Lost in Fictional Worlds

So true. Never enough :-) 

Series: The Body Finder #1
Author: Kimberly Derting
Released: March 2010
Format: Australian paperback
Pages: 329
Publisher: Headline
Date Started: 2nd November 2012
Date Completed: 5th November 2012

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 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 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.

Thoughts:

This book was creepy. In that blood-shilling, hair raising kind of way. All because of the villain. We got to see segments from his point of view, and I might have to say that those were my favourite parts. The way his mind worked, the thoughts we saw, his plans... *shudder* They were so dark. I loved them.

The rest of the book wasn't bad either. The plot moved along nicely, told from the relatable Violet. Her ability to sense dead bodies is really intriguing and diffferent from anything I've stumbled across before. If I was honest with myself, I'd have to say it--along with the serial killer--was the reason I wanted to read it in the first place. The writing style and characters I met when I read part of it on HarperTeen a few years ago only sealed the deal.

The romance in this book was perfect. Jay was likable and his relationship with Violet (in the friend sense) was realistic. I shipped them from the beginning. And was insanely happy when they got together (earlier in the book than I expected, but I have no compaints XD ). It was kind of a major part in the novel, but didn't smother the mystery plot line competely.

Although the identity of the serial killer and the upcoming events can be predicted if you pay attention to the clues dropped in both the killer and Violet's sections, there were still a couple of twists that took me completely by surprise. And sections where my heart pounded in suspense because of the masterful way Derting connected two separate but sequential scenes.

I really enjoyed this novel. Nice and dark with a wonderful side of romance. Hopefully I can get my hands on the sequel sooner rather than later.

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