The Body Finder (edition 2011)

I’ve had my eye on The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting for a while now, and after reading this first book in the series I can safely say I enjoyed it and look forward to adding the other books to my reading pile. This is a debut novel that is a bit rough around the edges, but there is enough good stuff here to make me want to see what happens next.

I love suspense/thrillers, so when I saw a book with a heroine who could “find” the bodies of those who have been murdered I was excited to give it a try. The mystery turned out to be the strongest part of the book so that was a relief. With some of the chapters told from the killer’s point of view, there was a nice sense of menace overlaying parts of the story and providing an ominous feel whenever the body of another teenage girl was discovered. What tended to drag things down a bit were the personal issues Violet was facing as she realized her true feelings for her best friend, Jay.

Violet’s ability to sense the dead – and not just any dead, but those who were murdered – is a cool but tragic ability, and I liked the way Derting presented it. Starting with the introduction of Violet as a child finding her first body, the information about her ability was spread nicely through the story and never felt like a lecture. Obviously Derting put a lot of thought into how Violet’s ability worked and the way she had coped with it through the years. This aspect of Violet is one of the reasons I want to see what happens next with her, as her ability leads her to other crimes and victims that could turn into some intriguing mysteries.

Outside her ability, however, Violet felt like a wildly inconsistent character to me – almost like Derting didn’t quite have a handle on her yet. She spent way too much time fighting her feelings for Jay, trying to ignore how friendship had turned to love over the years. When she finally does face things and they become a couple, he has no problem holding hands in public and yelling out to the world that they are together, while she continues to be uncomfortable with the situation. There were times she would say she wanted to feel safe, and then I’d turn the page and she was fretting about her freedom being curtailed. The worst though is a confrontation with the killer at the end of the story that almost tips Violet into TSTL (too stupid to live) territory. I won’t say what happens so as to avoid spoilers but I was NOT happy with her choice. She definitely had some handicaps she was working with, but any other option would have been preferable. At other times, however, Violet is reasonable, thinks things through, and makes good choices – such as telling her uncle, the sheriff, the minute she realizes the killer is nearby. Even though she is scared she wants to help find the killer, so she is brave. At points I liked her a lot, and at others I wanted to smack her. Overall, the good moments ended up outweighing the bad (even though it probably doesn’t seem like it after this), so she turned out to be a character I don’t mind meeting again – I’m just hoping for more consistency next time.

Jay, on the other hand, was consistent from the start. I liked him tremendously, which is probably why I wanted to smack Violet (sorry for the violence) at times for not recognizing what she had in front of her. Confident in himself and in his love for Violet, Jay was an easy character to like. He was supportive and protective (deeply protective) of Violet, even when he didn’t agree with her proposals. He was willing to voice his concerns when necessary, but if he couldn’t talk her out of something he did his best to make sure she was safe. When he stumbled upon the confrontation between Violet and the killer, he was smart enough to know there was a problem, that something was off with the whole situation, and then stepped in to try to save Violet. This is a boyfriend any girl would be thrilled to have.

The serial killer portion of the story was filled with twists and turns, and the internal monologue of the killer was rather unnerving. Seeing how quickly he could gain a young girl’s trust was rather frightening and felt all too real. The unexpected revelations that come in the last third of the book regarding the killer felt a bit out of left field (there were no hints I could see leading up to it), but they were plausible and explained a lot of things. My only wish was that there had been more of the mystery mixed into the story. As Violet struggled with her feelings for Jay and hung out with her friends, I found myself wanting to get back to the mystery. I think if the mystery and romance parts of the story had struck a better balance, this book would have gripped me a lot stronger than it did. While some authors strike story pacing out of the park in their debuts, others need a book or two before they get that perfect rhythm. For me, Derting falls into the latter category. The mystery was nice and tight while the romance was a bit bloated. As the mystery became more prominent later in the book and the threat to Violet became more apparent, the pace picked up and I found it a much more entertaining read.

Kimberly Derting’s debut novel The Body Finder has a lot of rough edges in regards to character and pacing, but with the heroine’s cool ability to sense the bodies of those who have been murdered, an unnerving serial killer, and a boyfriend to die for there is enough here to intrigue readers and leave them wanting more. ( )

I'd give this a 4.5 if I had the option (but 4 since I don't). Writing's Good. Story's great. ( )

This book had a fascinating premise and a kind of blah ending for me. Abigail's five bat review makes me think I need to re-read, perhaps I missed something.

Read Abigail's review at All Things Urban Fantasy.

2/13/11: Re-read complete, with a better sense of what worked (and what didn't) in this book. Violet is very much a Mary Sue character, and as loveable as both she and Jay are, I think my emotional disconect stems from being told what they are feeling rather than ever connecting with their emotions myself. This book hits all the right buttons, which makes it an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, but didn't engage me beyond a superficial level. I'm going to read book two in the series, and look forward to seeing if I have a different emotional reaction. ( )

One of the hard decision was how to tag this book. Main character has a weird psychic ability that helps her find dead people and there is a killer on a loose so there is a mystery element also. But in the end, I decided for contemporary romance, because my favorite part of the book was a love story between main characters Violet and Jay. It was so cute and sweet. It reminded me of a time when I was young girl and so clueless. :) ( )

You can read my review of this book on my blog. ( )