Review: The Body Finder

by Kimberly Derting
publisher: HarperTeen
date published: March 16, 2010
format: hardcover
pages: 336
source: library
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

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 that 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 the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping 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.

What I Thought
The Body Finder is a fast-paced combination of paranormal romance and murder mystery that left me wanting to read more. From start to finish I was pulled completely into the book and was barely able to put it down. In fact, I read it in one sitting. It was that enthralling! The characters, premise, setting, and air of foreboding came together to create a fun read that I would love to add to my own collection.

Violet is, at first glance, an ordinary teenage girl. She goes to school, struggles with being on time to class, and has a serious crush to contend with. Underneath the surface, however, there is something that sets Violet apart: her ability to discern the location of dead bodies and killers. The ways in which Violet was able to do this was very interesting. That there were a variety of manifestations that allowed her to detect both bodies and even those responsible for murdering them definitely made for a riveting murder mystery. Her abilities are handled with exceptional strength on Violet's part, though at times it felt that she may have been a little more cold about the girls' deaths, which made for less believability. It wasn't enough to distract me while reading, however, and didn't detract very much from the story over all.

The feelings Violet has for her friend, Jay, are very recognizable even for someone long out of their teens. It is easy to remember my own teenage crushes, so I definitely know where Violet is coming from. The tension between the two was probably my second favorite aspect about this novel. There was sweetness, a tangible tension, and just enough of a hint of frustration that made it very easy to root for the two.

The serial killer scenario was fairly familiar after having watched so many shows such as Criminal Minds and Law & Order: SVU, which was a tad disappointing, as I would have liked to see a little more originality in the M.O. Luckily, I am a big fan of these shows, so I am able to be a little forgiving. I just hope that Desires of the Dead offers something more to sink my teeth into. I did appreciate the chapter transitions that take place in the killer's point-of-view, however, and hope that that aspect of the plot shows up again in the next book.

The Body Finder was a fun read, overall, one that I can definitely see myself reading for a second time. Though it was a bit lacking in originality of plot and the voicing of the main character's emotions, it was exemplary in its descriptions of setting, cast of characters, and easy to relate to love story. I give The Body Finder 4 hoots.