The Queen by Steven James

Thrilling! Suspenseful twists & turns!

 

From the Publisher

While investigating a double homicide in an isolated northern Wisconsin town, Special Agent Patrick Bowers uncovers a high-tech conspiracy that twists through long-buried Cold War secrets and targets present-day tensions in the Middle East. A pulse-pounding thriller that explores the rippling effects of the choices we make!

My Take

WARNING: This book contains violence and graphic descriptions of disturbing crime scenes.  It is not for the faint-of-heart who may be offended by such written images.  For more on this topic, please read Steven James’ blog article entitled “Why I Write about Evil” .

I was so excited to see The Queen had been released since I’ve read all 4 prior novels in the series. Steven James has become one of my favorite authors with his thrilling plots and suspenseful twists & turns.  The first book I read was The Pawn and I think it’s still my favorite. All the books in the series can stand alone but I had to go back and start from the beginning to read what had happened in the beginning. That’s the beauty of this series—you can read them in any order. I just liked seeing the journey of the character’s lives from the start.

The Queen is the only book from James that I thought started slowly. It was really hard for me to get into the book until about Chapter 5 or 6. I kept pushing through knowing James would eventually grab my attention (he had to—all his other books did!). Once I hit the point of “getting involved”, I had a hard time putting the book down!

I think there was more about personal relationships in this book than in the others. Maybe that was the reason I had a hard time. I was expecting an explosive start and that just didn’t happen.  In prior books, the plot revolved around a serial killer and all his victims. The Queen wasn’t really about a serial killer but more about conspiracy. Maybe my expectations got the best of me. Who knows—I just know that it didn’t give me the same feeling when I read it.

By the time I got near the end, I was carrying the book with me everywhere! I couldn’t wait to see who was involved in the conspiracy although I had an idea of who it was.  Boy was I surprised!!! I’m glad I made it to the end to find out “who done it”. Now I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

Based on everything, I would give The Queen 4 out 5 stars. Mr James always delivers—sometimes more than others—and I always recommend his writing to other booklovers.

Read an excerpt and find out for yourself! You’ll have to have this book!

I received this book free from Revell as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

About the Author

Critically acclaimed author Steven James has written more than twenty books, including The Pawn, The Rook, The Knight, and The Bishop, all part of the bestselling thriller series The Bowers Files. The Pawn is the basis of a TV series currently in development. 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.