Opening Moves
Authors: Steven James
Praise for
Opening Moves
“
Opening Moves
is 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
“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 surprises,
Opening Moves
is a blisteringly fast and riveting read.”
—Mark Greaney,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Ballistic
More Praise for Steven James
and His Award-Winning Novels
“James writes smart, taut, high-octane thrillers. But be warned—his books are not for the timid. The endings blow me away every time.”
—Mitch Galin, producer of Stephen King’s
The Stand
and Frank Herbert’s
Dune
“Fresh and exciting.”
—
Booklist
“Absolutely brilliant.”
—Jeff Buick, bestselling author of
One Child
“Steven James’s
The Bishop
should come with a warning: Don’t start reading unless you’re prepared to finish this book in a single sitting. Riveting!”
—Karen Dionne, author of
Boiling Point
“
The Bishop
—full of plot twists, nightmarish villains, and family conflicts—kept me turning pages on a red-eye all the way from New York City to Amsterdam. Steven James tells stories that grab you by the collar and don’t let go.”
—Norb Vonnegut, author of
The Trust
“Steven James locks you in a thrill ride with no brakes. He sets the new standard in suspense writing.”
—
Suspense Magazine
“James delivers…caffeinated plot twists and intriguing characterizations. Riveting…a gripping plot and brisk pacing will win James some fans eager for his next offering.”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
“Best story of the year—perfectly executed.”
—The Suspense Zone (2008 Reviewer’s Choice Award)
T
HE
B
OWERS
F
ILES
The Pawn
The Rook
The Knight
The Bishop
The Queen
OPENING
MOVES
STEVEN JAMES
A SIGNET SELECT BOOK
SIGNET SELECT
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Signet Select, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, September 2012
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN: 978-1-101-59017-1
Copyright © Steven James, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
SIGNET SELECT and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
To Brent,
who believed in Patrick Bowers from the start
“And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.”
—Leviticus 26:27–29
Dear readers,
I had nightmares writing this book.
Some of the scenes were just too troubling for me, too real. I felt like I was staring in the face of pure evil.
Maybe it’s because some of the information I included comes from actual crimes. When we read pure fiction we can reassure ourselves that at least those atrocities never occurred; history, on the other hand, doesn’t afford us that option.
For example, pedophile and killer Albert Fish was a real person. So were the necrophile Ed Gein and the cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer. And so are the bank robbers and killers Ted and James Oswald, who are, at the time of this writing, serving two life sentences plus more than 450 years at separate prisons in Wisconsin.
Opening Moves
became especially personal to me since, according to Ted Oswald (who was eighteen when he was apprehended), one of their future targets was his high school physics teacher, who’d given him a grade his father, James, didn’t like. That teacher was my dad. During the trial, Ted recounted that James “was going to have me build a silencer in front of him [my father] and then shoot him in the belly and watch him barf.”
My dad might very well have been one of the Oswalds’ future victims if they hadn’t been caught by the Waukesha County SWAT team.
When I look at our world, I see it threaded with both glory and horror, with awe-inspiring acts of love and deep furrows of unspeakable evil. Hope and terror spiral around us every day—and within us too, I believe, in our own hearts. This is something Patrick Bowers is discovering for himself more and more in each book, and something I was reminded of once again while writing his story.
I hope that my books never glamorize evil, but instead do the very opposite and tell the truth about how disturbing and pervasive it is in our world. I also hope that, when possible, the stories can point us past the darkness and help us awaken to something better than the nightmares that all too often plague us in real life.
—Steven James
Summer 2012
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