Thursday, August 4, 2011

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.

6 comments:

  1. This sounds like a really good book! I think I bought it for my Kindle awhile back. It sort of sounds similar to SHE SMELLS THE DEAD in the sensing the dead thing. But the rest of the story sounds a lot different. I think that it is refreshing that Vi's parents know about her gift. Maybe I'll read this one on my upcoming vacation. :)

    Amber
    The Musings of ALMYBNENR

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  2. I've seen She Smells the Dead around a lot on different blogs, is it really as good as they say? I might have to check it out soon.

    I definitely recommend giving this one a try, it was a great read. :]

    Thank you for commenting!

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  3. I gave it a 3 on Goodreads, which is "liked it". Things definitely get a lot more interesting in the second book. I think it's worth trying out. :)

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  4. Cool, thanks for the recommendation. :]

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  5. YES. I loved this book :) It was like a perfect combination of romance and suspense. That serial killer? Creepiest guy ever! I have no idea how Kimberly Derting wrote from his POV so perfectly but she did.

    Oh my gosh, I've known this guy since we were born (family friend) and we did everything together: swimming lessons, sleepovers, kindergarten, you name it. I used to daydream about us getting married when I was 7 LOL. I don't think he ever realized... I hope not, at least...

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  6. It was! The second I finished The Body Finder I was on the website for my library to put a hold on Desires of the Dead. I loved Violet and Jay to pieces. The way they were constantly tip-toeing around one another? Priceless! And the suspense about killed me especially at the end. I won't say anything else about that because I don't want to ruin it for someone else but WOW. Kimberly Derting is amazing.

    LOL. Those family friends will get you every time. :]

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