Synopses & Reviews
FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.
It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.
In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.
As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.
The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?
Review
Praise for the work of Steven James
“A mesmerizing read. From the first chapter, it sets its hook deep and drags you through a darkly gripping story with relentless power. My conclusion: I need to read more of Steven James.” —Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author of The Drop
“With a multidimensional quality, Steven James writes with a confident, assured ease. Just good, old-fashioned, gimmick-free storytelling that pushes the envelope to the edge and beyond.”—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair
“Steven James has created a fast-moving thriller with psychological depth and gripping action. Opening Moves is a smart, taut, intense novel of suspense that reads like a cross between Michael Connelly and Thomas Harris. Young Detective Patrick Bowers battles his own demons as he uses his intellect and experience to track twisted killers. Full of twists and enjoyable surprise, Opening Moves is a blisteringly fast and riveting read.” —Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Threat Vector
Synopsis
FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers has matched wits with some of the most violent serial killers in historyand one of them has never forgiven him....
Patrick Bowers has pursued the nations fiercest serial killersand now one elusive foe is back for revenge.
Settling into a new post at the FBI academy, Patrick and his fiancée, Lien-hua Jiang, are planning their future together with his stepdaughter, Tessa.
But just when his life seems normal, a demon from the past returns to draw him down a dark road he hoped had closed forever. Forced into a desperate hunt to save the two women he loves most, Patrick is in a race against time to stop an international conspiracy from becoming the most widespread act of terrorism in U.S. history.
About the Author
Steven James is the author of more than thirty books, including the critically acclaimed Bowers Files thriller series. He has a masters degree in storytelling and has taught writing and creative communication on three continents. When hes not writing or speaking, youll find him trail running, rock climbing, or drinking dark roast coffee near his home in eastern Tennessee.