Therapeutic Review and Giveaway of Stephen James' The Queen

Stephen James has become one of those authors for me that I know I'll pick up whatever his latest book is. I had the pleasure of being a reviewer for his latest, The Queen, and once again, he exceeded even my highest expectations.

Here's a blurb of the book from Stephen's website:

While investigating a mysterious double homicide in an isolated northern Wisconsin town, FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers uncovers a high-tech conspiracy that ties together long-buried Cold War secrets with present-day tensions in the Middle East. Amid the hazardous winter weather and harsh landscape, Bowers must piece together the puzzle before it’s too late. In his most explosive thriller yet, bestselling author Steven James delivers a pulse-pounding, multi-layered storytelling tour-de-force that will keep you guessing.
This book is the 5th in a series that all share similar chess piece names: The Pawn, The Rook, The Knight and The Bishop. However, it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Special Agent Patrick Bowers is definitely an alpha hero, but he's made very three dimensional by James' expert use of dominance and submission, or what James' calls "variable status" in his article that I featured here.
Patrick is this uber-capable agent in the field, but he, ah, struggles to maintain the upper hand in his romantic interactions and verbal sparring matches with his teenage step-daughter. It's endearing to read, and makes me want to meet this character....possibly get him on my couch, as I think it would benefit him.

But above all, James writes the best villains, hands down. Anytime I can actually feel sympathy for a villain, I know that an author has taken to heart the fact that people aren't all bad or all good. They have strengths and weaknesses...this is true to life. The Queen is like a study in character development for villains.

Alexei Chekov is one of my favorite ones to date. Not only does he have the coolest and most unusual "weapon" ever--seriously, how did James think up a bone gun? I had to google that and read up on it--he's also got one killer of an ethical code and even a moral conscious.

But he's a trained killer, a hired assassin! But a refusal to harm women and children, an indignant reaction to being framed for a murder of the lesser sex, a propensity to pay for medical bills of individuals he's taken out with the bone gun, a moment of respect and heroic action to save the life of a man who put his own life on the line to save someone Alexei had to dispose of. Showing us the very human side of this villain is simply genius. I found myself dreading what was going to happen to him by the end of the book simply because I came to like the guy.

You'll have to read it to find out what happens to Alexei and Patrick. You will not be disappointed! One lucky commenter below will receive my review copy of the book. Since I like to give books as a way to thank my readership, if you aren't already "following" this blog, please do so! Leave your comment with your email address and I'll draw a winner on Sunday!

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.