"The Pawn" by Steven James

I will say first, this book seemed to be written at a middle school reading level and was riddled with cliches. One such cliche was "just then." That particular cliche was used no less than six times within half the book. There were many others, too many to keep track.

There were two definite mysteries in this novel. Close to the fifty percent mark, the second mystery was introduced and it seemed the first one was forgotten. The second mystery was closed off at the end.

The plot was weak. There were a couple twists throughout the book which I appreciated.

Some of the character development was ok. The communications between the MC and his boss were realistic and added some depth to the story.

SPOILER ALERT: The relationship between the MC and his teenage step-daughter was realistic at the beginning of the book. That relationship was not so realistic by book's end. A teenager with an addiction to self cutting will not be cured through one singular experience and the relationship between her and her father will not be repaired on that same experience.

It would also be unrealistic for an FBI agent to bring their child to a place with close proximity to where a serial killer might be.