The Pawn

By: Steven James

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Steven James' Christy Award-nominated crime thriller pits FBI Special Agent Bowers against a serial killer who enjoys torturing women. After visiting the mountain vistas where the murderer posed his dead victims, Bowers receives a taunting call from the "Illusionist." Although Bowers gets close, his insidious foe continues to elude him.

©2007 Steven James (P)2008 Recorded Books,LLC

Entertaining Enough, But Don't Listen Too Closely

Enjoyable, but flawed.

On the plus side, this is an entertaining listen that will keep you engaged. If you overlook a few plot gimmicks, you will probably enjoy this tale. I did and will listen to more of Steven James books.

James is particularly deft in handling the "Christian inspirational" themes. These wouldn't deter me even if they were handled more forcefully; I enjoyed the Left Behind series which IS much more direct. James, though, uses a relatively light touch that works well and naturally for this story ~ so if this sort of thing gives you pause, there is no need to fear overt moralizing or calls to conversion. This is not that kind of book.

What you will find are good, but flawed, good guys ~ very bad, bad guys ~ focus on an interesting criminological technique ~ and a creative, engaging plot.

Unfortunately, that plot is unnecessarily, almost distracting, complex. Narrator Richard Ferrone, ordinarily one of the best, stumbles a bit here, failing to differentiate voices sufficiently to render the multiple villains easily identifiable.

The plot is also, sometimes, ridiculously contrived. An example: our protagonist, FBI special agent Patrick Bowers, is something of a wunderkind in tracking serial killers. He is in the midst of a search for such a villain who tortures and kills young women; many of them. On a personal level, our hero is also having trouble bonding with his new step-daughter. So instead of planning to spend quality time with her following his violent man hunt, he insists the FBI fly the 17-year-old in to see him, right in the middle of the serial killers' hunting ground. Oh, I wonder what might happen there! (sarcasm).

Alas, James resorts to this sort of plot contrivance several times. It detracts from the story and renders the characters and the tale less believable. For maximum enjoyment, prepare yourself to overlook this sort of thing.

Also, don't expect too much in the way of character development. It is all but absent, except in the main protagonist, where it is sudden and not especially well developed.

And lastly, prepare yourself for moments of tortured, overworked prose. An example: Bowers, preparing to see his step-daughter, observes that he is off "to see this raven, left on my doorstep, by this thing we call life."

All in all, enjoyable but flawed. There are probably better places to spend a credit (for mysteries/suspense/thrillers, first try Lee Child, Thomas Harris, Michael Connelly, Stieg Larsson, Tess Gerritsen, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Vince Flynn, John Sandford, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, Jonathan Kellerman, you get the idea).

If you have already mined these writers, then maybe it's worth giving Steven James a try. I did and am preparing to sample the second in this series, fingers crossed that story-telling improves as the series grows. After all, in one of James' more overt inspirational observations, "Hope is evidence of God."

Incredibly Suspenseful, Full of Surprises

What did you love best about The Pawn?

This is the first novel in a thriller series, that you don't want to miss. This is my second time around listening to the series, and I can tell you right now that for someone interested in suspenseful thrillers, this is a perfect use of your credits. The author has the ability to tell multiple story lines in the same novel, weaving them together while leaving you hanging on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down. Each of the novels in the series builds on each other. They can hang by themselves but to get the most out of them, you should read them in order. This guy, Steven James is great. I think he's even better than John Sandford. Don't take my word for it. Take a chance. Listen to this first one and you'll see what I mean.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

For most of the books in this series, it was really hard to guess who was the antagonist. Or if you knew about one bad guy, you weren't sure if you knew about all of them. And the outcome, who would live and who would die, was not really predictable. You just were never sure. And at the end of each story, the author leaves you anxious to read the next book in the series.

Which character – as performed by Richard Ferrone – was your favorite?

The main character, the hero, is Detective Patrick Bowers, and while he is well developed and I like him, my favorite character has got to be Tessa, his stepdaughter. She reminded me of so many of teenage girls I have known. Richard Ferrone delivered Tessa's lines with the punk style of an unusual teenager who is not afraid to speak her mind. For women who might be a bit put off of the gory details of some of the story, I would say that the emotional details and challenges experienced by Tessa are well worth the listen.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I would say that in this first book, the moment when Detective Bowers and his step daughter realize that they need to work together to carve out their new life together as a family. Being a family is never easy. And this book illustrates the sacrifices one makes to build a family and stay together during tough times.

Great Book

Great book. Kept me interested all the way threw. Can't wait to listen to book 2

Great story becomes riveting quickly

This story began thick and continued to thicken quickly. I enjoyed not only the parts filled with suspense but also the story between Pat and his step-daughter Tess. Great mix of all the ingredients that make a memorable read.

Big Fan Now

This was a great story and the narrator is one of my favorites for this type of writing. We’ll done Mr. James!

This book hooks you fast!

Very powerful start, with a dark side. The plot thickens quickly and you have a real page turner (or in the case of audio ... a real page listener). I would call this a mystery/suspense with a Christian world view. This is my first book by Steven James but it will not be my last.

First of Steven James

What did you love best about The Pawn?

I've seen this book and series several times but never got around to reading any of James' works. I'm so glad I downloaded this with my monthly credit! I definitely want to read more from this author!
I really enjoyed the twisting plot! I have to admit that some of the details about what the Illusionist did to his women hurt my head...and I do not have a weak stomach!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat how Bowers tried to get ahead of the Illusionist. I kept guessing where he would go next!

Have you listened to any of Richard Ferrone’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was also my first to listen to a narration by Richard Ferrone and I do agree with another post/review that at times Ferrone made it difficult to distinguish characters by his voice. Other than that I think he is a great narrator!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I definitely wanted to sit down and listen to the whole book at once! I stayed up late into the night more than once listening to this book (then I was scared to sleep! Haha).

Any additional comments?

I would definitely recommend this book to others...I loved it!

This book was a pleasant surprise...Awesome!

What made the experience of listening to The Pawn the most enjoyable?

This was a very pleasant surprise as I had never heard of this series. But it has all of the qualities that I enjoy in a detective/suspense/mystery. If you are one who enjoys the Harry Bosch or Alex Cross series...you will enjoy these.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Pawn?

When they finally revealed the killer. Main characters role is not overboard in his thought process.

Which character – as performed by Richard Ferrone – was your favorite?

Ferrone is one of the best and does all roles justice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed... the main character and his daughter have a dry sarcastic whit.

real potential

Gave the story 4 stars almost gave 5 because there is NO filth. This keeps getting harder and harder to find. He also does a great job of fleshing out the characters and making them real. Found myself emotionally involved with the good the bad and even the Tessa :). Action parts still need a little work, I worked for 20 yrs doing a job where my actions decided whether people lived or died a LOT, and was a little frustrated at times, by the hero thinking or blabbing when he should have been moving, but that's probably more me than the writing. Definitely kept a good pace throughout the book (I prefer the ones that start out calm and build the characters and story then progress to gripping), ending with it being really hard to put down even to cook dinner.
The narration was great. Tone, pace, were perfect.

Great suspense and plot twists

Nice work! The story was unpredictable and riveting to the end. Lots of good character development work a great story line. Addicting for sure.