Following up from Collecting the Dead, Whispers of the Dead follows Steps and Agent Jimmy Donovan as they track IBK, Ice Box Killer, as they cut off the feet of their victims and place them in ice chests. My favorite thing about this series is the "shine" aspect of it. On the outside, Steps is a normal tracker for the FBI, but in reality, he can see "shine" from people and this allows him to find victims and killers easily, along with his partner and friend Jimmy Donovan.

This was thrilling and very interesting and can't wait to see more from this series in the future.

This is the second in the series. A nice partnership between the 2 main characters, Steps and Jimmy FBI agents in a special tracking unit.

3.5 stars. I really enjoy the partnership between Steps and Jimmy. They truly make this series enjoyable. I would have liked this story to have a quicker pace at times, but the original plot and the dialogue made it entertaining.

Whispers of the Dead is the second book in a fun series with a unique premise. While it can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend starting with [book:Collecting the Dead|26114361], book 1.

Most of the story is written from Steps' perspective, in first person. I really enjoy his character. We get to know him on a personal level, so there is a lot of depth beyond the whodunit mystery. The banter between Steps and his partner Jimmy provides comic relief around the details of the series of grisly murders.

The killer's perspective is also included, written in third person, though without revealing the identity. I always appreciate a glimpse into the dark mind of the killer, and this is handled well.

The plot keeps us guessing until the very end, as we go along with Steps and the team, uncovering clues and putting the pieces together. The concept of Steps using "shine" to track the killer is intriguing, giving the story a totally different feel than the typical investigation style.

While the plot here is wrapped up at the end, there is a bit of a cliffhanger carried through from book 1.

DNF at 25%

The main character, Magnus “Steps” Craig, uses his synesthesia to help solve crime. Being able to see what a person touched in a specific color comes in handy for his job in the FBI. However, I found all of the characters and dialogue extremely annoying and unfortunately couldn't get past those to finish the book.

A federal judge in Texas comes home to a strange cooler left in his house. The cooler contains a pair of severed feet. Magnus "Steps'' Craig and Jimmy Donovan are sent to investigate. They are members of a special FBI group, the Special Tracking Unit. Steps has an unusual gift. He sees people in varying colors, which allows him to see if victims have been killed by the same person because of traces of color left on the bodies. His gift has to be kept secret. And, although his gift helps them in investigations, it can't be used as evidence at a trial, so the tracking unit has to find concrete proof usable in court. More severed feet are found, so Steps and Jimmy are racing against time to identify the killer.

I have to admit the plot of this book is really strange. Severed feet in ice coolers. Creative and disturbing. If it had been in the least overdone, it would have come off as ridiculous....but this book is well-written and it was just dead on creepy and suspenseful. I liked how the two FBI agents work so well together. I also enjoyed how Steps' power comes with a cost -- blinding headaches and the need to keep it completely secret. Interesting concept for a crime series....I like it!

Whispers of the Dead is the 2nd book in the Special Tracking Unit series. I'm definitely going back to read book one! I jumped in at book 2 easily and was still able to understand the characters and the plot, but book one obviously contains more background on the unit and the main characters. It isn't necessary to read book one though. I still totally loved this story without reading the first book in the series.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Minotaur Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Whispers of the Dead. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion was freely given.

Magnus “Steps” Craig is an FBI agent and an elite tracker with the Special Tracking Unit. Along with Special Agent Jimmy Donovan, they are often called in on cases that may have been unsolvable without the special skills that Magnus possesses. There is a closely guarded secret, known only to his father, the director of the FBI, and Jimmy, that Steps has a unique ability that he has honed over the years. Being able to see the "shine", traces of a person that they have left behind by way of a unique color that only he can see, Steps is able to follow both victims and killers to the evidence they need for capture and conviction. When their latest case takes them into multiple jurisdictions throughout the South, will Steps be able to use his ability and keep his true nature hidden long enough to solve the crimes?

Whispers of the Dead was a successful sequel to Collecting the Dead, especially in regards to the investigation of the crimes. The progression of the cases with very little evidence rings true and the suspense level ramps up as the book reaches its conclusion. Steps grapples with the idea of divulging his special ability to more of his inner circle, but it just did not seem realistic that he would have kept the knowledge from certain individuals that he trusted with his life. The possibilities for future plot lines regarding Steps and the Special Tracking Unit are endless, so I look forward to reading more about the character. I would recommend Whispers of the Dead to readers who like police procedural suspense thrillers with an extra twist.

3.5 I read the summary of this, and was drawn to the unique talent Steps has, a rare form of synsthesia. He see, what he calls the shine, on people. Each person's unique color, not an aura but trAils on the ground or things they touch. He and Jimmy belong to a special tracking unit of the FBI, snd they are called into service after a pair of feet are found in a cooler at a judges house.

The first half of the book, as they investigate, trying to put the pieces together, were rather slow. Yet even though the pace was slower I was still entertained by the witty repartee between the partners. The pace really picks up in the second half, and it turned into a very good and suspenseful story.

I enjoyed this, the two lead characters, even the lesser characters were wonderful. Something a little different, and I will go back and read the first in series, this is the second. The epilogue is the beginning of their next case, and it sounds like a killer from the first is back in action.

ARC from Netgalley.

Whispers of the Dead is the 2nd book in the Special Tracking Unit series. I loved the first book, [book:Collecting the Dead|26114361], so I was excited to read this book. This book did not disappoint. Such a unique plot with great characters. It pulled me in from the beginning and held my interest throughout the story.

Operations Specialist Magnus "Steps" Craig is a tracker with a special gift. He the ability that allows him to see whatever a person has touched in a unique color, what he calls ‘shine.’ Steps and his partner, FBI Special Agent Jimmy Donovan, are on a case where a pair of severed feet are found in a cooler in the house of a Federal judge in El Paso. The victim is unknown and unidentifiable. Soon another cooler with severed feet is found hundreds of miles away. Steps and FBI Donovan are on the hunt for The Icebox Killer.

I highly recommend reading both books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of Spencer Kope's "Whispers of the Dead" in exchange of an honest review.

There’s a serial killer at work, whose weird signature involves severed feet, delivered in iceboxes to defence lawyers. It’s a job for one of the FBI’s special units – a very special unit, one which comes with an extra-sensory twist. Steps, the lead character, is a tracker. But he doesn’t use forensics or personality profiling – instead he has a paranormal ability to see the unique aura which surrounds every person. And which every person leaves in their wake… creating a long-term ‘shine’ which Steps can see, sometimes even years later.

This is the second book in the series, but you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy this one. I felt it flowed more easily than the earlier episode, and the author spent less time fussing about Steps’ extra ability – so his strange second-sight blended better into the storyline. The first book was more about the investigator himself: this one stands on the merits of the story, and it’s a solidly crafted investigation into a serial killer… one which raises plenty of questions about the morality of western legal systems, and of personal responsibility.

There is an intellectual puzzle here to be solved, and it’s a high-stakes investigation as Steps soon realises that the killer is ramping up his activities. So together with his partner and their back-up team, Steps must understand the killer’s motivation and predict where the shine might lead them. It’s a nifty mix of procedural and road trip, as they zigzag between crime sites across the southern States. And it’s made all the more entertaining by the combination of a paranormal ability with practical policing: Steps might know which feet belong to which victim, and whether the suspect has slept in a certain bed, all from the traces of shine he picks up. But that can’t be revealed to the world at large (or even some of his team, or his girlfriend), so there’s multiple layers of subtle subterfuge involved in bringing what Steps knows – but can’t prove — into the chain of evidence.

Throw in the usual cast of medical examiners, research team, hi-tech forensics and digital tracking, add a smattering of witness interviews and cold-case reviews, and you get a truly entertaining manhunt. It’s on the safe side of gruesome and not particularly explicit; tight with technical detail and agency acronyms; possibly a little long on buddy-buddy conversations during the investigation team’s travel time. The air-crew, for example, feel as if they’re just hanging around to lighten the mood, while Steps’ lodger and brother were entirely surplus to requirement this time around. But the notion of Steps sending paper letters to his girlfriend by old-fashioned post is a nice commentary on the transient nature of modern communication.

Mostly, the story lopes along without bogging down and Spencer Kope has an unfussy style of writing which doesn’t clutter the narrative unnecessarily. This episode definitely feels more confident and polished than the first, and the author is able to bring some real gravitas to a complex situation. This isn’t simply a manhunt for a serial killer, which pitches law enforcers against someone entirely evil, but a story with a more complex moral conundrum at its core.

I enjoyed it more than I did the first book in the series – and am looking forward to the third. At some point, surely Steps is going to have to justify his teams’ astonishing expense account to someone in the FBI’s hierarchy…

8/10

Thanks to Minotaur and Netgalley for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest review

Once again, I fall victim to not checking ahead and seeing if this is part of a series. However, this book definitely read just fine without having read the previous one in the series (at least this time I'm only one behind!). WHISPERS OF THE DEAD is book two in the Special Tracking Unit series. I didn't feel too lost without reading book one - but I will be going back to read it!

When a series of bizarre and gruesome murders start, "Steps" Craig is forced to try and outsmart a killer that is far beyond any he's dealt with before. The victims' bodies are left practically unidentifiable, which shows how cruel and cold-blooded this killer truly is. Things start to get even more confusing when a pair of severed feet are found in the home of a Federal Judge. Why did the killer go to the lengths to break in? Why leave them here? Steps gets his team together, a trio that makes up the Special Tracking Unit for the FBI.

As the investigation ramps up, they begin to discover more severed feet, thus dubbing the serial killer, The Icebox Killer. How can Steps and his team catch this killer? Will he be able to utilize his special skills and get one step ahead before there are any other victims?

I liked how unique the team was for the investigation, something different than your typical detective or inspector. Steps was a very interesting character and I liked how witty and humorous the dialog was, considering how dark the killings were. Having that contrast is always nice to balance out within these kinds of serial killer thrillers.

I can't wait for more in this series!

4.5/5 stars - rounded up for rating

Magnus “Steps” Craig and his partner, Jimmy, are part of a special FBI tracking unit, called in to solve the tough cases. Only three people know, but Steps can see “shine,” a unique color trail left where a person has touched. This ability makes Steps very good at tracking and finding killers.

But this case is different. The killer is more cold-blooded than any Steps and Jimmy have ever seen. The only part of the victims found are their feet, left in a portable cooler for the next target to find.

The first body found was left in the home of a federal judge in El Paso, but when another body is found in Baton Rouge, Steps realizes the killer has big plans, and the FBI has almost no clues. It will take every scrap of ability Steps and Jimmy have to unearth clues before the Icebox Killer strikes again.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series until I finished reading it, but I had no trouble getting up to speed. The characters make this novel! Steps’ ability is unique and interesting, but he’s a complex guy with a lot of layers, and his deadpan humor and snarkiness were a joy to read. The relationship between him and Jimmy, and the rest of the team, was well-developed and believable, and I found myself glued to the page, watching the characters interact. This is not your boring, predictable police-procedural/forensic mystery, but a detailed story about fascinating characters with great relationships.

Spencer Kope is a former Russian linguist with the Navy. Whispers of the Dead is his new novel, the second in the Special Tracking Unit series.

(Galley provided by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

When a pair of feet are discovered in a cooler, in judge's house in El Paso the Special Tracking Unit of the FBI have a new case. The victim is unknown, the motive unknown but Magnus 'Steps' Craig has a unique ability which helps him track people.
A good well-written murder mystery, believable dialogue and well-drawn characters.

Beginning with the first in the series, the premise of the Special Tracking Unit is compelling: An FBI tracker who sees the aura of people left through physical contact with the places and things touched. Makes for one amazing story line.

This second in the series, Whispers of the Dead, is an excellent and entertaining continuation of the first book. Magnus "Steps" and his family and friends are again caught up in a thrilling mystery suspense. The writing isn't perfect, but it's good enough to make me put down whatever else I'm reading to get to this one. The character development is cohesive and nuanced; the action is fast-paced; and the developments are unique to author Kope's imagination. This is a great thrill of a ride.

In 2016, Spencer Kope wowed me with his first Special Tracking Unit mystery, Collecting the Dead, and I'm thrilled to say that he hasn't taken his foot off the gas for Whispers of the Dead. There's a razor-sharp investigation here, as well as a fast pace, and a group of characters who are more like family than mere work colleagues.

The way Kope puts the clues and the investigation together is completely absorbing, partly due to Steps' special gift of synesthesia. An FBI tracker can't go to the police and say, "Here's your killer. I know he did it because he left a dark olive and lime green 'shine' on the body and the murder weapon, and his tracks led right back to his apartment." No, that would be a sure way to get a ride to the psych ward at the local hospital. Steps not only has to interpret the shine-- the unique colors individuals leave on everything they touch-- he has to find the evidence that will hold up in a court of law. It's not always easy, but he and his partner Jimmy Donovan are professionals.

Whispers of the Dead isn't just about the investigation; it's got a very human element. Kope shows the damage a life in this sort of business can cause to a marriage and a thing or two that can be done to make sure this doesn't happen. In addition, he has a way of making you think differently about some of the characters than you think you should. Steps is also coming to realize that he should've told a couple more people about his gift a long time ago. Now it's going to be awkward when he finally does.

Not all readers like continuing storylines in the books they read, and there is one here. The Ice Box Killer investigation is successfully concluded, but there's another killer-- one even more intelligent and dangerous-- who's been taunting Steps for quite some time. Steps calls this killer "Leonardo," and I'm really looking forward to the book when Steps can concentrate on bringing him to justice. I've gone from thinking Spencer Kope's first book is brilliant to knowing that he's creating a fantastic series. Hopefully, you'll join us on the journey (if you haven't already).

Book two in this series is another winner

FBI Operations Specialist Magnus "Steps" and his partner Special Agent Jimmy Donovan are in a special section of the FBI developed just for them - the FBIs Special Tracking Unit, based out of Bellingham, Washington. They have their own private jet they've named Betsy and they travel all over the U.S. looking for missing persons, bodies, and killers.

In this second book of the series (after COLLECTING THE DEAD) they head to Texas and New Mexico looking for a killer that cuts the feet off his victims and leaves the feet in unlikely places.

If you read the first book, you know that "Steps" has a unique talent. He sees a "shine" left behind after people. Neon bright and a different color and texture unique to each person, it makes tracking people a lot easier.

I liked this second book as much as the first. It's a different storyline than other thrillers out there and "Steps" is a very different person. Sometimes I wonder if he's on the autism spectrum because of the many quirks he has.

Anyway, both these books are very entertaining if you like stories about murders, serial killers, the FBI, and the paranormal.

I received this book from St. Martin's Press through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this intriguing book

wow steps has a talent...he can see shine...and it tells its own story of our daily lives, and through this talent he can track and find out who what and where has been murdered or lost or even kidnapped... and along the way him and his buddy work tracking people down

not many people know this talent of steps only his one work buddy jimmy,the rest of the crew just think they are a successful pair of trackers

this is the 2nd book in this series and i found it very enjoyable and easy to follow even though i havent read the first book yet, this is one series and author i am going to be keeping an eye out for...

as two investigators with one of them having a talent for shine is going to be an entertaining read....

Received from NetGalley for my honest review
Completed 3/20/18
336 page ebook

I don't know why it took me so long to read this one after I got it from NetGalley, and thanks to A who pushed me to finally read it. I LOVE this series and I just wish there was more out already so I can read more.

The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that the murders revolved around feet. And OMG I HATE feet!! Like with a passion. So that part of the book annoyed me, I wish they would have stopped talking about the damn feet, like I will now.

Other than that, this book was so good. I LOVE Steps. He's a unique imperfect character, and he writes handwritten letters. Love him double for that, I love my pen pals!! He's got this kickass ability but has to keep it to himself and just three others, so it's a constant struggle to figure out ways to find evidence of what he already knows. It's a very unique take on crime solving and done with unique characters that you can't help but root for. Steps is definitely among my favorites of crime solving detectives, right up there with Eve Dallas and Robert Hunter.

I can't wait for more from Steps!

Setting = A
Plot = A+
Conflict = A+
Characters = A+
Theme = A+

The latest case for Steps Craig and his partner Jimmy Donovan is a puzzler. They are called to El Paso because a Federal Judge has found a cooler with feet in it in his living room. Steps sees everyone in different colors which is very helpful in his investigations but needs to be kept secret. He can use his ability to see the shine of a killer and, by seeing the shine on multiple victims, know if the killer is a serial killer. However, his ability isn't evidence that can lead to a court conviction so he and his partner need to find conventional evidence too.

The first pair of feet leads to another pair of feet this time in the home of a defense attorney. Steps and Jimmy spend a lot of time on their Gulfstream jet traveling between crime sites. Their office assistant Diane holds down the fort at their home location in Washington State and is a computer guru who tracks down all sorts of evidence for them from State and Federal databases. Very few people know about Steps's special ability and Diane isn't one of them though she is getting suspicious.

Despite Steps's special ability which can only be muted by special lead crystal glasses and which causes massive headaches, Jimmy and Steps still need to do the ordinary police work of knocking on doors and traveling up and down I-10 from Texas to Albuquerque to follow the path of the killer they have nicknamed the Ice Box Killer.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the friendship between Steps and Jimmy and the way they work so well together. I also liked seeing Steps's relationship with journalist Heather growing. I thought the fact that he wrote her letters was romantic. I also liked that he felt that it was time to tell her about his special ability but couldn't quite bring himself to do it.

The writing was engaging as it was told by Steps who has a number of interesting personality quirks. The action was fast-paced. The mystery itself was nicely done with clues and motives gradually revealed. I recommend this series. Start with COLLECTING THE DEAD to get the whole story but this one does stand alone quite well.

I liked this book a lot. It was interesting because the killer was relatable and the agents were interesting too.