrick, including Tessa. While some may find this unbelievable, I can relate to being widowed and the struggle to maintain your sanity from day to day. Patrick had to see for himself that Tessa was safe – and he probably felt he could keep her safe. He’d lost his wife to cancer, and he felt he was losing his daughter. It was not been the best decision in hindsight, but the ultimate conclusion was the breakthrough not only to tracking down the killer but also to restoring his family (Tessa).

One negative was the lack of God throughout the novel. While Patrick is struggling to understand the meaning of his wife’s death, and obviously does not have a relationship with God, I would have liked more confirmation of God’s love and presence, either in one of the characters, such as Lien-hua Jiang.

Another gruesome part was the mutilation of a cat in a flashback to the serial killers childhood. I felt it too detailed and real, and made me sick.

Yet, I enjoyed the novel, and highly recommend it. Just understand, it is NOT your normal Christian novel.