Friday, November 14, 2014

Playing Saint by Zachary Bartels



Here is another entry into the Christian suspense genre. It concerns good and evil in the world told as a murder story. The mystery genre is a good vehicle to talk about good and evil as there can be bad people and good people portrayed in standard garb.
The elements are here. A couple of victims, a sleuth, a detective, and a criminal.  This being in the suspense motif we early on know who did it and just are waiting for the revealing to others of the perpetrator. There is a twist in this story handled artfully. It is a satisfying and unexpected.
 What I will say is Bartels uses one of Agatha Christie’s plot twists  and handles it well. I will not give a spoiler.
Sometimes evil uses good to achieve its goal. Under the surface things are different than appearances.
The main character is a pastor. He is a popular preacher but not firm in his theology. He is called in to help locate the killer who is leaving satanic signs on his victims. His adventure leads him to the pit of evil and challenges his application of his training.
Before the end comes he will confront evil in a way that is life threatening.
I understand this is Bartels’ first novel and I can see many more in the future should he choose to continue as an author.
This book was sent to me free from Booklookbloggers.com for the purpose of reviewing and placement on my book blog. The views expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher.

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