Tuesday 22 February 2011

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Published in 2010 by Headline Publishing Group.

I read this book as part of the UK Book Tours organised by the lovely Lynsey.

Violet Ambrose wandered away from the safety of her father as she listened to the harmony of sounds weaving delicately around her. The rustling of the leaves mingled gently with the restless call of birds and the far-off rushing waters of the icy river that layed beyond the trees.
And then there was another sound. Something she couldn't quite identify. Yet.

The more Young Adult books I devour, the more my thirst for them intensifies! This book was quite an original concept to me.  The main character Violet is able to hear the echoes left by the dead.  Every time an animal or a person is murdered, they leave an echo which stays with the victim as well as the killer. Violet can always pick up on these and now has a garden full of reburied animals that only begin to lose their echo after they are laid to rest in peace.

Violet can live with her ability until a murderer enters her world killing young girls in the area. As more girls disappear, each one closer to home than the last, Violet realises that she can help to solve these murders and try and stop the killer committing any more. 

I don't normally enjoy books filled with suspicious murders, they tend to make me a little nervous as they are just to realistic for my liking,  but I read thoroughly enjoyed this one.  I am always in awe of the abilities the Young Adult characters tend to have, but this is one I am not yearning for.  I couldn't think of anything worse than being able to hear the echoes of the murdered, so I am little in awe of Violet being able to cope so miraculously well with this gift.

The book is written from two view points. You see the world through Violet's eyes as well as the killer's. It was interesting to see how his mind worked and you thought you could work out his next move, but I found I didn't always get it right. There are a few twists within the novel that I can honestly say I didn't see coming.


Not only does the book deal with Violet's dangerous quest to discover the killer, but it also deals with the change in her friendship with the local hottie Jay. They had grown up as friends and half way through the book they become a couple and it is utterly gorgeous. Jay is everything you want in a leading male; handsome, strong, patient and very protective.  His instincts to keep Violet safe are the most intense I have ever seen in a Young Adult novel.  I found myself sucked into the romance so easily. The passion is a little hot and heavy, especially where parents kind of leave them to it, but I know I am speaking with my parent head on there, rather than my lustful hormonal teenage head that got stuck back in the 8o's.  It is when I read books like this one, I regret being born before the birth of the modern Young Adult book. When I was a teenager,  Mills and Boons just didn't do it for me!

The story has a great build and by the last hundred pages I was frantic to find out how it would end. Always a good sign to me of a good book, when I am struggling to resist the temptation to read the last page!


There is a second book in the series called Desires of the Dead which comes out in March and I shall definitely be elbowing the teenagers out of the way to get my hands on a copy.

17 comments:

  1. Agh, I have a copy of this on my shelf and keep bypassing it for another read, but your review makes me promise myself I'm going to read it next. I've heard such good things about it everywhere, not one negative review. I can't believe I haven't read it yet!

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  2. I don't read much YA, but that cover could get me to start!

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  3. You've totally just reminded me! I pre-ordered this book on my Nook Color for a fantastic deal and I completely forgot until reading your review that it's available now! Yay! I'm so looking forward to this one :)

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  4. sounds really good, and Violet sounds like an interesting character.
    Great review! I love when a book has me on the edge of my seat.

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  5. sounds really good, and Violet sounds like an interesting character.
    Great review! I love when a book has me on the edge of my seat.

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  6. Your 'missing' comment from ComaCalm ;)

    Hello, sorry to bother you, I'm trying to set something up and I'm looking for UK Bloggers. It seems that ARC (Advance Reading Copy) book tours are becoming increasingly US restricted and I am trying to gather a large amount of people exclusively from the UK to set up our own ARC tours. Of course, I need a lot of people of I'm going to prise some good ARC's off of the Publisher's grubby hands...
    If you're interested please visit me!

    http://comacalm.blogspot.com/2011/02/calling-all-uk-bloggers.html

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  7. And a real comment, great review! I adore The Body Finder as well. Creepy, but awesome. And the romance? *swoon* Jay is just awesome! I love them together. Hot and loving, and real. And okay, yeah, their parents kinda leave them to it a bit easy, but they've been strictly friends for so long and stuff that it made enough sense to me. But I am not a parent, so what do I know? lol I love TBF more than Desires of the Dead, but it's still a great follow up, so enjoy that too!!

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  8. Oh this one saounds so good!

    Have you read the Harper Connolly series? She can find bodies but not who killed them. I just finished the first one if you'd like a read? Let me know.

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  9. What an interesting premise. I don't think I'd want to hear the echoes of the dead either.

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  10. You are sure finding a lot of great YA books :)
    Great review!

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  11. Great review! This sounds so good and what an awesome cover!

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  12. I really loved this one too! And the changing relationship of Jay and Violet :)

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  13. I want to read this so bad! I actually have a magnet of this cover on my fridge but I still haven't had the chance to read it.

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  14. Nice review. I really want to read Desires of the Dead. The Body Finder was a bit creepy, but very interesting. I'm glad you enjoyed it too.

    -Lauren

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  15. I love the color blue and the cover is striking! And then I like the sound of your review too. I'm putting this into my wish list.

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