Echoes of the Dead

July 5, 2021
Kope’s tense fourth Special Tracking Unit novel (after 2020’s Shadows of the Dead) pits FBI tracker Magnus “Steps” Craig against a mysterious killer with a twisted vendetta. When four men disappear during a fly-fishing trip, Steps is called to the Upper Kern River outside of Bakersfield, Calif., to investigate. After one of the four turns up dead in a sadistic scenario, Steps—who can see what he calls “shine,” a person’s aura left behind on the things they’ve touched—realizes time is running out to save the remaining men. Steps’s task is complicated further by one of the missing men being a divisive politician with more than a few enemies. Steps’s partner, Jimmy Donovan, and intelligence analyst Diane Parker provide grounding with their ordinary human capabilities. Though fueled by relentless pacing and an impressively knotty plot, the real narrative power comes from Steps’s ability to see shine and the questions raised about death and beyond, which add a philosophical element to this singular saga. Paranormal thriller fans are in for a treat. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc.

July 15, 2021
The disappearances of a California congressman and three of his college buddies cue another manhunt for Magnus "Steps" Craig, the nonpareil agent of the FBI's Special Tracking Unit. Marco Perez was a successful oncologist before the citizens of Bakersfield elected him to Congress. Wade Winchell, the Major Crimes deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, has tangled with Mexican drug lords. Jason Norris is a well-heeled accountant; and hedge fund manager Noah Long's wealth leaves Norris in the dust. So they've all acquired scads of enemies along the way, and it's anyone's guess why they vanished from their annual fishing trip on the Upper Kern River or who the kidnapper's primary target was. As usual, though, Steps, who can see the shine that identifies the unique aura of every human being, and his more earthbound partner, Jimmy Donovan, are confronted by crime scenes far more arresting than the humdrum details of the criminal's motive or identity. Norris is seemingly discovered propped up on a park bench--except that the corpse in his clothing isn't his but that of a man a generation older than him, the killer having snatched the corpse from its recent grave and substituted Norris' still-living body. A Polaroid photo in the dead man's pocket identifies the likely next victim as Winchell and suggests that the clock is ticking before his time is up. An episode that interjects human smuggler Abel Moya into the mix dramatizes the killer's sadistic sense of humor. The killings are so ghoulish, in fact, that the final confrontation comes as a distinct and probably inevitable anticlimax. The most conventional of the gifted hero's four cases still has plenty to keep fans glued to their seats.

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August 1, 2021
Four lifelong buddies take off for some fishing in the Sierra Nevada; shortly after, they've vanished, as if they never existed. The local authorities, who know every cranny of this wild land, are baffled. Thus the call to FBI agent Magnus Craig, who has a spooky talent: he can detect auras. He can tell who has visited a scene and who shouldn't be there, thus setting the investigation on the right track. This is his fourth appearance, following Shadows of the Dead (2020), and, as before, readers may wonder why the woo-woo when Kope has mounted a really fine cop story crammed with superb detective work. It's one of Craig's unit, with no unearthly powers, just smarts, who observes and connects the giveaway details. There are violent moments that may tip over the edge, and an irrepressible love of offbeat info. Did you know the Nazis believed caffeine was poison and made decaf a state policy? Running gags, too. The cops are surprised to hear that Walmart sells body bags, and wonder if ""they let you try them on in the fitting room.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2021

In this fourth installment of crime analyst Kope's "Special Tracking Unit" series (after Shadows of the Dead), readers get more witty banter from the already developed characters. Steps and Jimmy of the FBI's Special Tracking Unit are tasked by the FBI director with finding a group of CEOs and politicians who disappeared from their annual fishing trip. Steps has the ability to see a colored "shine" that is distinct to every individual, and this suspect has a green shine. He must keep his ability quiet through wrong suspects and body recoveries until he and Jimmy find the person responsible. Kope shows every piece of the investigation, and the realistic, slow build to a solve keeps readers involved as the mystery unfolds. No gory detail is spared as victims' deaths are described, leaving readers scared and as eager to catch the killer as the characters. VERDICT The series has through lines, but each book can be read as a stand-alone; this installment is great for readers looking for a Stephen King--like scare.

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