Spencer Kope

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. To quote one of my favorite film critics, "It's not that it was bad; it's just that it wasn't any good." Which is a shame, because Collecting The Dead had all the elements I typically enjoy: a serial killer on the loose, a special task-force sent to apprehend him, a main character with a paranormal ability that makes him exceptional at his job, and a strong male friendship. And yet the book fell flat. It's like having all the right ingredients for a recipe but not knowing how they go together.

I didn't particularly like any of the characters. Steps (aside from that horrible nickname I couldn't take seriously) spent too much time navel-gazing and pitying his lot in life. Jimmy's only distinctive character trait was his loyalty, which made him a one-dimensional friend/husband/father/agent. As for the women in the novel, they were either victims or scheming romantics plotting to either date Steps or set him up with someone to date.

The plot also had a weird sense of pacing, especially at the end. The book's climax (as anti-climactic as it was) took place about 50 pages before the actual end of the story. All the suspense drained out of the last few chapter sand I found myself bored and eager to get to the last page already.

Collecting The Dead feels very much like the setup for a new series (which it is), but it's not a series I'll be continuing to read.… (mehr)

I'd been on a kick of K-9 mysteries, and thought that Shadows of the Dead would fit perfectly. I was unprepared for the supernatural element of the main character. Having synesthesia I could deal with and if it had stopped there, I would have thought it was a creative element for a police procedural. Once it morphed into a super-power, I wasn't able to relinquish reality. Not a bad book, and if you like a bit of supernatural with your mysteries, then you'll probably enjoy this. Thanks to St Martin's Press for letting me read an ARC on NetGalley, but this wasn't my cup of tea!… (mehr)