From Goodreads...
"A serial killer on the loose. A girl with a morbid ability. And the boy who would never let anything happen to her.
Violet Ambrose can find the dead. Or at least, those who have been murdered. She can sense the echoes they leave behind... and the imprints they leave on their killers. As if that weren't enough to deal with during junior year, she also has a sudden, inexplicable, and consuming crush on her best friend since childhood, Jay Heaton.
Now a serial killer has begun terrorizing Violet's small town... and she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him."
I finished this one a couple of days ago and when friends ask me how it was, I find myself saying "It was good, but...."
I expected this to be a lot more suspenseful than it was. The majority of the book was dedicated to the romance between Violet and Jay, which I'm sure will appeal to fans of romance novels but I was looking for a little more excitement. Granted, it's a nice believable romance and the guy for once isn't your typical YA bad boy. That was a nice change. I just wish a little more meat had been been devoted to the part of the story which gave the book its name.
There were some moments of suspense and a couple of twists, but they were kind of easy to spot a couple of chapters before they were revealed. There are two kinds of books for me, at least as far as being compelled to read them goes. Some you just have to read because you have absolutely no idea what's going to happen and you put your life on hold to read because you just have to find out. Others you know pretty much exactly what's going to happen and you read to see those scenes play out. The Body Finder was the second kind of story for me. Derting does do a great job of telling that story, her writing is sharp and polished, but I would definitely classify this as a light read.
Pick this one up if you are looking for a predominantly relationship centered story with a bit of suspense thrown in.
10 comments:
Well I have to add that I have not read this book but it is seriously echoing Grave Sight, Harper Connelly Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. I mean until you said she was 16 I was thinking this was what you were reviewing. Just my two cents though.
http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Sight-Harper-Connelly-Mysteries/dp/0425212890/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277347145&sr=1-2
Ever since Harper Connelly survived a zap from a lightning bolt, she's been able to find dead people, a skill that makes the protagonist in the first installment of Harris's new series a tad more bizarre than the mind-reading heroine of the author's Sookie Stackhouse books (Dead as a Doornail, etc.). Harper travels to the Ozark town of Sarne, Ark., to find a missing teenage girl's body, accompanied by her stepbrother, Tolliver, who acts as her manager and bodyguard and with whom she shares a thinly disguised physical attraction that they manage to keep at bay by engaging in casual sex with various partners. Finding the body takes no time at all, but leaving town afterward isn't so easy. When Harper's life is threatened and Tolliver ends up in jail on trumped-up charges, it quickly becomes apparent that something sinister is going on in Sarne. Harris delivers a knuckle-gnawing tale populated with well-developed, albeit edgy characters. A nifty puzzle toward the end will challenge the most jaded mystery buffs.
Um, now that you mention it I'm pretty sure I have YOUR copy of that book. And it was a DNF (did not finish) for me. I think. Either way it apparently didn't leave a lasting impression lol. Then again I'm not a Harris fan.
And you're right...definite similarities...good call!
I loved this one, but as you pointed out, the romance does feature heavily in the book. Actually, that's what I loved about it. haha! I have a crush on Jay. There, I said it. Jay is my toyboy! ;-)
Thanks for the honest review. I have it on my list to read and will keep this review in mind when i do go to read it. Have a great day!
WOW...ok I guess I might have to pick this one up...
Thank you for the review :)
I've only recently discovered that the "romantic suspense" genre exists. (I think I've been living under a rock) I think that's why I didn't like Twilight and never read past book one. I don't like romance. But give me an anti-hero that will rip out your throat, and I'm there!
(And I'm such a nice,upper-middle-aged mom. And I hate gory movies..go figure...)
I loved Dark Shadows when I was a kid. I had to sneak into the house to watch it when my mom and dad were out milking the cows and they thought I was in the calf barn feeding the calves.Barnabas Collins made my little 12 year old heart go pitty patter...
Sounds pretty interesting, but I'm not really into what Kelly called "romantic suspense."
@Leanna I thought Jay was a great guy too =)
@Lisa I think as long as you know what to expect going in you will enjoy this book.
@Naiyana You're welcome, hope you enjoy!
@Kelly Yay for us middle aged moms lol!! Gotta agree with you, I didn't even finish book one of Twilight.
You know they're going to make Dark Shadows into a movie, right? Johnny Depp will be playing Barnabas and I will be living in a movie theater =)
@Vanessa I'm not a big romance fan either. There's gotta be a whole lot more than racing hearts, longing looks and tender kisses for me to fall in love with a book lol!
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