Book Review - The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder  
Author: Kimberly Derting  
Year: 2010 
Page: 332 
Genre: Fiction - Young Adult

New to me author? Yes 
Read this author again? Maybe
Tearjerker? No 
Where did it take place? Yes
FTC Disclosure: Borrowed from the library

Summary (from amazon.com):
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 left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, 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 intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself. 

First Sentence:
Violet Ambrose wandered away from the safety of her father as she listened to the harmony of sounds weaving delicately around her.  

Why did I pick this book?
All about {n} LOVED this book so that got me interested after reading her review!

My thoughts:

• It was a fast read, too me less than 2.5 hours

• I think I would've given it a much higher rating had I read it as a teen. But, I am judging the book as an adult, so it's just okay for me - I think that's because I used to read a lot of murder/mystery/thrillers type of books, so the plot became fairly predictable and the story like was quite simplistic, without a lot of twists and turns for me. I don't think I am the target audience for this book (but that's okay!)

• It has an interesting premise, but I felt this is more of a teen romance book with a protagonist with a special ability, rather than a book about a protagonist with a special ability per se if that makes sense. I wish the author had focus or elaborate more on that. It's not really a YA book deal with an issue which I do prefer - again, reading as an adult, since some younger readers may not always want to be taught different lessons when they read :)

• I like the characters okay, but don't really feel attached to them. It seems like there is a 2nd book but I don't know if I'll read it or not - I have to say the author did a really good job to "close the loops" - so you don't feel frustrated that you have to wait to find out what happen until the next book! But I guess that's how they got you to buy the next one :)

• Some chapters were written from the killer's perspective - when I read some online reviews, some reviewers thought it was great to hear the killer's thoughts - but it's not something new to me as there were other thriller books I'd read with the same method

• I remember when I was a teen, I LOVED reading Christopher Pike and RL Stine (especially Pike!) I wonder if I re-read them now, whether I'd still like them as much. From memory, Pike's plot seems a little bit more complicated than The Body Finder - but then again, I hadn't read a whole lot of thrillers at that time so didn't have much to compare with.

• The cover IS pretty though!

• Didn't find a quote I like... Will give it 3 Stars because it did held my attention and read it in one setting!

 
Rating: 3 Stars

 

Have you read this book? 
If you have, I would love to hear what you think! I'll link your review here if you wish!

Challenges:
100+ Reading
Young Adult