Collecting The Dead

 

I have found a new series to love.  I read the second book first, which is usually a mistake. Then I went back and read the first one in the FBI Special Tracking Unit Series.  It is Collecting The Dead by Spencer Kope.

In this new and exciting series Magnus "Steps" Craig has special abilities that enable him to see where people have been.  A traumatic event in his childhood left him with synesthesia.  This is when one sense is felt by another sense, such as seeing colors invokes a taste.  Yellow may taste like lemon, for example.  For Steps, he can see the tracks or touch of people as a particular color and texture.

This sense can be overwhelming, so he has to wear special glasses to block the streaks and splotches of neon color taking over his field of vision.

But this special power can help him in tracking the lost child and even the tracks of a serial killer.  Each person has a specific color, so Steps is able to determine immediately if a dead body is the result of a serial killer, assuming he has seen the tracks on another body.  He has to pretend to find actual clues, so that he isn't considered a nut and his evidence gathering isn't dismissed.  A Special FBI Tracking Unit has been established so that Magnus and his partner, Jimmy Donovan can fly out to a murder or abduction that fits into their skill set.

Not only is this new series fascinating because of this unusual team, but Spencer Kope is a fabulous writer.  He gives you insight into the characters and the toll this job takes on them.  His books have moments of great tension, but they also has a lot of humor.   One example is a line that hit too close to home for me, " It's not that I am in bad shape, I can run ten miles with the best of them; I just prefer to do it a half mile at a time with twenty-four-hour breaks in between."

The second book in this series is Whispers Of The Dead.  It is also a wonderful book.  I probably read 50 to 100 mysteries in any given year, so when I recommend a book you should believe me. Read this series.  I can't wait for the third one.