Review of: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder (#1)

Author: Kimberly Derting

Published by: HarperCollins Children's Books

Released: 2010

Summary: Violet was born with a special ability. She is able to hear echoes of the dead. All the echoes she hears, sees, or feels belong to those who have been taken from life too soon, people who have been murdered. Violet is drawn to the echoes when she senses them. It becomes her purpose to uncover the source of them. Violet found her first murder victim when she was 8, and now at 16 she finds another. A serial killer is terrorizing the town. He kidnaps young girls and then discards their bodies. Violet's gift also works another way, along with sensing the echo of the victim, that echo also attaches itself to the one who took the life. With the help of her family, her best friend turned boyfriend Jay, and the echoes, Violet must catch the killer before it's too late.

My Thoughts: I was excited to get my hands on this book and start this series. I loved the concept, the cover, and the idea of Violet's gift. Sadly, this book was just a mediocre YA story for me. I think the character of Violet has a lot of maturing left to do. I also didn't really enjoy the major role the relationship between her and Jay seemed to play. I think that aspect of the book was too prominent, too cheesy/mushy, and too annoying.

I did really enjoy the murder/suspense aspect to the book and getting into the creepy killer's head and thoughts. I wish the attention of the story had focused more on the suspense and murder than on the relationship.

I really liked the idea of Violet's echoes, but I wish the idea of it had been left more broad. Having an echo that manifests itself as a taste of strong garlic was just a little too weird. I think having an echo more as just a general feeling or strong pull would have worked better.

Overall, I thought this book was good. There were some things I liked and some things I didn't like. I do plan on continuing with this series.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

More Action and Less Mush Please.