Christian Fiction Bloggers discussion

Caitlyn and Melanie will be buddy reading Checkmate by Steven James.

Hey Melanie!

Just wanted to let you know that I've finished chapter 38! WOW!!! :D

No rush. I'm not sure how much I'll be on Goodreads, cause I'm going to be pretty busy tomorrow, feel free to begin the discussion when you're ready and I will reply when I get online! :D

I'm hoping to binge read tonight and finish the first half. I'm loving it! :)

I'm finished now, too! Loving this book!

I am so glad Patrick went with Ralph to the loading bay, instead of the lobby (like his text said), since I don't think anyone else would have noticed the driver wasn't Jerome and warned everyone to clear the bay - which probably saved some lives.

Speaking of that scene, it was soooooo intense! I had no idea who was going to survive and I was freaked out that Ralph might be dead!

I love how worried Ralph is about his wife and how she is late in going into labor. It's so sweet that he cares more about her than his job and told Margaret that the only way he'd go to NC is if he can fly back whenever he needs to so he can be there for the birth. :)

I'm loving it so much too!

I was so glad of that too! I felt like I was holding my breath from the moment the explosion hit, and I could finally breathe again when we found out Ralph was okay!

I agree, it's so awesome that Brineesha and his family are most important to him, I too loved the condition he gave Margaret for going to North Carolina! :)

What do you think about the Minister from the funeral? Personally I'm still suspicious that he was really The Bard, even after Patrick found out that Jennings had supposedly set that whole thing up!

I love the whole "Special Agent Patrick Powers" thing! Pat was right, it does sound like the name of a superhero. It made me laugh so hard every time Ralph called him Agent Powers, especially when they met Ethel at the museum! Agent Powers the profiler, too funny!!! :)

I must admit I'm a little nervous about Tessa and this guy Beck. I mean, I really want to believe that he is a good guy that is worthy of her, but considering what has happened in the past with guys she likes ending up being really bad guys and because The Bard has a contact in D.C. who's identity is unknown to us... It's all got me more than a little bit worried about her safety!

I can't decide whether I think this Danny Everhart really is The Bard or not. I mean on the surface it seems like everything fits and it's totally him, but then the more I think about it the more I feel like maybe the puzzle pieces fit together a little too perfectly, almost like the way Sevren framed Joseph Grolin in The Pawn. And then when I think about it even more, I think that Steven James might not do it that way again, so that Danny Everhart might actually be The Bard's new identity, basically I have no clue at this point! ;D

I'm still thinking the minister might have been The Bard. We know he went to the funeral and there's really no one else that makes sense. Plus, the minister had a almost-new Bible, which could mean he was an imposter.

Lol!!! I loved the Patrick Powers thing! So funny! I wonder how long Ralph is going to bring that up. ;)

I really like Beck, but you're right, he might be bad news, though I'm leaning more towards him being a good guy. It'd be nice if Tessa finally had a healthy relationship.

I think that really is the Bard's new identity, but I know exactly what you mean! We really don't know anything for sure at this point!!

I love how Patrick and his wife are still doing the candle thing. It's so sweet! I wonder if she's going to be ready to have kids soon. :)

(Btw. I probably won't be able to reply until later today; busy day!!)

I love that too! And I also wonder about that!

The history we're getting about Charlotte, North Carolina is really neat, I never would have guessed that gold was discovered there long before the California gold rush, and it was interesting about that family not knowing what the gold nugget was so they used it as a door stop! I was surprised to learn that it is the number two banking city in the U.S.

I think it's really neat that it seems the series is going to end in the same location in NC that it all started in The Pawn! That's a really cool way of bringing everything full circle.

Did it take you by surprise that The Bard kidnapped Basque's sister? It didn't really surprise me, but I'm not sure why he did it, don't know if he's trying to get Basque's attention or what.

I wonder what Stu's last words to his wife mean. For some reason I have this theory that maybe there is some sort of hidden meaning in them!

I wonder if they'll have to move the location of the NCAVC now that it has gotten out to the media that the building houses more than just Tarry Lawnmower Supply.

I love the history in this book! It's so cool to learn these facts about North Carolina! :)

I hadn't thought about it like that, but it is really neat!

You know, I didn't know she was Basque's sister until it was stated, so I was surprised by that. But, I wasn't surprised that he took her per say, just that she was his sister. I'm thinking he took her to get Basque to do something for him (maybe Basque is his contact in DC??!?).

I'm wondering that too! I'm hoping that's the case, because otherwise his last words are kind of sad.

I think they will. The location is compromised, so they kind of have to (in my opinion).

I think it's so cool how Tessa wants to help Patrick on the case and that she was able to translate the Latin text for him and figure out its connection to the picture!

I love that Tessa switched her major to Criminal Science and is kind of following in Patrick's footsteps!

I wonder who's going to take Margaret's place as director once she leaves to start her campaign. Do you think Ralph or Patrick might??

I think that's really cool too! And it's awesome that Patrick is letting her help with a case for the first time!

I love that too! I've actually been thinking for a while now that it would be super cool if Tessa followed in Pat's footsteps!

You know, I actually hadn't thought about that. But you're right, I could totally see Ralph or Patrick taking over as Director.

Well, I'm totally drawing a blank on things to discuss! Is there anything else you would like to discuss?

Did you notice how on the Penguin/Signet Select covers for this series, they all have a guy (I'm assuming Patrick) running, but with this book he's just standing there. I think that's really cool, considering this is the end to the Chess series of PB novels!

Also, any guesses of how the book is going to end?? Do you think Basque will be captured? I think he's got to be or else there wouldn't be closure... I just hope no one gets seriously hurt in the process.

Besides that, I can't think of anything else!

I hadn't thought about the covers but you're absolutely right, I always assumed it was Patrick too! And I agree, having him standing still on this cover is an awesome way to end the chess series! Thanks for pointing that out! :) Speaking of which, did you ever hear why Revell only published the first five? I've always been curious about that. No pressure, I was just curious and thought that since you've been following this series way longer than I have, you would be the person to ask! :)

You know, I really can't guess! I hope Pat and Ralph are able to find out about The Bard's plan for Saturday and are able to somehow stop him from carrying it out! I agree, definitely expect and hope that Basque will finally be caught once and for all, and I too hope that nobody will be hurt. I don't why but ever since Ralph got bitten by Basque's dog in The King I've had this bad feeling that something bad is going to happen to him... It's probably pretty silly. But I can't seem to shake it and I really, REALLY hope I'm wrong!!! :)

Ready for the second half?

I never heard anything about why they didn't publish the other books, but if I had to guess my thought would be maybe they wanted to cut the page count down (?) and so, instead of doing that it, went to Penguin. I know Revell cut Julie Lessman's page-count for the third book in the Winds of Change series...but, as I said, that's just my guess. :)

Yeah, that's been my fear too! That's why the beginning of this book was so nerve-wracking! I really hope nothing happens to Ralph, though!

Yep! I'm ready to start. :)

Thanks so much for sharing your guess! If that's what happened it makes a lot of sense that they changed publishers, because they totally wouldn't be as good if they were shorter!!! :)

Me too, although just so you know it might take me a couple of days to finish it! :D

That's fine! It might take me a few days to finish too. :)

Not sure what made me think I would be able to put it down! But I couldn't stop reading and ended up staying up until one A.M. to finish :D

I'm finished with the book, too! Wow! I seriously loved this book SO much! The ending was so intense and I was very nervous that Ralph, his wife, or baby girl was going to die. I literally was near tears just thinking about the possibility -- lol!

I'm so glad that Beck turned out to be a good guy. I was really hoping that Tessa would finally have a good relationship. I was surprised that Patrick was so cool with the kiss, though. I would have thought he'd put up a little bit of resistance...

I felt so bad for Basque's sister and how Kurt treated and eventually killed her. Patrick was so close to saving her and I really thought he was going to be able to, but it just didn't happen.

I liked how Patrick escaped the mine --- without a rope! I would have been freaked out trying to get out that way!

I was quite surprised that Richard contacted Patrick to work together to find Kurt. I didn't trust him one bit and wasn't shocked when he didn't listen to Patrick and left in the car.

You were right and Stu's last words did have a hidden meaning to them! I wasn't expecting them to mean what they did. I'm glad that Patrick decided to tell his wife what he said and that it did bring some comfort to her.

I know, I loved it too! It was one of those books where I was conflicted, as much as I kept wanting to turn the pages to see what would happen, I also didn't want it to end because I knew it would not only be the end to this book but also the end to the entire Chess series! :D


I felt the same way. It almost had me crying too!

I was happy that Beck was good! I agree, I was surprised that Pat didn't object to the kiss! Seeing Beck in action really kind of reminded of Pat when he was younger!

Completely agree

I liked that too! I totally wouldn't have been able to do it, it actually reminded of when I used to play on the monkey bars as a kid, I never really got the hang of letting go with one hand so I could grab the next bar always felt like I was gonna fall off the edge of a cliff or something, so that helped me to really feel like I was in Pat's shoes during that scene!

Personally I wasn't surprised Basque contacted him. I didn't trust him either and I also wasn't surprised when he took off in the car. It really wasn't similar at all but the whole thing reminded me a little bit of that episode of MacGyver, "Halloween Knights"

I totally wasn't expecting them to mean that either. And I too was glad that Patrick told her the truth.

It was kind of nice that at the end of this one neither Tessa or Lien-Hua were in danger for a change! :)

I thought it was really neat how Pat gave Tessa his destroyed SIG as a gift, it was almost like he was passing the baton to the next generation of crime fighters.

I also like how the Epilogue provided just enough closure to be satisfying but at the same time left things open ended enough that it would be possible to continue the series if Steven James ever decided to do that. It would be neat if he wrote a series starring Tessa after she graduates and (I'm assuming) becomes an FBI agent. I think it would be super cool to read about her adventures as an adult! :D

Did you suspect that Kurt had gotten to Debra and her daughter? I do remember noticing when she told Pat that Allie was at her Father's and then told Lien-Hua that she was at camp and thinkng that was odd, but I didn't things to be the way they were. For some reason I was actually thinking that Angela Knight was involved, don't know why I thought that but I'm glad she wasn't!

Oooh! Now that you mention it, that does seem similar to the MacGyver episode!

That was really nice!

That was neat! I wonder if that was another symbol of this phase of PB novels ending -- Patrick's gun is no longer workable.

I would LOVE a series about Tessa!!! That would be so cool if he decides to do that. :)

I didn't. I remember thinking that was odd too, but I never thought what actually happened. I actually thought Angela might be guilty of a previous crime in one of the last books -- lol! But I didn't think she was for this one.

The ending where Tessa's new roommate meets Tessa was funny! I can't imagine what Tessa is going to say to her about the food - considering she doesn't eat meat.

I'm glad that Patrick didn't purposefully kill Basque in the end and it only happened because Basque was trying to kill Patrick and didn't let up on the trigger.

Throughout this series, I keep being fascinated by how Patrick thinks. For instance, having the ERT guys check "when" the photos in Kurt's apartment were taken, to see if Kurt was working alone or not, was just brilliant!! I don't remember if anything came of it, but still it was a great idea!

I wonder if the magician mentioned on page 343 was the guy who died in that escape stunt in the book Singularity?? If so, I think it's really cool how Steven James is kind of connecting the two series..I mean, The King actually mentioned Jevin Banks! :)

That was funny!

I was really glad of that too.

I know exactly what you mean! It's funny because his way of thinking has actually rubbed off on me a little, for instance sometimes when I read other suspense novels I start to get really annoyed when the police officers start trying to find motive! LOL! :D

I was wondering that too, and I totally think it was him, I mean it seems too coincidental for it to be a coincidence! I love how he is connecting them too, and I absolutely loved when Jevin Banks was mentioned in The King! I would love it if Patrick or some of the other characters from this series should happen to appear in the Jevin Banks books!!! :D

Lol!! Yeah, I find myself getting annoyed when other books/shows just look for the motive!

I would love it if the next Jevin Banks book mentioned Patrick -- that would be so cool! :)

Can you think of anything else to discuss?

Nope, I can't think of anything else.

This buddy read has been so much fun! I've had an absolute blast reading and discussing with you!!! :D

Same here!! I had so much fun doing this buddy read with you! :D

Do you want to start Rules of Murder this week or are you too busy?

Yes, I would like to start it this week. But since I don't know for sure how long it will take me to read it...maybe it would be better to plan on discussing the whole thing after we finish rather than splitting it into halves? If that's alright with you. :D

That sounds good! I'll probably start it this weekend, since I have to finish Hope Rising by Thursday night.

Okay! :)

I loved this book! No surprise there as I have waited eagerly for each new book to come out. I'm glad to hear he is coming out with more books in the near future.

Edie, I know! This is such a fantastic series! I am so excited that there are going to be more books. :) Glad you loved Checkmate!