The Body Finder, by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder

Author: Kimberly Derting

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 327

Chapters: 28

Genre: Drama / Thriller

Series: 1-The Body Finder, 2-Desires of the Dead, 3-The Last Echo, (book 4 coming in 2013)

Person: Second

Tense: Past

Opinion: 7½/10

Blurb (quoted):

“A girl with a morbid ability
When a murder is committed it leaves a unique echo… on both the victim and the killer. Most people are unaware of these echoes but Violet Ambrose has always been able to sense them.

A serial killer on the loose

Now that Violet’s town is in the thralls of a serial killer the echoes of the local girls he has murdered are haunting her.

And the boy who would never let anything happen to her

The only shining light is Violet’s best friend Jay. She’s started falling for him and his fierce protectiveness gives her hope that he may feel the same…

With the police at a loss, can Violet use her ability to stop the killer or is she in danger of becoming his next victim?

Quotes from the cover:

“The romance and the mystery in The Body Finder were so intense that I didn’t know whether to hold my breath or scream. I did know I wouldn’t be getting anything done until I read whole book” – Melissa Mar, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Lovely.

“You’ll be drawn in by the love story – and kept up all night by the suspense” – Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author of Stargazer.

Summary:

Violet has never been your normal girl; she can sense bodies. Everything that’s killed has an echo, which matches the one on their killer.

So when girls start disappearing only to turn up dead, Violet enlists herself to help find the killer – in the process endangering her own life.

But then again, that could work in her favour when it comes to her best friend Jay, who she and every other girl in the school now has the hot’s for. While she’s falling hopelessly for him, all she can do is pretend to be normal and hope he feels the same.

Judgement:

The Body finder took a little bit to get interested in; like a lot of good books, the beginning is slow-going, but believe me: once you reach the drama, your eyes will be glue until the very last page.

I really liked how the author created echoes; it’s an interesting idea. However, there was a little confusion at times, but it just adds more to the story and enhances your need to read more.

I would like to apologize for the briefness of this post. It took me a while to get round to reviewing it and I've read 3 books since!