Book Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When Violet Ambrose was eight years old she found the remains of a human corpse. Violet has been able to find the dead her entire life. She senses echoes off both the dead and those who are responsible for their deaths. When a serial killer starts targeting teens in her area, Violet sets out to use her ability to find the murderer. What she doesn’t plan on is that as she gets closer to the killer, the killer gets closer to her.

Part romance, part paranormal fiction, part mystery, this book has a little for everyone. Although it has a few slow spots, the mystery and the romance pull you through the book. Violet’s abilities are unique. She can sense, visual, auditory, olfactory, or even taste echoes off both the dead and those responsible for their deaths. It was an interesting twist to see a character who senses violent deaths, rather than ghosts. The romance with her best friend was realistically portrayed and appropriately awkward at times. But my favorite parts of the book were the chapters from the killer’s point of view, which were riveting and kept me engaged. In fact, I found myself wanting to flip forward to find the next chapter from the killer’s point of view. (I was good and didn’t skip to those chapters, but boy did I want to.)

Overall this was a fun and entertaining read. Derting has created a highly enjoyable debut novel. I would recommend this to fans of paranormal fiction, romance, and mystery. The sequel, Desires of the Dead is scheduled to be released in 2011.)

Cautions for sensitive readers: While you know girls are being murdered, there are no gruesome descriptions. There is some drinking at a party and an incident where an intoxicated young man makes unwanted advances on Violet.

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