The Body Finder By: Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder

By: Kimberly Derting

Synopsis (From Goodreads):

"A serial killer on the loose. A girl with a morbid ability. And the boy who would never let anything happen to her.

Violet Ambrose can find the dead. Or at least, those who have been murdered. She can sense the echoes they leave behind... and the imprints they leave on their killers. As if that weren't enough to deal with during junior year, she also has a sudden, inexplicable, and consuming crush on her best friend since childhood, Jay Heaton.

Now a serial killer has begun terrorizing Violet's small town... and she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him."

My Review:
I can't even tell you how excited I was to get a finished copy in my mailbox from HarperTeen. I did a happy dance all over my living room. I read the first few chapters on HarperTeen's website and I was hooked. 

Kimberly Derting did a lot of things right with this novel. It was engaging, suspenseful, and just a tad creepy.  I liked that Violet didn't have this secret that she was trying to cover up, like in other paranormal novels.  Her family knew about her ability, and so did her friend, Jay.  They were all there to support her and help her as she learned what she was supposed to do with her ability. Just like a normal family would act. Or at least I like to think so.

I especially loved reading from the point of view of the serial killer. It added a very interesting flavor to the book and certainly added to the suspense. I think for the most part Kimberly nailed the psyche of a killer. It was very believable. My only complaint is that I wanted to see more of his thoughts. I know, I must be really weird or morbid or something, but sometimes I thought the book went too long without checking in with the killer.

There were so many awesome and wonderfully crafted passages in this book. I wanted to share one of my favorites:

She reached in again, this time not to dig, but to sweep away the thin layer of dirt to get a better view of what lay beneath.  She had captured her father's interest, and he leaned over her, looking into the shallow hole.

Violet worked like an archeologist, carefully sifting and brushing across the top of her discovery, so as to not disturb what might be buried there.

She heard her father gasp at the same time she recognized what she had uncovered.  She felt his strong hands reaching for her from behind, pulling her firmly by the shoulders away from the fresh dirt and gathering her into his strong, safe arms... away from the sound that was calling to her...

And away from the girl's face staring up at her from beneath the soil.

Now, about Jay and Violet's relationship. Some aspects of it I could really sympathize with. One of my most significant crushes of high school was on my best friend. We liked each other on and off for most of high school, but couldn't ever quite connect and gave it up... Anyway, while the does-he-like-me-like-I-like-him was believable, it did get a little old. I found myself wanting a lot more of the suspense and drama of the murder and less of the suspense of who Violet was going to go to homecoming with.  And, I was really bothered by Violet and Jay using other people to make each other jealous. Even though the people they were using were not the nicest of people. Still, it seemed a little sleazy to me.

Also, I felt like there was a surprising amount of profanity in the book. Generally, I just overlook it, and it doesn't bother me. For the most part I was able to do that with this book, but there were a few times where it really interrupted the flow of the story for me and it would have seemed more natural just to leave it out.

This was a fantastic book. I saw on Goodreads that there is going to be a sequel. I'm definitely going to pick it up. I think there is a lot more than can be done with this story, and I'm anxious to see where Kimberly takes it.

Book-A-Likes: The Mark by Jen Nadol, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

My Rating:

 4 Stars!

Profanity: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate
Sexuality: Moderate
Violence: Moderate