Review of The Body Finder

My review of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting is based on a hardcover copy of the book that I borrowed from my local library. The following review is my honest opinion.

Goodreads Summary: "Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.


Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself."

First of all I have to say I love the premise of this novel. Suspense, romance and awesome characters to guide you through both...what more could a girl want?

The suspense was killing me! The suspenseful creepy ante was really upped in this novel due to the fact that Derting actually switched back and forth between Vi's perspective and the serial killers. It's one thing to know there is one lurking or skulking about in the world that the novel takes place in; it's a totally different thing to actually be in his head as he's hunting down his prey. The twists and turns that the story take seemed to come out of nowhere managing to startle me at certain points. I'm normally pretty good at figuring mysteries out ahead of time but this one kept me at the edge of my seat, I didn't stand a chance.

I really liked Violet as a character. I've been in her shoes and I would never wish her gift on even my worst enemy, I don't think I could ever have been as strong as her to be able to deal with it. On the note of her gift however I loved that Kimberly Derting included Vi's parent's; they actually KNEW that she had this gift so that she was free to talk about them. I know young adult books are all about the young adults finding their own way to deal with things but at the same time I think it's important to showcase that the parental units can be there for you and are capable of helping. They aren't just there to ground you.

Jay is the best friend straight out of a romantic comedy. I adored him. Need I say more?

I loved the love blossoming out of friendship storyline between Vi and Jay. Having had a score of guy friends, and one special male best friend I can see how easily one could fall for them. I might have even taken a quick turn down that road a time or two only to swerve just in the nick of time and somehow maintain said amazing friendship. And yes, he was in fact oblivious. Thank God for small miracles, am I right?

I'm giving The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting a four out of five stars review. Without a doubt this was a successful venture into other genres of young adult literature and I can't wait to read the sequel, Desires of the Dead.