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I love a good thriller! But here’s what I don’t love: so much blood, gore, and gratuitous profanity that usually accompanies said genre. When I was given the opportunity to review Checkmate by Steven James, I knew that because it is available at Family Christian Stores, it probably had far less of this kind of stuff in it. But in a lot of cases, when an author ‘cleans it up’, the story is watered down and weak as well. Not so with Checkmate. This is a page turner from the beginning.
There are even a couple of shockers in the prologue! Usually you have to wait until much further along in the story to gasp! And the twists and turns just get more and more twisted and turned. There are times when James will throw out what you *think* gives you a clue to whodunnit. You’re thinking, “Ooh, yeah. I’m smart. I’ve got this figured out.” Not so much.
I love the protagonist in the story, Special Agent Patrick Bowers. Apparently there are a whole series of Bowers thrillers, but don’t worry, this book definitely stands alone. And now I will be purchasing all of the rest of them, too! Bowers is just a likeable guy. His peers like him, his wife loves him, and even his 18 year old stepdaughter loves him. Which is really incredible because she isn’t biologically his or his current wife’s child. Long story in another book.
But at the same time that he’s likeable, he’s good. Very good at catching bad guys. One of the things that I love about reading a good book is absorbing all of the real information you pick up. I’m a whiz at Jeopardy because I read like a fiend. In this book, you really see Bowers’ inner workings, and his specialty of geospacial location; the idea that as we move through the world, we leave a ‘footprint’. Follow the footprint and you can catch the bad guy. (That’s a very simplistic definition – the book does it much better).
So throughout the book I learned a lot of interesting facts about how someone like Special Agent Bowers would solve a crime. It was fascinating.
This book is fast paced and tense, and if Agent Bowers can’t find the bad guy in time (and you won’t be wondering who the bad guy is), then there will be an attack of epic proportions on American Soil. The stakes are the very highest.
Now – let’s talk about the fact that this book was sent to me by Family Christian Stores, (thank you, by the way!). Do not be misled into thinking that it’s a bunch of Christian rhetoric that will try to proselyte and turn you on to Christianity. No. That’s not the aim of this book. It’s just pure thrills without all of the really horrid stuff. James is superb at giving you the chills without having to resort to overly exposed blood and guts. That is real talent as a writer, in my opinion. No cheap tricks – just a great story.
A couple of other things I liked: the chapters are short. Why do I like that? Because I’m forever wanting to get to the end of a chapter before I put the book down to do something that I need to do. (You know you do it, too!) So the chapters are nice, bite sized pieces of literary protein. (Ooh, that sounded good!). I also like the fact that if I leave this book lying around, no kids are going to read any kind of profanity if they happen to pick it up.
Here’s the blurb from the book jacket:
In Checkmate, critically acclaimed novelist Steven James offers a climactic chapter in his bestselling series, the Bowers Files. When a clandestine FBI facility is attacked, Special Agent Patrick Bowers is drawn into the vicious, ruthless story that a killer from his past is bent on telling the world. Clues lead to long-forgotten secrets buried deep beneath Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Now Bowers is caught up in trying to stop one of the deadliest attacks ever planned on American soil. Smart, tense, and full of mind-bending twists and turns, Checkmate explodes onto the scene, bringing this cycle of the Bowers Files to an unforgettable conclusion.
The book is 544 pages, and just came out this month. I highly recommend it if you want a really great, gripping read. Two thumbs up! And if I had more thumbs, they’d be up, too!
Purchase your copy at Family Christian Stores here.
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