The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder

Author: Kimberly Derting

Publisher: Headline

Published: Nov 2010

ISBN: 978-0755378951

Authors Website: www.kimberlyderting.com

Rating 5/5 with merits

The cover on this drew me in, I love the shades of blue used.  Violet, the main character has an unusual gift.  She can find dead things by their imprint.  Not only that, she can also sense the killer of the deceased, whether it is an animal or otherwise.  I really liked this idea, kind of like auras, but what people are left with after their heinous acts of murder have taken place.  

I was hooked from the prologue.  Our eldest is the same age as what Violet is when the story starts, so I had great empathy for her, and imagined in horror exactly how I would feel as a parent in this <shudder>.  The Body Finder is really gripping and intense.

The relationship between Violet and Jay, her male best friend is fantastic, I love their history and how things progress for them - it's so sweet and innocent, a complete contrast to the horrifying reality that Violet has to live with.  Jay is full of boyish charm, and in places seems blissfully unaware (or maybe uncaring) about his effect on his peers.

The Body Finder had me on the edge of my seat.  It's a chilling but fantastically built book, full of a varied range of relationships.  I loved Chelsea, the no-holds-barred friend who doesn't censor what she says and thinks.  

There were some twists in here which I didn't expect which added to the spine chilling story as it unfolded.  My heart was in my mouth in the last chapter, right up to the very end which I also thoroughly enjoyed.  Thankfully Desires of the Dead is already out, so I won't have to wait to see what the next installment brings, as I thoroughly enjoyed The Body Finder.

My favorite quote from The Body Finder:

"I don't want to be able to do that anymore," she mumbled hoarsely..."I don't mind the animals, I can't explain why, I just don't.  But why did I have to see....that...her?"

Book synopsis:

"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, 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, but now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town 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 in love, Violet is getting closer to discovering a killer...and becoming his prey herself." 

Source: Many thanks to Headline for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.