The Bishop

Editor’s Note: This is Lisa’s last post for us. Thank you Lisa! Keep up with her at Lisa writes…..

Astute readers of this site will be familiar with my affection for the Patrick Bowers Files, a series of novels by Steven James. I’ve reviewed The Rook and The Knight and have eagerly awaited The Bishop, the latest installment featuring FBI agent Patrick Bowers.

As I’ve stated in earlier reviews, James’ novels are not your grandmother’s Christian fiction. They are thrillers in every sense of the word. In fact, The Bishop takes the intensity to a whole new level. The bad guys are beyond bad; they are evil, disturbingly so. And yet, like The Rook and The Knight, James tells his story apart from gratuitous violence and language. He is not unnecessarily explicit and instead employs good storytelling. Really good storytelling. Here’s the publisher’s description:

The game is on.

FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers’s cutting-edge skills are about to be pushed to the limit. When a young woman is found brutally murdered in Washington DC, her killers continue a spree of perfect crimes in the Northeast. But with nothing to link them to each other, Agent Bowers faces his most difficult case yet–even as his personal life begins to crumble around him.

The Bishop is a gripping, adrenaline-laced story for readers who are tired of timid thrillers. Strap on your seat belt and get ready for a wild ride.

The Bishop, also like the novels in the series, is more than a good guy/bad guy tale. There is complex characterization and character development and smart and witty dialogue (and as usual Tessa gets most of the good lines). Certainly the suspense and mystery keep the reader engaged, yet the characters themselves and their interactions are just as compelling if not more so.

James does more than tell a good story. In this novel more so than the others, his characters (and thus by default the reader as well) wrestle with deep philosophical issues such as the problem of evil and man’s responsibility before God. In addition to (gruesome) murder, James touches on other hot topics like abortion and fraud. The Bishop is a complex story that will not only keep you on the edge of your seat but will also make you think. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to read more about Patrick and Tessa in the next novel in the series.

Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes…. Lisa thanks Revell publishers for providing the review copy of The Bishop!