Into the Fire

The third and probably final book in the Nick Barrett mysteries by Sigmund Brouwer was published by Tyndale House Publishers in 2003. The Lies of Saints is the shortest of the three book collection, and, in spite of Sigmund’s always interesting stories and well done writing, this one is my least favorite of the series of southern mysteries.

Nick Barrett gains possession of a diary belonging to a crucified cadet at The Citadel many years after the horrifying and infamous event. The young man who was the victim notes his progression from sinner to saint and the faith which kept him steady amidst terrible hazing at the elite academy. In the course of helping an injured female friend who operates a private investigation service, Nick discovers an old secret way of punishing the wealthy members of Charleston’s finest for their hidden crimes against others of their ilk. The convoluted trail of finding an abused former beauty queen and her daughter also leads Nick to the mothers of two deceased cadets, the author of the diary and one of his tormentors. Not only does he learn that his P.I. friend’s car accident was anything but an accident, he ends up on the verge of being murdered.

Last week I posted about the trend of using the back and forth of past and present woven within the story, and Sigmund Brouwer’s version of this method worked fairly well except that this novel seemed to have so many disconnected subplots to finally connect that they were hard to follow. Added to these unusual subplots are the interactions between Nick and the young sisters under his guardianship, and I found myself trying to keep track of all the story angles. Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t have similar issues with the two previous mysteries in this series (Out of the Shadows, Crown of Thorns), and you can count on Sigmund running more than one story vein in these particular novels.

This is a good series if you like the culture of the South mixed in with good solid mystery, but for me it rarely works when an author either chooses or is forced to shorten up the length of a book in a series—especially when the plot is complex as this one most certainly is.

There’s no question that Sigmund Brouwer is a good writer, and The Lies of Saints is an entertaining story—just not up to the caliber of his previous two with the Nick Barrett protagonist.

Father, please continue to supply the stories you have for Sigmund to tell. You know the plans you have for him. May he follow them faithfully. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.