I was enjoying this book because I love crime and criminal procedural books but I think because I didn’t read the other books I didn’t understand the book as much. When I requested this book, I actually didn’t know it was the third book in the series, but I thought I could still read it. I definitely recommend starting at the beginning and I’m hoping to get into this series soon so I can finish this book!

Well my list of authors keeps getting longer...
Add this to your must read. I’m looking forward to what’s next for this author.

My goodness this thriller was so fascinating. I loved reading about Steps “shine”. It was fast paced and there was action, clues, twists and turns. A must read.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

When I read "Collecting the Dead," the first book in this series, I said in my review that it knocked my socks off. Then I got this one, and there went my toes.

It's absolutely exhilarating to find a new series that's this enjoyable; I love Magnus "Steps" Craig, an agent with the FBI's Special Tracking Unit. He's clever, amusing and "special" in another sense. Ever since surviving a childhood accident, he's had the ability to see "shine" - the essence, or aura, human beings leave behind wherever they go - in glorious living colors. It's not always a welcome talent, though, so he wears special lead crystal glasses that block it out when he doesn't need it on the job. As for that, his ability is a secret except to his partner, Special Agent Jimmy Donovan, his father, the head of the FBI and, of course, readers like me.

That ability is stretched almost to the limit in this book, when it's learned that the body of a female jogger in a wooded area isn't the first. Apparently, a serial killer has been plying his or her trade for years - and the modus operandi smacked of a seriously deranged individual. Steps and Jimmy catch the "perp," and that theory becomes a reality. Also a reality, though, is that at least one someone else is involved - someone who may be more dangerous than the one they caught (if that's possible).

When yet another woman goes missing, time becomes the enemy. The team has a pretty good idea how long they have before this latest kidnapping turns into a murder - and it may not be long enough. It takes the skills of every expert in the Special Tracking Unit, plus the help of other law enforcement officials with whom they routinely work, to identify and locate the person behind the grisly murders. The devil, of course, is in the details - and while I won't reveal any of them, trust me when I say they make for a highly engrossing story that I really, really didn't want to put down.

For the record (and for those who prefer to read books in order), somehow I missed the second installment, "Whispers of the Dead," more's the pity. It's a mistake I intend to rectify as soon as possible. Meantime, thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Outstanding!

Suspense, mystery , murder with some "shine" woven through. First read for me and I was not lost. I am intrigued enough to want to read book1 and 2. This was in depth and I could not afford to gloss or skim any part. Without knowing before hand the author was a Criminal Investigator, you know this book is different, You feel the reality in the book wrapped with that special "shine". There are twists as Steps and Jimmy investigate with the help of Diane (IT person) and the ending made the book. Thank you for the arc, Net Galley. Spencer Kope and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a new author and indulge in some thrills. I voluntarily share my true thoughts and opinions.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book. The comments and review are my honest review.
This book starts off fast and doesn’t let up. Serial killers, dark web, and an unusual ability from the main character makes it an excellent read. This was the first book I read by Steven Kope and I am glad I did not miss it. I look forward to reading more by this author.

I couldn't get into this book, it didn't hold my interest at all. This book just isn't for me but I'm sure others will like it.

Magnus "Steps" Craig and his partner Jimmy are part of the FBI's Special tracking Unit, called upon to assist in tracking everything from bank robbers to, in this case, the driver of a crashed car who had a woman in the trunk. The opening is a tense standoff between the driver the FBI and local authorities have pursued, and that drive, holed up in a cabin deep in the forest.

Promising!

Unfortunately, that promise is blunted by tedious, unnecessary tangents, and a special ability that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Steps, pronounced dead at the age of eight of hypothermia, but brought back to life, returns from that experience with the ability to see people as colors and textures - this, to me, would be a form of synesthesia, based on grapheme-color synesthesia, but in this book, Steps is told by his father that he has the shine. To me, someone described as having the shine is someone who can see events past and future, and/or talk to other people just using their mind. Neither of those are present in this book, which is the third in a series, although I suppose typing shine is easier than typing synesthesia over and over. This condition is for some reason kept a secret from everyone except Jimmy and their mutual boss, including his own mother, who is never told. In the world of this book, it makes Steps the best tracker in the country. I have some questions about this, which I'll get into.

Back to the beginning. The authorities have the fleeing driver surrounded in the cabin. Right before someone's going to launch a tear gas canister into the cabin, we get....a flashback. We get the tale of how Steps died and came back with synesthesia, how he and his father kept it a secret from his mother, how lead crystal glasses help him keep the blinding neon glow of humanity from burning out his eyeballs and giving him migraines. We then get back to the action at the cabin. This was a very weird editorial choice, and it immediately rips the reader out of the action.

They capture the driver, who rattles on about the woman being number Eight, how he was going to "fix" her, and we discover there's someone out there actually taking the women and holding them before turning them over to the crazy guy so he can experiment on them.

Things shift into trying to find the Onion King, as he's called. Why is he called that? Is this really number eight? If so, who are the first seven? And where are they - or more accurately, whree are their bodies?

Throughout this, we get a lot of metaphysical discussions - good versus evil, the story of the two wolves - and a lot of references to books Steps has read, movies he and Jimmy watch, and I have to say that all of that really reduces the energy of the investigation, not to mention yanking the reader right out of the story. Nothing seems urgent here, despite the fact they're hunting for a serial killer, until the last 10% of the book.

Another irritant was that everyone in the book - except, again, the IT person in charge of the systems someone breached - had some kind of witty banter moment, or more than one moment, and some of it wasn't funny. That sort of thing is supposed to be used sparingly, and it really did seem as if some scenes were there merely to pad the book. Ditto for the main character's constant meandering off into the weeds about everything from Archimedes to Zeno.

All of the IT people are genius hackers, trawling the dark web as easily as looking up something in a database - except the IT crew that manages the courthouse servers, where crazy man's bail was reduced from $10MM to $2K, and apparently no one notices this.

A note here about the "shine": if Steps can see people through their color, and he has never met the missing women, I kept wondering just how he knew each woman's color. He couldn't get this from the women themselves, and as they make their way to the homes of each woman, he immediately says "She was here, this is X" based on...just seeing a track of color where the woman has walked. How would he know? What if they had a roommate? Lived with family? A bunch of ifs ran through my mind during some of these scenes.

I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it, either. Thirty minutes after finishing, I couldn't remember the title of the book, and errantly searched for "Death in the Shadows", which is not the name, of course. There are two books previous to this, and based on the epilogue, a fourth is upcoming. I'm afraid I'm not invested enough in Steps and Jimmy to read what came before or what comes after.

Three point five stars, rounded down to three because of the issue noted. Sorry folks, this just wasn't for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mintaur for the advance copy.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Spencer Kope, and St. Martin’s Pressfor providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

After thoroughly enjoying the audio versions of Spencer Kope’s Special Tracking Unit series, I turned to the book format for this latest instalment. Kope excelled with his detail and action before, but this book was completely off the charts, sending chills and thrills with each page turn. Magnus “Steps” Craig remains quite busy with the FBI’s Special Tacking Unit (STU), a small collection of individuals tasked with locating missing persons, which can include discovering bodies in the most macabre situations. Steps has an added tool in his arsenal, setting him apart from others, called ‘shine’, which allows him to see the presence of someone through an aura that presents itself in detailed colours and other visual disturbances. After a call to assist when a purported kidnapper has fled into the Washington State woods, Steps and his partner, Special Agent Jimmy Donovan, agree to do what they can. After surrounding a small cabin, the authorities coax a young man out and proceed to arrest him. His muttering are all over the place, but one thing is clear, the woman in his trunk is call ‘Eight’ and he must ‘fix her’. Further rambling reveals that this man works for ‘the Onion King’, though even saying that might be too much. Working with these leads and some help from the kidnap victim, Steps and Donovan discover that there is more to the case and that this Onion King may be much more dangerous than first presumed. When they find themselves outside another rural cabin, what’s discovered inside begins to offer some idea of who the other seven women might be and the rationale behind their abductions. However, even as Steps and Donovan put names to these women, their connection to one another and the Onion King remains opaque. Time is running out and the shines associated with all involved are slowly ebbing. With a wily and ruthless serial killer out there, vulnerable women are not safe and cannot see the danger before them. Recommended to those who have read and enjoyed the past novels in this series, as well as the reader who finds pleasure in something well off the beaten path.

There is surely a significant difference in reading a book through audio and seeing the lines before your eyes. Some would even pose the argument that audiobooks are not a part of the reading process, but that is for another review. After being pulled in by the first two novels in this series, I was pleased to receive an advance copy of this story. Spencer Kope uses his unique perspective with crime thrillers to lure the reader in from the opening pages. Magnus ‘Steps’ Craig offers his unique abilities to add another layer in his role as protagonist. Steps is a talented tracker in the FBI, though his shine offers him both some advantages and impediments, as he cannot share its presence with others. Kope leaves the backstory out of this book, focussing his attention on the camaraderie and teamwork between Steps and Donovan. Working closer to home, the case takes on a more intense nature and pushes the characters together with more regularity. Other characters who appear throughout help offer some added depth to the story, which is surely the most spine chilling of the three novels.. Others continue to complement and flavour the narrative effectively and keep the reader wanting more. The story is better than I expected and proves captivating because of the approach that remains unduplicated by other novels in the genre. Kope peppers the plot with numerous twists planted throughout the story, forcing the reader to pay close attention. Offsetting this with a decent dose of humour, educational moments, and great plot pacing, this book makes its mark and will surely leave the reader wanting to explore more. I would not normally say this, but this book has all the elements of being perfect as a movie, provided that some of the darker moments can be executed with style.

Kudos, Mr. Kope, for another winner and surely the best of the lot. I cannot wait to see what you have in mind for Steps and Donovan in the coming novels.

This is the third book in the Special Tracking Unit series. It is the first of the series that I have read, but I didn't have problems following along.

A wrong turn in the woods, a blizzard and a lost boy. The boy is eight, and dies. The boy is revived by his father and searchers, and now has a gift or a curse, depending on how one views it. That boy is Magnus Craig, now 28 working for the FBI as a man-tracker, and goes by Steps. Steps is able to see shades of color left by others, which he refers to as shine. Only three people know about shine, Steps' father, partner, Jimmy, and the director of the FBI.

Steps gets a call involving a high speed pursuit leading to a car crash, a woman in the trunk, and a driver that fled.

Steps lead a team to a small cabin, where the driver is apprehended and gives his name as Faceman that he's a fixer, and asks about Eight. It is apparent, that they are dealing with a guy who should be institutionalized.

An interview with Faceman leaves a chilling impression that there are more victims, besides Eight, where Faceman is fixated on "patients" who are broken and need to be fixed. It's apparent, that Faceman is working with someone else referred to by Onion King.

Faceman is sprung from jail, and news about another person missing leads Jimmy and Steps to race against the clock to find who this Onion King is, before there is another victim.

Wow, I enjoyed the different take where solving crime had to do with a special gift that only a few knew about. Lots of twists and turns, and humor. Now that I've read this, I want to go back and read the other two books in the series.

I received an ARC from NetGalley via St. Martin's Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

I loved this book. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

What can I say? I loved this book! I can’t wait to get my hands on more by this author. The story drew me in from the start with action around every corner, some freaky and weird, and some evil and gruesome. The characters were so well developed with every super ability counterbalanced by human flaws and anxieties. And as the plot unfolded the climax was not squeezed into a final page or chapter, rather it kept the reader in suspense with heart racing and fear in the eyes for page upon page, chapter after chapter, high octane right to the end. Thank you to netgalley for an advance copy of this hugely entertaining read.

Magnus "Steps" Craig is a key member of the FBI's Special Tracking Unit worn a special talent only his partner knows about Craig calls or his "shine," a synesthesia-like ability to see the world in colors, especially those left in the wake of the criminals he's tracking : He knows when and where they've been, an extra sensory perception he's had since he nearly froze to death in a forest when he SAS a child That shine is his secret weapon when it comes to hunting down a fiendishly clever serial rapist and killer known to his followers as the Onionman, He leads the police, the FBI and the STU on a bloody chase around western Washington in this violent, fast-paced thriller.

This book had an interesting premise which is why I picked it without realizing it was the third in the series. The main character, "Steps" as he is called by everyone even his mother (that seemed odd to me since it's a nickname he got on the job), has a special ability where he can see "shine," or a type of aura where people have touched things. He works for the FBI, although from what I gather he's not a special agent (maybe the first books explain that more), as a tracker. This book is able to stand on its own without having to read the first two books, but there was some mention of things from prior books, or questions I had that might have been answered in the prior books.

I was confused by how Steps is not a special agent per se but he's still out in the field collecting evidence and chasing bad guys. He noted that most of the time he doesn't even bring a gun with him. In the book, he is called an Operations Specialist, but I was never clear on what exactly that entailed.

I have read and watched a lot of crime books and tv shows and this was one of the few that explained police procedure which I guess would be good for a newbie but to me it was unnecessary cause I already familiar with it. I also was so very surprised that the FBI agent didn't know what the Dark Web was. It had me checking to see if this book was written in the past before the Dark Web became common knowledge but as far as I can tell it's set in present time. The author might have been using the agent's ignorance to explain it to any reader who was unfamiliar but I just don't think that was the right way to present it, as it would seem very unlikely at least to me that an agent wouldn't know what the Dark Web is.

I was very intrigued by the special ability Steps has but I felt like it was barely used in the book. Steps we learn wears special glasses to block the shine most of the time and only takes them off when he's searching particularly for shine. I thought the focus of the book would be on his ability, but rather it was more regular police work that ended up solving the case, with the shine just confirming what they found.

Overall, this book was just ok for me. I don't really have any interest in going back and reading the first books.

**I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Not an easy read, perhaps it was lost in translation? I stuck with it until the end but found it a very challenging book to read. The story got off course and by the end it just didn’t add up.

Apparently I’m in the minority on this one but I found this book an epic snore fest. I tried and failed multiple times to make it through this book but after a couple months I’m calling it quits. Maybe you’ll love it but for me there was no opening hook to draw me in and encourage me to keep reading. I felt no connection to the characters or the slow paced plot.

A very detailed ride along with Police. Do you tales realistic please/FBI investigation. Not exactly my genre but a very good book nonetheless. Thank you for providing this first read to me

This is a fast-paced thriller. It is also a detailed and highly interesting police procedural. It shows all the disappointments and triumphs of an investigation. I like the way that Mr. Kope interjects occasional humor to break the awful tension the agents and police officers must be feeling. As Steps tells the story, the reader is right there. I was riding in the car with them, witnessing the awful results of the murders, and eavesdropping in on various conversations. I usually don't enjoy stories told in the first person, but Mr. Kope made Steps so very real, and so human. I really liked him and Jimmy. I liked their interactions and ability to work well with one another. They communicated on a level that didn't need words. This is my first Spencer Kope novel,

A wild ride of a read. A tense multilayered read great characters.A book that kept me reading late into the night.A page turner that kept me guessing till the last page.#netgalley#st.martinsbooks

Not at all what was expected! This is the third book of the Special Tracking series and can be read as a stand alone. Spencer Kope offers a fantastic police procedural/crime thriller balanced with a subtle hint of sci-fi. The fact that Kope plays up the enigma for what it is and allows the characters a natural response does well to balance the story line. The crime/police procedural is absolutely evocative and enthralling. An excellent read and a great introduction to the next book! Loved it.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #ShadowsoftheDead, which was read and reviewed voluntarily by @wayward_readers