Name: The Stepping Maze by Kevin Tumlinson
Item: The Stepping Maze
Author: Trenzle Review

The Stepping Maze DEALS

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Kevin Tumlinson does a masterful job of navigating his genre in his most recent book, The Stepping Maze, which features the character Dan Kotler. The plot moves quickly and is filled with shocks, but it’s still simple to read and keep track of the specifics. Although his characters are well-developed, they have not become stale.

As we learn more about them, they continue to change and learn about themselves. The novel benefits from technical concerns as well. As is to be expected in any good thriller, Tumlinson launches right into the action and maintains a fast-moving plot thereafter. By segmenting the book, he gives each story arc its own chapter inside the overall narrative.

This specific technical element pleasantly speeds up the novel’s pacing. The following arc sequence starts just as everything appears to be coming to a close with the emergence of a completely new set of questions. The Stepping Maze is a true page-turner thanks to plot twists and turns, and the organisation provides readers a sense of closure at the conclusion of one act before the next starts.

It was clear right away that the characters had been developed over a substantial period of time even when I had never read any of Tumlinson’s writing before. It took me a few chapters to be certain, but once I knew this wasn’t the first book in the series, I was able to appreciate the novel on its own. There are occasionally well-crafted allusions to earlier exploits.

Tumlinson uses a reference to an earlier episode to catch the reader’s attention without detracting from the current plot or making the reference unclear to the reader. Without having read the other books, the reader is provided enough context to understand the character evolution that has occurred during earlier experiences. The editing is the only thing I have to criticise about this first version.

Less than a dozen typographical errors were present in the text, but each one caused enough dissonance to cause me to pause and rectify the error and the narrative flow in my mind. Even though it is minor, the quickstep pace of this book makes running into one of these little mistakes feel somewhat like slamming into a pothole while driving down the motorway.

Despite several editing errors, lovers of thrillers will appreciate Tumlinson’s most recent work. I believe it to be at least as well written as a Dan Brown piece, if not more so. I heartily recommend this book and will look for more of the author’s writing to add to my collection.

About The Book

Behind six feet of steel, buried under the streets of Manhattan, lies the Black Chamber—a room that once housed a team of codebreakers who would one day help to found the NSA. Abducted by a brutish professional killer, two physics professors are left with little food and limited air. Time is running out.

Agent Roland Denzel and Dr. Liz Ludlum are led to a government-sealed room by an unseen figure, where they find a century-old manuscript filled with riddles. Is it the key to opening the Black Chamber? What other secrets does it hold?

Dan Kotler returns in this codebreaking thriller, filled with enigmas, mysteries, and danger at every turn. Kotler must solve the Stepping Maze before time runs out … for everyone. The Stepping Maze is the sixth full-length novel in the Dan Kotler Archaeological thrillers.

The Review