The Bishop (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 4)

Book 62 - Steven James - The Bishop

Book 4 of the Patrick Bowers thrillers - see Book 14 ‘The Rook’ and Book 29 ‘The Knight’ - sees the geoprofiler up against it again. This time it’s personal.

I was introduced to the Bower books many moons ago and have fought against reading them all in one go to ensure the anticipation builds.

Very different to the previous three but still another great page turner, for once I guessed part of the solution...I think. It moves at a lightning pace and if I have one criticism it introduces new characters and new crimes almost too quickly. For the first time it links quite heavily back to the first book which I had read years ago so that was tough pulling those details back to the front of my show more thinking.

Brutal but thankfully never overly gruesome, using the old Shakespeare trick of having the killing take place offstage, although they never cease to shock and the closer the horror gets to Bower’s family the harder it is to keep going.

At its heart is the message that families come in all forms and that God’s light can be found in many dark recesses of life. Wasn’t expecting that after the most horrific of first kills...mostly offstage...

Who lives ? Who dies ? That is a story for another day...another book. Can’t wait to reach Book 5 in the series - ‘The Queen’ but am glad that won’t be for a while...phew I need a break...lol show less

I have been binge-listening to audiobooks featuring FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers. In The Bishop, Patrick and Tessa are spending the summer in the D.C. area as Patrick is teaching at Quantico. Of course, Patrick cannot go anywhere without being pulled into an investigation. The horrific murder at a primate research center is just the beginning of an intense killing spree. Familiar characters are on board to get the crimes solved, but the perpetrators are in this for personal reasons, making the stakes life and death for all the characters.

The Bishop is another creepy, creepy story. James adds just enough detail to let the reader’s imagination take flight. The result is especially chilling. Patrick Bowers is a complex character, show more with many flaws, but also with deep love and loyalty. His personal life is as interesting as the gruesome cases he investigates. Tessa, Patrick’s step-daughter, is the character that contemplates the spiritual aspects within the novel. The Bishop focuses on man’s free will versus instinct. Tessa’s investigation of evolutionary theories and moral arguments is a great counterpoint to the crimes detailed within the book.

While The Bishop may not be for everyone (especially those with queasy stomachs), it is a thrill ride. Great writing, compelling characters, and thought-provoking themes make this one a perfect choice for those looking for a suspense-filled thriller. Note: The Bishop is the 4th book in the series, but can be read as a standalone.

Recommended.

Audience: adults. show less

I'm going to start this review off with a small complaint: this is book 4 and now I want all the others in the Patrick Bowers series! Other than small minor complaint, I LOVED this suspense novel. Steven James' writing style is astronomical! I was instantly captured and reminded of James Patterson thrills with Alex Cross mystery. WOW!

From the start I was pulling into the twists and turns of amazing crime solving suspense. It was a feeling of HAVING and NEEDING to know RIGHT NOW what happens next. This was by far THE BEST suspense novel I've read. Patrick Bowers was a wonderful character full of depth and intensity. His love for his job and his stepdaughter was phenomenal! The spiritual messages are are strong through out the intense show more story. The differences between good and evil are portrayed perfectly through the characters and the plot. Patrick Bowers is most definitely the Alex Cross of the Christian genre! It takes the best of the best to top suspense king James Patterson in any genre and that's exactly what Steven James did by ten million percent!

So, I'm sure by my review you can guess that I want to give this 5 star book so many more stars than simply 5! The intensity of edge-of-your-seat emotions is worthy of recommendation-hands down-to everyone! I can't wait for 2011 and the release of book 5-The Queen! show less

Well, this book was total guilty pleasure, as a result I did not use my time as wisely as I could this weekend. I have never read a Patrick Bowers Mystery, and I appear not to have read the first books, so I have to go back. It was a very good read, I give it five stars and would have given it more if I could. An interesting book all the way through, combining family dynamics, serial killers, virtual lives, and a corrupt government system. You know, our usual everyday problems. I was kept guessing for a long time, and I appreciate that in a mystery, as many red herrings as the criminals were supplying to the FBI, the author Steven James was supplying to the reader. Consequently, I was almost able to get to the end of the book before all show more the disparate pieces came together. It would have been so easy to to assume other endings, which is a testament to the author. I appreciated the inclusion of Shakespeare and Sir Arthur Conan Dolye. It appears that there was a debate within the the story, and of course I sought out my edition of Hamlet right away to compare my thoughts to James'. I can hardly wait to get back to the library for more... show less

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.

Bowes' 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 show more 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. show less

View it on my blog.

I actually read this one back in December, and just discovered that I had a review stashed away. Convenient, right?

Well, Steven James did it again. The suspense continues with The Bishop, book number four in The Patrick Bowers Files. Creepy, but my favorite of the series so far.

“It's hip,” I assured Tessa.

She grimaced. “Hip?”

“Trust me. I have my finger on the pulse of all that is cool.”

“Please tell me you did not just say that.”

I love it. I love how, even during this dark, slightly gruesome suspense, James still manages to add a sprinkling of humor here and there. His characters really come alive—Patrick especially feels very real to me.

The Bishop was very thought-provoking and expertly crafted, in show more my opinion. Definitely a book that will get your heart racing.

At the conclusion I felt somewhat accomplished, having guessed a part of what would happen in the end. Yet, when that did happen, my mind was still completely blown. That's what reading this series is like. You think you have it all figured out, and then the author delivers a twist you never expected, completely throwing you off.

The endings of James's books are always the best part. You're kept in suspense until the very end when everything unfolds and all the subplots come together. And you're thinking, “I never would have guessed...”

And then, there it is.

The end.

A cliffhanger. A brilliantly executed cliffhanger, mind you.

Now you must read the next book.

Content: Some cringe worthy murders. Some intimacy--behind closed doors scenes. More of a Christian message. show less

A literary chameleon, Steven James cannot be confined to one sub-genre within the thriller world. With his latest installment to the extremely popular Patrick Bowers series, “The Bishop”, James instantly captures the attention and imagination of his fans as this segment takes an unexpected political turn.

FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers has returned to Quantico and a full summer schedule of teaching. Settling in with his stepdaughter Tessa is relatively uncomplicated and his hope of a quiet summer initially appears to be a reachable goal.
Unfortunately, the criminal mind never rests and when the body of a prominent congressman’s daughter is discovered in a revolting setting, Bowers is compelled to ride this unexpected journey show more through as he struggles to fit the surprising clues together.

When his stepdaughter’s father returns to the scene with more than a long distance relationship in mind, Bowers needs to make a choice between focusing on his fragile personal life or career.

As each intricate layer is shed, readers won’t be able to put this smartly-written thriller down. Bowers and each startling turn are mentally stimulating.

Reviewed by Suspense Magazine
www.suspensemagazine.com show less