Archive for category Christian Fiction

The Pawn

by Steven James

Published by Onyx/Berkley
Mass-market Paperback: 427 pp.
IBSN 978-0-451-41279-9
$7.99
Reviewed by Von Pittman

Reviewers should not throw the word “diabolical” around loosely when describing villains in mystery novels.  But in “The Illusionist,” Steven James has created a character worthy of that adjective.  Not only does this serial killer enjoy torturing and killing young college women, he delights in manipulating the local authorities, the F.B.I., innocent suspects, and even another killer.  Because he commits his crimes over a wide geographic area in southern Appalachia, the F.B.I. calls in Patrick Bowers, an agent who specializes in the use of  “geospatial technology” to locate suspects.

As the number of victims increases, other pressures on Bowers intensify.  An old boss who despises him now runs the field office coordinating the investigation, and thus is his superior again.  He must work with an assertive young woman agent whose specialty is profiling, an approach Bowers considers pseudoscience, or worse.  Personal demons also complicate his work.  His grief over his wife’s recent death has soured his outlook on humanity.  His stepdaughter Tessa constantly challenges his authority.  Bowers learns she is a “cutter,” who deliberately inflicts pain on herself.  Then, the Illusionist ratchets up the tension by threatening Tessa.

Bowers resolves to move quickly, close the case, then devote his time to becoming a real parent.  The Illusionist, however, uses intricate tactics to expand the scope of the investigation, to prolong it, and to confuse his pursuers.  He is a master of misdirection.  He plants clues that refer not to present crimes, but to future ones.  He delights in  manipulating his pursuers, several times convincing them that they have solved the string of murder cases.  Then, he destroys their illusions and kills again.  Each time, Bowers, his profiler partner, and the rest of his pursuers must play catch-up ball.

Steven James, who earned a master’s degree in storytelling, rather than in writing or literature, uses his skills to create a strong narrative, which he complicates through rapid shifts of points-of-view and sub-plots.  He creates an usually large cast of intriguing characters, including a survivor of the 1979 Jonestown mass suicide and a southern governor with a sinister past.
It is unusual for a mystery novel to migrate from a Christian publishing house (Revell) to a popular one, and to find a mass audience.  Perhaps this is because most mysteries in the religious market tend to be certain and self -assured in their moral message, with a straightforward narrative that moves directly to a resolution of the problem.  The Pawn is less certain and more ambiguous.  Its characters are outright evil at worst, flawed at best.  The narrative is excellent, made devilishly complicated through misdirection.   Morality is a tough question; only the villains are certain of the righteousness of their actions.  The eventual solution is satisfactory—and fair to the reader—but neither neat nor precise.  Perhaps this is an indication that the Christian mystery reader is neither narrow-minded nor dogmatic.  Religious and secular mystery and thriller readers alike should enjoy The Pawn.

Copyright © 2009 Von Pittman