Book Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #1
Pages: 336
Date of UK Publication: 11th November 2010
Source: Bought (Kindle Edition)
Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.


My Thoughts:
The Body Finder is such an awesome book, I don't know why I didn't read it sooner. It didn't take me long to read, and it definitely got me out of another annoying reading break.

The Body Finder has a unique storyline, filled with suspense and action. I loved how it was written in 3rd person but from Violet's point of view, but then every few chapters, there'd be a few pages of the killer speaking, so even though you don't know who it is, you get to know a little bit about him, from what he does and what he thinks.

I loved Violet and Jay, they are so cute together. I also loved how there was no love triangle involved in the book. Of course, there was the normal jealousy, but there was no indecisiveness, both Jay and Violet knew that they both only wanted to be with the other. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good love triangle, but it's rare to come across a book without one in YA fiction, so it was nice to have a change. I also loved how Violet had friends at school, and they played a pretty big part in the book. I feel a lot of the time that the main characters in the book only have one really good friend and/or a boy/girlfriend, and they seem to be outcasts or loners in their school. Which sounds really mean, I know, but I think it's true. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though ;P

The book is so creepy. Just the way that Violet can sense not only the dead, but the killers AND know who they killed, is so clever and mysterious, yet weird and freaky. I loved it, especially when Violet finds herself face to face with a murderer but can't let on that she knows that the killer is a killer. If that makes sense...

There are so many twists and turns throughout the book that I had no idea they were coming. I suppose, thinking back that they should have been obvious, but I was oblivious, too wrapped up in the story to even think about what might happen next. And especially the one right at the end... I won't say, but I was practically biting my nails in fear, hoping that everyone would come out all right.

I absolutely adore The Body Finder. I have already recommended it to several people, even when I hadn't even finished the book myself. I cannot wait until I can get my hands on Desires of the Dead, book 2 in the series, as I'm sure it will be just as awesome and keep me on the edge of my seat just as I was with The Body Finder. So, my thoughts are: If you haven't read it, go and buy it. You will LOVE it. =]



My Rating:

I give it 5 feet!

Challenges:
2011 e-Book Challenge #5
2011 Paranormal YA Reading Challenge #13
2011 100+ Reading Challenge #17