Faces in the FireFour different folks from four different worlds affected by a series of digits and the image of a catfish.

In T. L. Hines “Faces in the Fire: Where lives Collide” I was intrigued by the weaving of the storyline; somewhat educated about cyber fraud and assassins; and entertained by the intersection of the four main characters.

After reading ‘Waking Lazarus’ (the story of a man who clinically died three times but was alive at the end of the novel), I was anxious to read more of T. L. Hines work. He writing is witty, humorous, and cleverly interesting.

There are four ’stanzas’ to the book each telling the story of one of the four main characters at a crucial point in their lives. Some scenes are revisited from other viewpoints depending on which stanza you are reading.

First there is Kurt, the truck driver/sculptor who faces the fire with his odd but entertaining ability to hear voices from its previous owners.

Then the terminal cancer patient Corrine, who is computer whiz who utilized her talent in the ‘bottom feeder’ field of computer fraud.

And, then there is Grace whose abandonment of her family and career as a tattoo artist has her seeing images in her artistry.

And finally Stan, the reluctant assassin with the strange ability to kill with his touch.

Each stanza weaves a thread that flows nicely together at the ending (which is somewhat unique as well).

This is my second T. L. Hines book and he is quickly becoming my favorite suspense author especially since he can weave such an interesting story using ability alone adding none of the vulgar and profane elements. ( )

When I first started the book, I thought it was just a story about a quirky character who heard voices of the dead speaking to him. I didn’t expect the eloquent weaving of stories that would eventually reach a surprising and dramatic end.

The characters are richly and thoroughly developed. The chapters are oddly numbered out of order and starting with chapter 34. As the story unfolds and the other characters take a turn at telling their stories, it all makes perfect sense. If I had I read about each of them in another book, I may have had little sympathy for any of them, but the way the author brings together their lives and their desire for redemption made me see something special in them.

The book is listed as Fiction/Christian/Suspense. If you are expecting a Christian book that clearly spells out a salvation message, you will be disappointed, but if you want a richly written character driven novel with the subtle message of redemption, you will enjoy this interesting and remarkable book. If you are the type of person that avoids Christian lit, I think you will be very surprised by this one. I highly recommend Faces in the Fire. ( )

Faces in the Fire is a quick and intriguing read in which T.L. Hines very deftly conveys his sense of "noire bizarre" around a curious set of characters, bottom-feeders he stresses, in a nonlinear progression. The characters, a truck driver, an email spammer, tattoo artist and hit man are equally as disparate as the circumstances around which they they cross paths; phantom catfish, haunted shoes, mystical tattoo ink, and a mysterious phone number all contribute to the progression of each character's interconnected lives.

Hines doesn't quite offer enough noire to the level out the bizarre. True, it's a dark and suspenseful enough story but the characters, possessing a sense of anxious desperation, come off as more emotionally exhausted than perhaps darkly humorous or energized. Particularly memorable, though, is Hines' characterization of Corrine the spammer; he delicately describes a profession and person not normally considered worthy of anything but detest. Hines uses an interesting metaphor of representing the characters' movement as that of sharks, creatures that can never move backward, but rather only forward in pursuit of their catharsis from years of missed opportunity.

Faces in the Fire is a mysterious and entertaining work which makes the reader think long after the read is finished. Which is, I think, the sign of a well-crafted book. ( )

After reading "Faces in the Fire", I'm not too sure whether author T.L. Hines is extremely troubled or extremely talented...maybe both at the same time?

This is a story that begins with chapter thirty-four, then comes thirty-nine, then fifteen, then forty and well, I guess you get it by now. But amazingly, the story holds together and moves forward coherently. It's an overall book with four interconnected stories about disparate people whose lives interconnect, sometimes in ways they don't even know. Yet it all works together and the ending surprised even me (what hubris!).

"Faces in the Fire" is marketed as Fiction/Christian/Suspense. The fiction and suspense I get, but the Christian eludes me other than the face that these four people learn to face their real selves and turn their lives around. There are many, many 'coincidences' in the plot/s, but the author never comes out and says these coincidences have an unknown guiding hand. Maybe I'm supposed to grasp that myself. However you classify it, T.L. Hines book is an interesting and entertaining read. For those looking for an afternoon's escape, it would certainly suffice; and for those who want to look deeper...well, this is a story that could surely lead you there. ( )