Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (16)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (9)
- Chile (1)
- England (26)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
- Ukraine (1)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Friday, December 29, 2017
Despite a Didn't-Love-It Debut, Supernatural Detective Series Shows Promise
7:00 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Ever since he was a little boy, Magnus "Steps" Craig has possessed a special ability. Both a blessing and a curse, it enables him to see a person's "shine." Normal people can't see the unique trails people leave behind them as they move throughout their lives; Steps can. This secret ability has enabled the 27-year-old to work effectively as a member of the FBI's Special Tracking Unit (STU). Few know about Steps' unusual talent, they only know that the "Human Bloodhound" has an uncanny knack for finding missing persons.
When the dead body of a young woman is discovered, Steps recognizes her killer's "signature" from another crime scene. Along with his partner, Jimmy Donovan, Steps travels to California to track down the bloodthirsty monster. As they identify the murderer's victims, the duo began to close in on the killer's identity. Then, his/her MO changes. With a new puzzle to solve, the case becomes even more challenging. With lives on the line—including their own—Steps and Jimmy have to find the killer. Before they become the next victims.
I'd heard good things about Collecting the Dead, a debut mystery/thriller by crime analyst Spencer Kope, so I picked it up expecting an exciting, engrossing novel. Did I get it? Sort of. While the story's compelling, I wouldn't call the book a page turner. I wanted to know what was going to happen, yes, but I didn't find myself racing to the finale. Still. Collecting the Dead surprised me by being less dark and gory than other novels of this sort. In fact, it's lighter and funnier than its fellows. The humor is way overdone in parts, but overall, Steps comes off as a funny, likable narrator. He acts like an old man, true, but he remains brave, devoted, and compassionate. I enjoyed him as a narrator, even though I didn't end up loving Collecting the Dead. This series has promise, though, so I'm willing to give the next installment a try. I'm not chomping at the bit or anything, but I wouldn't mind taking another ride with Magnus "Steps" Craig.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of The Body Finder series [The Body Finder; Desires of the Dead; The Last Echo; and Dead Silence] by Kimberly Derting)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and blood/gore
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Collecting the Dead from the generous folks at Minotaur Books (a division of St. Martin's Press/Macmillan). Thank you!
12 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)




Reading
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Listening
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
Surprise Christmas Family42 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
Bookcover Spotlight3 hours ago
-
Monthly Round-Up: November 20235 hours ago
-
-
-
-
#ThrowbackThursday. The House of the Mosque12 hours ago
-
-
-
A Review of A Winter’s Night15 hours ago
-
My Tel Aviv Table By Limor Chen16 hours ago
-
-
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill18 hours ago
-
Shades of Death by Angela Ransom19 hours ago
-
November Reflections22 hours ago
-
The Fourth Rule - Jeff Lindsay1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Nonfiction November: New to my TBR1 day ago
-
Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush2 days ago
-
-
-
I have been reading...4 days ago
-
Sunday Salon: November 26, 20234 days ago
-
-
-
2024 Motif Reading Challenge1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 month ago
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra5 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears6 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ▼ 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
Bummer this wasn't as good as you had hoped.
ReplyDeleteI know! I liked it overall, though.
DeleteThe premise did sounded good, but I'm sorry to hear that it wasn't all there. Looking forward hearing if the second book is better.
ReplyDeleteI think it will be. It comes out in the Spring, so I'll let you know what I think then!
DeleteSorry this wasn't exactly what you thought. I want these kinds of books to be page turners. Hopefully the next books will be better.
ReplyDeleteIt gets more page turner-y as it goes, but I was surprised by its relatively languid pace.
DeleteThis sounds like an interesting premise, but I'm sorry the book was disappointing! I'm a fan of crime and thriller novels, but I look forward to them keeping me on the edge of my seat-- a thriller story that fails to keep moving and thrill isn't much of a thriller. I hope you have a wonderful new year, though!
ReplyDeleteclaire @ clairefy
Exactly! I guess I'm just impatient :)
DeleteEver since I've read Cassandra Clare's books, I've loved the name Magnus. But, I don't think I can picture anyone with that name without picturing her character, lol. I'm glad this series is showing promise. That's always nice when you decide to give a series another chance.
ReplyDeleteI like the name Magnus, too ... in concept, anyway. I've never met an actual person with that name.
DeleteHey Miss Susan! I think I liked this one more than you did, but I agree that it was very much a debut book. I'm looking forward to the next in the series. And I also thought of Derting's series as well.
ReplyDeleteHope you and yours will have a Happy 2018! I'll be back to blogging starting tomorrow. :-)
Yeah, I think a lot of people liked this one more than I did. I still enjoyed it, though, and I'm hoping it's a series that will keep improving as it goes because I definitely like the set up and characters.
DeleteAre you seriously coming back to blogging? Awesome! You just made my whole year, Kay :) I can't wait to see what you get up to in 2018!