Collecting the Dead
Summary:
FBI agent Magnus “Steps” Craig, the narrator of Kope’s compelling debut and series launch, can see the psychic residue—the “shine”—that people, both dead and alive, leave behind them. He uses this peculiar gift as the lead investigator in the FBI’s Special Tracking Unit. Steps is obsessed with a killer he’s dubbed Leonardo, because of the way the murderer, who’s still at large, displays his victims as the Vitruvian Man. More urgently, Steps’s attention is focused on a prolific killer with a penchant for murdering young women in Northern California. After finding a frowning face etched in shine—think of it as colorful paint invisible to everyone but Steps—the agent and his team begin calling the serial killer the Sad Face Killer. Steps knows that Sad Face’s latest abductee is still alive, thanks to the shine on a locket of hers, so it’s a race against time to find her before Sad Face kills her. Kope, the crime analyst for the Whatcom County (Wash.) Sheriff’s Office, has introduced a tortured soul who’s a welcome addition to the library of crime fiction heroes. (retrieved from Publishers Weekly: Agent: Kimberly Cameron, Kimberly Cameron & Associates >> )
Group Reviews/Comments:
8 thumbs up, 1 thumb down!
Group members liked the police procedural aspect – informative. Not sure at first about Step’s secret ability-“shine”-even when likening it to auras. Eventually some were okay with it; another still so-so with the shine; shine reminded them of synesthesia – seeing words in color; another enjoyed the shine – and the balance between spirituality and magical; thought another thought it read like a first book and was put off by shine thinking it was too contrived.
- Plot and dialog seemed like it was written for TV
- Dialog was sophomoric
- Character Steps melodramatic, whiny, immature—some were turned off by this, others felt it was appropriate given the character’s emotional trauma.
- Descriptive/analogy writing was brilliant
another had sympathy for Steps and echoed the likeness to a - Good sense of place and a good mystery for first book;
- Diane character was stereotypical – IT geek back at home base with no life.
