THE BISHOP by Steven James - REVIEWED!

“A moment of tranquility, of grace, overcome by fear. The jittery race for survival. Life running from death.” (p.90)

Patrick Bowers is about to experience the ultimate game. A game in which life and death flicker about one another like a moth around the flame. One will ultimately triumph, but the reader will never guess the outcome until it steals into your mind and shouts its victory!

Steven James is a master wordsmith, and to read his novels …well, there is no greater pleasure for this reader. The Bishop is my fourth Patrick Bowers thriller, and it is superb! James builds the tension and suspense so subtly, so believably, until you are almost gasping for breath during the final chapters. I kid you not! These books are very intense reads, and yet the characters are so real, so believable that you feel like you’ve experienced the journey by the side of an old friend. It is truly the best of the best in fiction, and if you love a gritty, suspenseful thrilling read….then Steven James’ novels will fulfill your every wish and leave you hungry for more!

Patrick Bowers faces intense situations in both his personal and professional life among the pages of The Bishop. It seems as though evil has personified itself within the lives of two very power-hungry, psychopathic killers. Once again, Bowers finds himself frantically trying to gain ground on a killer so illusive it’s a though he is chasing first one shadow then another. The crimes are grizzly and disturbing and as the story builds in intensity, it seems that somehow Bowers is once again providing the ultimate motive (he hates this word!) for some very terrible crimes.

Meanwhile, not one but three women must compete for Bowers’ attention. One of the most endearing of these three is his teenage daughter Tessa. I have come to love her funky, quirkiness a great deal, and her intelligence and wit never cease to amaze me. Tessa and Patrick are still struggling to find their way as a father/daughter duo, and the two of them face a very powerful challenge in this story! Meanwhile Agents Lien-hua and Cheyenne both vie for a place in the heart of this wonderfully intelligent man, and it’s anyone’s guess who will ultimately win his heart.

James explores the hearts and minds of both evil and good in this novel, and he also probes some very esoteric questions that leave me curious to know more about the man who pens such stories. The faith element is slight, but it is there, and it seems that it might be Tessa who finally allows the Light to shine in her heart – but that too remains to be seen. James writes realistically about the human condition, yet he always threads his stories with an element of hope that never fails to reach me and draw me closer to this group of flawed characters. In short, he is simply a master wordsmith, and it is pure pleasure to read his work!

About the Author:

Critically acclaimed author Steven James has written more than twenty books, including the bestselling thriller series The Bowers Files. One of the nation's most innovative storytellers, Steven developed his skill as a performer at East Tennessee State University (MA in storytelling). He lives in Tennessee with his wife and three daughters.