Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Faces In The Fire by T. L. Hines

The dead man's shoes spoke to Kurt long before he wore them. He expected the shoes to say something, of course; Kurt had hundreds of articles of clothing from dearly departed, wardrobe of wearable ghosts that fueled his existence.


Title: Faces In The Fire
Author: T. L. Hines
ISBN: 9781595544537
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Pages: 354

Faces In The Fire is my second T L Hines novel, The Unseen being the first. He writes what is known as noir fiction. I liked The Unseen very much and in Faces In The Fire too, Hines doesn't disappoint us.

Kurt, a truck driver turned sculpture, can hear the dead speak. He has no memories of his own past although he tries his best to know who he is. Corriene, an e-mail spammer has got cancer, which isn't getting any better with treatment. Grace has left her family, and has invented a new existence as a tattoo artist and finally there is Stan, who is hit man, with a gift of killing.

Each one is different from the other and are not acquainted with each other. Yet, their lives converge at one point with symbols, numbers and inklings, which helps each one to know their inner power. This power can destroy them or redeem them. It is their choice to get around that power, that unknown force which comes into their path.

With mysterious elements, and a small layer of supernatural, suspense works very well. Kurt might be able to listen to the dead but he does nothing to help them. And how is the catfish and the numbers going to help him, when he doesn't even know who he is? Corriene is compelled by a spam to order something for herself, which might make her lymphoma disappear. Grace too thinks that the number she holds on to, is lucky and gives it to Corriene when she learns of her cancer. Stan and Grace's life to merge and how oes it change for both?

T L Hines writing is so beautiful that one is kind of compelled to read through it. His bizarre settings makes sense while reading it. Maybe because, we too expect miracles to change our lives, to make everything right. The twisted ending is just right for this book, which is funny in a dark way, which seems real even while it is weird. The characters are endearing even though they are dark. Hines manages to show us their white sides too. Each has a talent for something. And is able to use that talent to redeem others and the self too. Those who like something different, I recommend it.

Thanks to the publishers for the copy.

34 comments:

The Reading Momster said...

SOunds great! Something to look forward to!

Linda Nguyen said...

That's one creepy teaser. Sounds like a book to keep you up at night. =)

Heidi V said...

Okay the cover drew me in from my reader and after reading I really am looking forward to finding a copy.

Thanks for the review!

Pam said...

Wow, that's intense. I haven't heard this title but it looks compelling. thanks for the teaser!

Margot at Joyfully Retired said...

Your teaser is a little creepy. Hope it was okay for you.

Staci said...

Now that sounds like an excellent book!!!

Krista said...

Sounds like something I might enjoy! Great, creepy teaser!

mines here:
http://carmen-krista.blogspot.com/

Lisa said...

That sounds really interesting - I'll have to add it to the TBR list.

My teasers are here.

Zia said...

Great teaser. Makes me wonder why he loved clothing from dead people so much.

Missy B. said...

Oh, I can't wait to read this! The Unseen was my first T.L. Hines book and I loved it.
Great teaser!

Anonymous said...

Sounds great. It's a review, right? Not a teaser?

kayerj said...

sounds a bit frightening, great tease. read my teaser here

Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide said...

This sounds really good. Thanks for visiting today!!!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like an interesting set of characters. The teaser definitely hooked me.

Anonymous said...

Intriguing teaser; liked it.

I happen to have an award for you at my blog here.

jlshall said...

Sounds great! Makes me wish I hadn't passed up the chance for an advance copy! Thanks for the review.

vampira2468 said...

Sounds interesting

Anonymous said...

I really liked this book. I have to read his first one, especially since you enjoyed it also.
You can see my teaser at
http://booktumbling.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/teaser-tuesday-8-25-09/
I also have a review of Faces in the Fire.

Unknown said...

Kinda creepy...Awesome!

Here's mine.

Mandy said...

Great teaser and review!

zetor said...

Sounds very good indeed!

Shonda said...

Great teaser! I've never heard of this author.

Book Bird Dog said...

Glad you enjoyed this supernatural story!

Phyl said...

Your description is great and the teaser is fabulous. I love the very concept of someone who can get some sense of the dead through the clothes. That's just delicious.

The whole book sounds fascinating. Now I'm really intrigued. Thanks!

My own teaser is finally up, at Bookishgal.

Alexia561 said...

Sounds interesting. Intrigued by the idea of a dead man's clothes "speaking" to Kurt. Will have to check this one out. Thanks for the synopsis!

Teddyree said...

Great teaser, I haven't heard of this one. Thanks for sharing!
Here's my Teaser

Anonymous said...

"wearable ghosts", I really like that.

Anonymous said...

I'm a singer and I once had a woman at a show insist on giving me a dress that her recently deceased daughter used to wear. I didn't want to insult her because I knew that she was just showing her appreciation for the music.

I left the dress in a closet for a year before I was able to think about wearing it.

Book Dragon said...

I'm so glad you stopped by, yours sounds creepy, I like ;-)

here's mine

Rebecca Johnson said...

That's a great teaser, and a little creepy.

Bryan R. Terry said...

I'll need to keep my eye out for this one. I love a good noir/gothic story. Mine is HERE

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

This sounds really good! New author for me, but someone I'll have to look out for!

Carl V. Anderson said...

That is one interesting sounding book. Great review!

Cecelia said...

The clothes of the dead speak...spooky! Great teaser, and thanks for stopping by my blog!