Book Talk Thursday: The Pawn

Almost a month ago I started reading this book on a friend's Kindle one evening while our hubbys played backgammon. Big mistake. The following day I wanted to keep reading, but of course I no longer had her Kindle with me. So I requested it at my local library. Second big mistake -- it was over the 4th of July weekend. So nearly 2 weeks after I started reading it, I got an email saying it was in! But it was a Thursday. And our library closes at 1 on Thursdays. I finally picked it up last Friday, and finished it yesterday. Third big mistake -- I should have put in a request for book #2 in the series a week ago...

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

I'd remembered seeing Steven James' The Pawn when I worked at Family Christian Stores. It's the first in the "Patrick Bowers Files", which caught my eye because all of the titles are chess pieces -- pawn, rook, knight, etc. -- and Rocky likes chess. It's considered a thriller novel, which is not the type of genre I would usually pick up. But because of my love for NCIS (port-to-port-killer, anyone? :-) and the style of many Ted Dekker novels, The Pawn had me hooked.

As I was reading, I found myself wondering why it was featured in a Christian bookstore. While there are a few references to pastors and Scripture, the majority of it is just part of the "good vs. evil" overtone. And one of the great things about being part of this mini-genre? No swearing, and no sexual encounters. Just great crime-solving, family-mending, edge-of-your-seat suspense.

I'm anxiously watching the library website for my next book. The Rook is currently in-transit...