Shadows of the Dead

June 15, 2020
An FBI agent with a gift to see Shine, a person's essence, finds his tracking sense stymied when the killer he's hunting plans his misdeeds through the dark web. When Magnus Craig, better known as Steps, is called in on an unusual case on the Olympic Peninsula, surrounding a cabin in the woods and capturing its occupant is the easiest piece of what seems to be a grotesque puzzle. The occupant, who identifies himself only as Faceman, perseverates to the agents about how angry a mysterious "he" will be and where "number eight" has gone. Steps and his partner, Jimmy Donovan, conclude that Faceman, ne Murphy Haze Cotton, has been part of a plot to kidnap women, bring them to the remote cabin, and create death masks of the women's last breaths. Based on Faceman's ramblings, it appears that the woman discovered alive in the trunk of his car is No. 8, leaving it up to Steps and Jimmy to figure out the identities of seven victims, a possible motive, and the identity of the "he" Faceman has fingered as the orchestrator of the grander plot. Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased have been turned into chemical sludge in barrels, so even matching dental records is unlikely. This is where Steps' special gift comes in. After an early childhood trauma, Steps gained the ability to perceive Shine, an essential feature that serves as a unique identifier as well as a trail that shows where people are or have been. It's made Steps a gifted human-hunter uniquely positioned to solve the case--until Steps and Jimmy realize that Faceman and his boss communicated over the dark web and the ringmaster could be anyone, anywhere. Combining online detection with studying some epically gross artifacts from the murder scene, Steps and Jimmy pool their talents to track the man behind Faceman. Creepy set pieces alternate with warm, sometimes funny interactions between the dogged agents. No computer skills required.

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Starred review from June 22, 2020
Early in Kope’s relentless third novel featuring Magnus Craig, the leader of the FBI’s Special Tracking Unit (after 2018’s Whispers of the Dead), Craig and his partner, Jimmy Donovan, succeed in capturing “mental train wreck” Murphy Cotton at a remote cabin on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. In the trunk of a car Cotton has stolen is a bound woman, Charice Qian. Craig and Donovan learn from Cotton that he kidnapped Charice on behalf of someone he knows only as the Onion King. Cotton refers to Charice as Eight, leading the FBI agents to believe that there are at least seven other victims who might still be alive. Aided by other FBI personnel, Craig and Donovan make a gruesome discovery deep in the woods that helps them identify the other victims. Craig has a secret ability that he calls “shine” that allows him to perceive that surfaces have been touched by specific individuals months or even years afterward. Not a magic bullet, this ability is a useful tool for identifying suspects, victims, and locations, but it can’t be used to secure a search warrant, replace a computer search, or make entry into a building. By layering Craig’s skill with traditional FBI procedural techniques, Kope has created something truly special. Agent: Kimberly Cameron, Kimberly Cameron & Assoc.

July 1, 2020
Magnus Craig last appeared in Kope's engaging 2018 novel Whispers of the Dead as an FBI man with an unusual power. He can see people's auras, including the glow they've left after they've touched something?a useful talent when visiting a crime scene. Craig is back with his gift, here called "shine," in this slow-moving follow-up. The plot works familiar ground: a kidnapped woman found in a car trunk leads to a serial killer, which leads to a panoramic helicopter-chase finale roaring on for 18 pages. It's puzzling that Craig's shine has so little to do with the outcome: it's mostly classic police work, which is always a delight. So are the bits of really fascinating knowledge that adorn the narrative. What is evil? A lack of empathy. Want to send dirty stuff via computer with no record? First store it in a draft file. And the difference between the deep web and the dark web? The first is stuff accessed with a password. The other is, well, deeper and includes access to "drugs, prostitution, even murder for hire." A fine thriller, with or without the shine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2020

From Barry Award finalist Kope, this work brings back Magnus "Steps" Craig as part of the FBI's elite three-man Special Tracking Unit investigating an abduction. The victim claims that her kidnapper and the man who dumped her in the woods are not one and the same person--and she's not their only victim.

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