Opening Moves

The Bowers Files, Book 6

By: Steven James

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Milwaukee, 1995. In a city still reeling from the crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer, a woman’s body is found with the lungs removed. Local cops think a Dahmer copycat is on the loose. But Patrick Bowers, working as a homicide detective for the Milwaukee Police Department, sees from the timing and location of the crime that this is not a copycat at all. It's a killer with an entirely different agenda....

©2012 Steven James (P)2012 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

" Opening Moves is a mesmerizing read. From the first chapter, it sets its hook deep and drags you through a darkly gripping story with relentless power. My conclusion: I need to read more of Steven James." (Michael Connelly)

Love Bower’s beginnings

As a native Wisconsinite, it is fascinating to see fiction and non-fiction collide. I always appreciate Steven James’ knack for detail. The only way this could be improved is to hear Steven’s voice telling the story. He is an amazing story teller on paper and even more so in real life.

Steven James does it again!

One of the things, which I most enjoy, is that James makes Patrick Bowers so human. He is brilliant and flawed, loving and awkward, honest and confused. Sometimes, the criminal acts are difficult to stomach, and foster the intended affect: anger towards how humans can treat one another and appreciation for the same.

Gore Galore

Would you listen to Opening Moves again? Why?

Extremely violent and discriptive.

What about Richard Ferrone’s performance did you like?

Richard has a good reading voice and reads the horrific details with just the right amout of menace.

Any additional comments?

I did not "enjoy" this book. It is not a story I would recommend.

Lori Mc

thank you for finally putting these books to recorded format i am an avid listener and love this series so glad to have them i can travel with.

Fantastic

Easily the best novel I have ever read/ listened to.
I love a good book that can take me into a fantasy world, but also think at the same time. Steven James does exactly that. This series has pulled me every which direction and still had moments of “being my own detective.” I recommend this whole series to everyone that will listen. Ready for the next book, cannot put down.

Great prequal to the series

What did you love best about Opening Moves?

It gave you a better picture of how things transpired between Bowers and his nemesis.

What did you like best about this story?

Just the overview of the story.

What about Richard Ferrone’s performance did you like?

Nothing bad to say, another excellent performance.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Checkmate!

Great Prologue

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This takes us to before the previous books and I love the background of how he got to where Bowers is now. Loved it!!

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

Yes

If you like gore and guts, you'll love this one

If you could sum up Opening Moves in three words, what would they be?

Chilling, complicated, deep

Who was your favorite character and why?

Patrick Bowers is a deep character and he keeps making me want more. He is conflicted, always measuring the line between what he must do and what he would like to do.

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

Mr. Ferrone does a pretty good job on the narration. He is one of the few performers who can do good female voices.

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

Chilled me. Horrified me. Made me skip forward in a place or two, but all of those emotions took the throne over my favorite scene with Radar and his love for his family.

Any additional comments?

I am noticing Christian authors who seem to be trying to tred on the worldly side of the tracks with gore and torture, minus the filthy mouth. I guess we could call it Christian gore. I'm wondering why they feel it necessary. To test their own prowess? To compete in the market place? Personally, I don't see the need for competing in this field, but I have to give it to Steven James who outdoes himself in this very complicated plot which could rank no less than a 5. He said he had nightmares after he wrote this. I don't doubt it.

Interesting

I'm not a fan of going back in time, particularly devoting a whole novel to it, but this time it was worth the read. Throughout the first five Bower books, the hero keeps referring to events that occurred long ago, and this novel answers a lot of questions about what happened back then. If fact if a reader new to Steven James, decides to start with this novel, and then listen to the others in order, that would probably be the best way to appreciate this series.

I'll be happy to get back to the current time frame if Steven James plans to continue the Bowers novels with story lines involving the current characters from Book 5.

All of Steven James novels are well crafted and extremely interesting.

Warning: graphic, deviant behaviors.

I happen to be a fan of this series so the prequel seemed like a logical step. How Pat Bowers gets to be an FBI agent, his geolocation education and expertise, and his FBI relationship with Ralph are all introduced from their beginnings.

The crimes, tracking, and apprehension of Richard Devin Bass are in this book. Bass has been an ongoing evil in Pat's thoughts and even returns to court in other books. At the same time, there is another deviant operating in the area. It take some time for the task force to realize that they are dealing with two independent evils, sort it all out, and bring both to justice.

Now for the stomach churning: be prepared for the removal of body parts from living human beings and cannibalism! I feel that this book is much more graphic than the previous episodes in this series. However, I did continue to listen and there are some unique situations here. As always, Steven James includes bits of biblical and philosophical background. In an author's afterword he comments about writing this book.

This was a worthwhile listen and I look forward to the next installment in the series.

The narration is appropriate.