Steven James

Dear Readers,

Sometimes an author starts with a fabulous first book and it makes me worry about what his second book is going to be like. Thankfully Steven James follows up his first with a very good book. The Rook does live up to the hype. It is action packed, interesting and very intriguing.
Patrick is back and this time he is helping in San Diego, where they have had a rash of fires. No one seems to be able to figure out who is starting them or why. The arsonist isn't following any of the regular patterns. He doesn't seem to do it for the excitement of watching the fire or the fire dept. He doesn't do it to get rid of an eye sore. None of it makes any sense and nothing is as it seems.

Tessa is along and the father/daughter relationship is being strained. Patrick wants to protect her and she wants to fly. I must say this storyline adds a whole different dynamic to the book. It really does give Patrick a human side. He isn't just a guy trying to do his job, recovering from losing his wife, while falling in love.

I did make one mistake. I assumed a couple of things and totally missed the clues. So if you haven't read it yet, pay attention and I am sure you can figure it all out before the end. :-) Good luck.

Was it neccessary to make this book almost 500 pages long? Yes. I will admit a couple times in the middle I wished he had hurried it along a bit, but when I got to the end I wished The Knight was started. (coming 2009) I know that for those who love a action/adventure/mystery this is a great summer read. It was not one that I wanted to put down much and when I got a chance to read it, I was involved right away. It was plain and simply a good novel.

If you didn't like Patrick at the end of The Pawn, this book will make you like him. He is just a guy trying to do his job while raising a teenage daughter that he didn't even know until a couple of years ago. He is very good at what he does, but he is trying to balance life and work as a single parent. I know there are many of us trying to do the same thing and sometimes it is nice to hear that others struggle with that too.

If you have a week vacation coming up soon, this is the book for that week. Of course you will need another one along, because you will finish this in a couple days. :-)

Happy Reading
Chris