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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Review & Giveaway!!! Opening Moves by Steven James


Opening Moves by Steven James
Patrick Bowers Files: Prequel

About the book:

In The Bowers Files novels, FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers has stopped some of the most vicious serial killers ever imagined. Now, in the fifth exciting installment, author Steven James takes readers back to Bowers’s terrifying beginning. 

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, but a killer with an entirely different agenda. 

As he pursues the madman using his unique skills and ice-cold logic, Bowers finds himself thinking more and more like his demented prey. The problem is that the more he understands the killer’s mind, the more his own thoughts are being warped. And if he’s not careful he may not be able to recover his mind—or survive the case.

My rating:
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My thoughts:

I think Opening Moves might be one of Steven James' most chilling and creepy Patrick Bowers book yet (although all of them are creepy in their own way).

I found Opening Moves very interesting and I loved getting to see Patrick Bowers in the way that we do and finding out more about this case (which was mentioned in other Patrick Bowers books).

The story was super suspenseful and (at times) very gruesome - even I had trouble reading it at times and I don't get creeped out by many books - so I'd only recommend this to people who like scary books and can take gruesome scenes. There were a few things I personally didn't like, including when someone said "oh my ***" and a few other edgy things. That said, I did love the story very much and am still giving it five stars because it was so great!

One thing I definitely have taken away from reading the Patrick Bowers series (and especially this book) is a reminder of how depraved humanity is and how we are all born sinners and in need of salvation which can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ. While Opening Moves does contain evil, it doesn't glamorize it or show it in a positive light.

Some of the crimes talked about in Opening Moves actually occurred in real life which made this book all the more chilling and (at times) hard to read. This book made me think, held my attention throughout, and there were a lot of twists I didn't see coming! A great read that, as long as you enjoy thrillers and don't mind some gruesome/violent scenes, I completely recommend! You don't need to have read the other books in the Patrick Bowers series first because this is considered a prequel.

After reading Opening Moves I now can hardly wait to read the next Patrick Bowers book, The King, which is set to release July 2013!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for my review. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

Was my review helpful? If so, please click "yes" on Amazon. Thanks so much!! :)

Giveaway!



GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED! Enter to win a copy of Opening Moves! Giveaway is only open to US residents. 

Enter via the Rafflecopter below! The mandatory entry is to leave a blog post comment on this blog post, after that, the optional entries will become available. Happy entering! :)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

47 comments:

  1. Great review! I look forward to reading this book! I find it interesting that some of the murders within the book have actually occurred! Too cool!

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  2. Thanks for reviewing this book. I have read a couple of James' Patrick Bowers novels and enjoyed them. Your review is helpful.

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  3. Excellent review. Love the Patrick Bowers series--it's hard to believe this one is even more creepy & chilling than the rest because the others were uber-creepy. I'm really looking forward to reading Opening Moves.

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  4. After reading several good reviews of Steven James's books I picked up one at a used book store, or maybe it was from Paper Back Swap online.... haven't read it yet. Will get to it at some point, maybe I need to read this one first since it's a prequel!

    Patty H

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  5. So nice to see a Christian mystery, thanks for the review.

    cenya2 at hotmail dot com

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  6. Sounds like a great book!! Lots of action and suspense. I can't wait to read it. julierupert@gmail.com

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  7. I'm reading The Pawn right now. It's the first one I've read and I'm riveted through each turn of the page. Have Opening Moves on my to-read list.

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  8. I don't usually read scary books but I look forward to having the chance! :)
    Thank you!

    Katy

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  9. Thanks for the great review! I love books that contain facts from real life cases - it makes it easier to connect to the story somehow. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention:)

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  10. Enter me this book sounds great!!

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  11. I accidentally stumbled on this page through a bizarre search result on google.
    But now I am here and happy with this interesting review and a great giveaway.
    I will sign up for it!

    All the best!

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  12. This is a book that is very interesting to me. Thanks for reviewing and sharing it with us.

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  13. I'd love to give this book to my brother--after I finish reading it! ;)

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  14. Great review! I haven't read any of the Patrick Bowers book yet but I have the first three in my TBR pile. I love this kind of book and can't wait to get started on them!

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  15. Hi Melanie. You wrote a great review, which makes me want to read the book. Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy in the give away!

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  16. Sounds really good! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  17. I soooo want to read that book!!!

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  18. Thanks for the chance to win!

    ~Camille M.

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  19. I own one of Steven James' books (I think it is Rook) but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Now that you reviewed this I would love to read this first and get the whole series. Sounds intriguing!

    andrea2russia@hotmail.com

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  20. Sounds neat , never read him,natbelinsky@verizon.net

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  21. I love to curl up with a good thriller/mystery book. I have never read anything by this author but I will have to now. Sounds really good. Thank you for the giveaway.

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  22. Great review! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
    awhartness@yahoo.com

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  23. I have not read any of Steven James's books, but this one sounds very good. Great review of the book and it spurs me want to read it! Thank you for a great opportunity to win a copy of it!

    Blessings,
    Lori

    triplel(at)evertek(dot)net

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  24. Thanks for the good review. I've read all of the others in the series and can't wait to read this one. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  25. I would love to win a copy. God Bless you

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  26. Thanks for opportunity to win!! I would love to win!!

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  27. nice review. i would love to win this book. thanks for the chance. amy beth marantino tigger27_27 at hotmail dot com

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  28. I'm a HUGE Steven James fan and can't wait to read this.

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  29. This book sounds exciting & interesting. I'd really like to read it.

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  30. I love Steven James' books! Would love to win it.

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  31. i love a good book that i can just read read read!

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  32. would love to win. chesnutangela@yahoo.com

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  33. I keep reading reviews of Steven James' books, so I am ready to get started on one! If this is the scariest one, I hope I can handle them! Thanks for hosting the giveaway!

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  34. Love Steven James`books . Have reviewed several. My husband LOVES them too.

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  35. Thanks for your review. I've loved reading through Steven's series and just finished The Bishop. (I read the Queen first, for review, before reading the rest.) I'm super thrilled to see this latest installment released. I can't wait for "The King" either!

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  36. I've heard his books are great, but haven't read any yet. They're on my list!

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  37. Thanks for this giveaway! I've included it in my weekly list of book giveaways on my site, The Vessel Project.

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  38. Nice review. The book sounds interesting.

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  39. I always look forward to reading Steven James books. I was excited to read the book and it made me even more excited to read this new book. Nyah's for the review. Looking forward also to "the king" when it comes out in 2013!

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  40. I am a big fan of Steven James and his Patrick Bowers series. I'm ANXIOUS to read how it all started and would love to win a copy of this book?

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  41. I love the Patrick Bowers series! Awesome review! would love to win a copy of this book!

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  42. I have never read any of James' work but I am highly interested in it. I am a fan of crime fiction and I have probably read far worse things than this review intimates at. Thank you for the giveaway!

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  43. I will apologize if this post duplicates but sometimes my pc doesn't want to refresh properly. I am not familiar with James' work but it does sound very intriguing and this is one of the many genres of books that I enjoy reading! Thank you for the giveaway!

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  44. I have read all the Patrick Bowers books up to this point. Would love to win Opening Moves for my church library since I just bought the book for my Nook last week.

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