This review is going to sound like I got paid to write it (well, my skills aren't that incredible, but still) or at least sound like I'm a psychotic overzealous fan; however, I received nothing for it except a free review copy of the book. Which is entirely enough payment for me. And I'm not psychotic. Promise. :)
If you look at my previous reviews of James' novels, you'll see that I am indeed crazy about the whole Patrick Bowers Thriller series:
THE PAWN Review at Suspense Zone
THE ROOK Review (here on my blog)
THE KNIGHT Review (here on my blog)
The Bishop continues the intrigue of Patrick Bower's cases, and explores further his relationships to his daughter Tessa, ex-girlfriend Lien-Hua, would be more-than-friend Cheyenne Warren and even DEA Margaret Wellington. Throw Tessa's real but estranged dad Paul Lansing in the mix and Pat is bound for even more trouble.
Patrick must track not one killer but a pair of them. When a young woman is found dead, killed in an unbelievably heinous fashion, Pat knows he is in for his most difficult case yet. Worse, the killers seem to anticipate the agents' every move, proving worthy opponents for Pat's keen intellect.
Though The Bishop is over 500 pages long, nowhere does the action slow too much or the author include unnecessary padding to lengthen the story. On the contrary, each plot line is so fully developed and interwoven, the action so intense, that I dare any reader to not feel saddened that the ending is near.
I always try to make James' books last, but I cannot put them down and usually end up reading them in one or two sittings. He did not get his Masters in storytelling for nothing (Can you believe universities actually award that degree?). The man can flat out write and I'm extremely picky.
As with his other books, I can't tell too much about it without giving spoilers (which I don't like to do) so everyone is just going to go out and buy it and judge for themselves. Suffice it to say that I don't like monkeys nearly as much as I used to...and I'm scared of a few other things now as well. But The Bishop does end rather nicely, less open-ended than the others in the series, and ties up quite a few ends, if not everything.
Rating: Five stars, two thumbs up, one very satisfied reader.
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