Book Thoughts: Dead Silence

Title: Dead Silence
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: Body Finder #4

*Spoilers for earlier books in the series*

Stuck with an imprint of her own and the terrible memories of her nearly fatal kidnapping, Violet is determined to keep her ability to sense the dead hidden. But threats from her psychiatrist are making sure she stays on her special team, and her friends are making it harder than ever to keep her two worlds separate -- especially now that Rafe and Gemma are going to her school. And when she stumbles across a particularly violent murder scene, her life gets that much crazier.

I loved the story in this one, and I continue to adore the relationship between Violet and Jay. The way the mystery unfolds is, as ever, brilliant. I was less thrilled with the conclusion, though.

If there were going to be another book in the series, then I would have no trouble with the ending whatsoever. It resolved the events of this story well; the relationships, the murder mystery, the book-specific plot events, everything was tied up. But in terms of concluding the series, I just felt like there were still way too many things left unclear about Violet's team of people, especially with all of the buildup to some Big Secret via Grandma Louise's old journals. I felt like there was a secondary mystery being heavily teased that was never resolved, which would be fine if there were another book to resolve it, but with this as probably the last in the series, I feel a little unresolved.

Even so, I enjoyed the book and would recommend the series in a heartbeat to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery.

Book Thoughts: The Body Finder

Title: The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: Body Finder #1

I fell in love with this book from the first chapter. I couldn't tell you what about it made me love it, but once I started reading, I just couldn't put it down. At the very beginning, I was concerned that it might not live up to my expectations (which were very high, from all of the positive reviews I've read), because I felt like it was doing more telling and less showing...but then...it was just amazing.

Violet is such a relatable character. She's got a few friends but she's not super-popular, she has a hard time coming up with clever comebacks, she's trying to hide a crush on her best friend, she's scared but she's trying to do something about it. She has her flaws, but they're just a part of her - she could be real. And Jay. Oh my goodness, Jay. He has definitely earned a place in the top few Crush-worthy Fictional Guys. I wish the side characters had been developed more (I need more Chelsea and Claire, please!) but I think their role in the story worked.

The set-up, basically, is that Violet gets these sensory stimulations when she's around a murder victim or a murderer. Mostly that means that her cat smells weird after he kills a bird and she can always find the bird, but then she finds a dead girl her age in a lake at a party. Soon other girls start disappearing, there's a serial killer on the loose, and Violet may be the only one who can find and identify him. I had worried that the premise of "I see dead things" might be too cliche, but it totally wasn't. The mystery is really well done and I just could not put the book down until I knew what had happened. It was fantastic. I also really liked that it occasionally flashed to the killer's point of view, telling us just enough to keep us sufficiently horrified by the crimes but not enough to ruin the mystery.

And the ending. No spoilers, I promise, but if you read it you'll know what I mean: the ending was very well done. It works as a stand-alone, I think, but I'm sooo glad there's going to be a sequel, because I need more Violet and Jay. And Chelsea. And Claire. And so on and so forth...you get the picture.

Anyway, long story short, definitely read this one, you guys. It was awesome.