The Knight – Steven James

The Knight Steven James
The Knight by Steven James
Also by this author: Broker of Lies
Series: Bowers Files #3
Published by Revell on August 1, 2009
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Suspense, Thriller
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
five-stars

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.

“…these tales, like all other things, may be harmful or useful, according to whoever listens to them.” – Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron

Patrick Bowers is used to tracking killers, but this time a killer appears to be tracking him. When he’s brought in to investigate a gruesome double murder, he finds that the killer has left him a message. And as the pieces tie together, Bowers begins to see the epic tale the killer is creating – and Patrick just might be the subject of the shocking conclusion.

If that isn’t enough, Patrick finds himself somewhat necessarily distracted. Several years ago, back when he was just a detective, he apprehended a serial killer who cannibalized his victims. In the midst of trying to track down one killer in Colorado, he also has to keep this killer in jail in Chicago. A technicality has called for a retrial, forcing Patrick once again be face-to-face with the most violent killer he’s ever caught.

As always, the character of Tessa – Patrick’s stepdaughter – invites some humor and lightheartedness to balance out James’ terrifyingly accurate depictions of the crimes. Tessa’s intelligence and acerbic wit, along with her tough demeanor that still allows some vulnerability to show through, make her an engaging character to follow.

The Knight also contains some legal thriller elements, as the scenes from the retrial play out. Combined with the police procedural elements and Bowers great inductive and deductive reasoning skills, the novel is a tour de force look into the legal system and raises several important questions concerning justice and the current state of the legal system.

With the first two novels in the Bowers Files, Steven James has proven that his Master of Arts in Storytelling is well-earned. This third novel takes James’ writing a couple notches higher, making him – in my mind – one of the best suspense and thriller writers today. The Knight is storytelling at its finest, at least until James makes his finest even better in the following book, The Bishop.

five-stars

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.