The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting review

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Source: Library
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Violet Ambrose has a special ability. She can sense dead bodies by what she calls echoes. Echoes can come to her in the form of tastes, sounds, smells, or visual cues such as colors. This mostly leads her to find dead animals, which she buries in her backyard in a makeshift graveyard. She can also sense murderers in the same way, with the echo of the dead the same as its murderer. Usually they're only of the military, police, or doctor variety.

Violet also has another secret. She has feelings for her best friend, Jay Heaton, since childhood. Now, when Violet 'stumbles' upon a body, and then several girls go missing, can Jay put aside his protectiveness and help Violet find the killer that is terrorizing her small town, despite the risk that Violet herself might become his prey?

This is another of those books you can't put down, where you find yourself stumbling over the words because you're reading too fast. It's story is told in third person, focusing on two point of views: Violet's and the serial killer's. I loved that part of the story because it was a fresh idea, and provided insight into his insane mind. It was a change of pace when the chapters went from the cheerful mood of a party, to the creepy thoughts and actions of the serial killer.

The characterization was great. I felt that the characters were realistic and had depth. I loved the pairing of Violet and Jay. You could feel the amount that they cared about each other and it reminded me of some of my own relationships because it felt so real. It was funny to me that Violet was so clueless as to Jay's feelings for her. Sometimes, though, Jay's feelings were laid on too thick in the form of his protectiveness over her.

Even though I anticipated some of the plot twists (I have a knack for this and my boyfriend hates when we're watching a movie and I say what's going to happen next) The Body Finder is a must-read for any fans of the mystery and YA genres. A must-read in general. The entire premise of this book is one I doubt you've ever heard before and it makes for an awesome, fresh read. Kimberly Derting writes in an effortless way to pull you in from page one and keep you reading all the way to the end. I will definitely be reading Desires of the Dead as soon as I get my hands on it.