Review: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder #1
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: March 16th, 2010
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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 that 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 the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer.. she might become his next prey.

I cannot tell you how long this book has been on my "to read" list. I snatched it up a while ago on an amazon daily deal, and vowed that I would read it soon. I actually followed through!!! lol. There is a small cluster of books I wanted to read this fall, and The Body Finder was one of them. I'm sad to say that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

Violet is Sixteen. I often felt like I was reading the POV of a 13 or 14 year old. It's weird, because I wouldn't say she was immature per say, but her mentality at times comes across that way... I mostly saw it in her relationship with Jay. She was very naive and clueless when it came to boys and such. It was sweet, don't get me wrong. It was cute watching their feelings change for each other but it would have been more believable if they were younger.

What I really liked was Violets ability to seek out dead people. I felt like her methods were pretty unique and I was all into that. There are some pretty intense creepy moments in this story. I'd be all on the edge of my seat... and then the next chapter we would be back to the sappy tween love drama. I was literally yelling at my kindle... "Hello!!! Can we get back to the killer now!!!!"

So yeah, definitely not my favorite fall read thus far. I will continue with the series I think, but I'm not in any rush to pick the next one up.

About the author:

Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins), THE PLEDGE
trilogy (Simon & Schuster), and THE TAKING trilogy (HarperTeen). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the ideal place to write anything dark or creepy...a gloomy day can set the perfect mood. She lives with her husband and their three beautiful (and often mouthy) children who provide an endless source of inspiration.

Find Kimberly:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

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Labels: dead people, harper, kimberly derting, meh, reviews, the body finder

Judging a Book By Its Cover #21: A Kid's Perspective on Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Okay, so I totally stole this idea from Sara at Forever 17 Books, who got the idea from an article on Babble called Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-year-old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About.  I just discovered her lovely segment, and I immediately requested forced my own five-year-old daughter Katie to provide me with some of her own cover art artwork and then asked her what she thought the book was about.



This week, Katie gave me her take on the following book:

"A girl finds a pretty red flower that's a rose and I think her found another one that's the same one and her picked it."

Cover Art

Dead Silence as envisioned by Katiebug

Honestly, the cover really isn't significant to the story, so it would be hard for Katie to make a very accurate guess with this one, but it still makes for a pretty picture.  =)

Have you read this book or do you plan to?  What do you think of Katie's guess at the premise?  

And be sure to check out my stop on the Dead Silence Blog Tour and enter to win a copy!  Just click on the image below:





Did your little darling create a work of art based on a book this week? If so, be sure to link up with Sara over at Forever 17 Books.

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Labels: beautiful covers, cover art, favorites, judging a book by its cover, katiebug, kimberly derting, murder mystery, psychological thriller, the body finder

{Blog Tour} Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting: Review & Teaser Quote + Giveaway

You guys, I am soooo excited to be a part of the Dead Silence Blog Tour organized by Candace at Candace's Book Blog/CBB Book Promotions!  This is absolutely one of my favorite series, and I am beyond thrilled to bring you not only my review but a teaser quote from this (final!?!) book in the series PLUS the most incredible giveaway!  Check it out below and be sure to stop by the rest of the tour for more awesome reviews, guest posts & interviews!

Title: Dead Silence
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder, book #4
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher for blog tour
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.

This is probably going to read more like a plea to the author than a review.  So be it.

I love this series.  I love the characters, how much they've matured over the course of these four books and how their relationships have changed.  And I'm not ready to say goodbye yet.  When I finished Dead Silence, it didn't feel like goodbye, either.  So many things feel unresolved; it didn't feel like an ending at all, not even an open-ended type of conclusion.  I was actually anticipating an announcement from the author regarding the next book, but then I saw THIS post.  I knew it was likely that this would be the last book, and nothing is definite, as evidenced by the author's response to my comment on the aforementioned post (see below), but it hurt my heart to know that this may be the last body-finding adventure I get to go on with Violet, Jay, and the rest of the Center gang.

And it's obvious how much Kimberly Derting does indeed love her characters, even though she puts them through hell at times.  There are some intense and horrifying moments for Violet, and she puts herself in danger entirely too often, but at the end of the day, she's a great heroine, role model and just an intriguing character overall.  Her gift -- or curse, depending on the situation -- definitely makes life interesting.  And once she learns that she's not alone, that there are others like her with similar gifts, things get really exciting.

As remarkable as Violet's gift may be, actually using it is what gets her into trouble.  More often than not, using her gift means stumbling onto a murder victim, and Violet can't get any peace of mind until the victim is laid to rest and the murder is solved.  The author creates an added layer of creepiness to the story by interspersing Violet's perspective with that of the killer, and a disturbing game of cat and mouse ensues while Violet searches for clues to aid in the Center's investigations.  And while the killer is loose, no one is safe...not Violet, not her colleagues, and not her friends.

Violet's had her ability since she was a child, and she's mostly kept it a secret, though her best friend Jay has known the truth of her gift for years.  Jay has proven himself compassionate and caring and completely trustworthy time and again, showing exactly why he has become one of my most treasured book boyfriends. He's the real deal, and the relationship between Jay and Violet, from best friends to first loves, is my absolute favorite kind.  Have you ever read about a more honest and adorable fictional couple in YA literature?  I don't think so.  Sure, they hem and haw around their feelings for each other in the beginning, but they've been nothing but forthright with each other since.  Just as Violet is an inspiring character, this romance is one to aspire to...a love for the ages, if you will.

Sure, there have been complications, with the relationships in this story and in general, but these characters persevere and do what is ultimately right.  They fight the good fight.  And I'm not sure I'll ever be able to adequately express how much I'm going to miss all of them.  If this is it for Violet and friends, I'm glad the series ended on the note it did.

But hear this, Kimberly Derting:  I will ALWAYS be ready for more, so whenever you feel like writing more of Violet, Jay, Rafe or even Chelsea, know that you have a willing reader in me.  (Please, please, PLEASE write more body-finding adventures!  Pretty please?)


Rating:  


Teaser Quote*:

     Still reeling, Violet was about to close the journal when she saw something sticking out from between the pages.  A slip of paper, maybe.  She stuck her finger between the sheets of paper, and just as she was opening the book, a photograph drifted out, floating to the floor in front of her.
     She didn't have to pick it up to realize what she was looking at. Who she was looking at. All she had to do was count.
     They were all there, the Circle of Seven.

Kimberly Derting is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins) and THE PLEDGE trilogy
(Simon & Schuster). She lives in the Seattle area, with her husband and three children, who often find the outrageous things they say either in the pages of her books or posted on Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see.

You can visit her website at www.kimberlyderting.com.

*Teaser Quote was procured from an Advance Reading Copy and is subject to change.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the recent tour stops below or visit the full tour schedule:

April 3

Gone Pecan ~ Review & Interview

Vy's Blog ~ Review & Teaser Quote

April 4 
Beauty and the Bookshelf ~ Review

April 5
Hope, Love and Happy Endings ~ Review & Teaser Quote

Reading Lark ~ Review & Book BFF

I hope you've enjoyed this series as much as I have! Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!

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Labels: blog tour, favorites, harper-collins, kimberly derting, murder mystery, must-read, psychological thriller, reviews, teasers, the body finder

Teaser Tuesday #49: Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


This week's teaser(s) comes from the following book(s):

Title: Dead Silence
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder, book #4
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 16, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher for blog tour
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.

My teaser:

"When were you planning to tell me?"  He stood up, his actions tense and jerky as he yanked open the back door of the cruiser, telling her with his actions to get inside.

-- p. 141

Uh, oh.  Sounds like someone's in trouble!  I had other reading plans this week, but as soon as this ARC arrived, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist starting the book.  =)

What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!

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Labels: favorites, harper-collins, kimberly derting, murder mystery, must-read, psychological thriller, teaser tuesday, the body finder

Waiting on Wednesday: Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: Dead Silence
Author: Kimberly Derting
Series: The Body Finder, book #4
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 16, 2013

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.

The Body Finder series has been praised as a “delectable blend of mystery and romance” (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books), a “fast-paced, compelling read” (ALA Booklist), and as “imaginative, convincing, and successful suspense” (Kirkus Reviews). With a perfect blend of romance, intrigue, and suspense, Dead Silence continues this gripping series, delivering unexpected twists that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Why I'm waiting:  I love this series.  First, there's the totally healthy, teenage romance between Violet and Jay.  Yes, there may be a kink thrown in there, but I think they'll survive.  Second, this girl senses the echoes left behind by the dead.  I find that so freaking interesting, and I can't wait to see where this next chapter takes us.  I only hope this isn't the final book...I'm not ready to say goodbye to these characters!

So, what are you waiting on this week?  Tell me in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!

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Labels: favorites, harper-collins, kimberly derting, murder mystery, the body finder, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Review: The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title:  The Last Echo
Author:  Kimberly Derting
Series:  3rd book in the Body Finder Series
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Publication Date:  April 17, 2012
Source:  Southern Book Bloggers ARC tour

In the end, all that's left is an echo...

Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet's talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it's Violet's job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by "the girlfriend collector" she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new "relationship" and Violet may have caught his eye...

Okay, I’m going to get right to it. If you haven’t read the first two books in The Body Finder series, beware that there may be spoilers ahead for those books. I’ll try not to include spoilers, but I can’t promise that something I don’t think is a spoiler for the other books won’t seem spoilery to you. My apologies in advance. You have been warned. :0)

I won my signed copy of Desires of the Dead from the author herself, but I hadn’t really heard much about the series until that point. Of course, I had to go out and buy the first installment because I’m neurotic and can’t read a series out of order. (I wouldn’t want to, anyway, but that’s beside the point.) Anyway, the books hooked me from the very beginning, so to say that this latest book is my favorite yet should really tell you something.

For one thing, the writing – and the story in general – just gets better with each new book this author releases. (If murder-mysteries aren’t your cup of tea, check out her dystopian series, The Pledge.) The writing isn’t fluffy, but it flows so smoothly and keeps you so enthralled with the story that you don’t have a chance to form any expectations about what’s going to happen next.

But Violet’s unusual gift does leave a lot of room for unpredictable situations. And so does her behavior. Violet has remarkable instincts, but she’s impulsive…always rushing into things, usually without a moment’s hesitation to collect her bearings. But she’s determined, resolute in her need to end the recently departed’s suffering by finding their killers. And now she’s working closely with a secret organization that wants to put her skills to good use.

I was afraid for Jay and Violet’s oh-so-sweet relationship, knowing that Violet would be working closely with Rafe on the cases, especially since there seems to be something electric between them, but I needn’t have worried so much. Admittedly, there is still the potential for a love triangle, but it’s not seedy and off-putting like so many out there. The Last Echo gives the reader a much better view of Rafe than the few short glances we were given of him in Desires of the Dead, and from what I saw, I generally liked the guy. Don’t get me wrong…I still love Jay and hope that things remain carefree and lovey-dovey between him and Vi, but should Violet give Rafe more than a cursory glance and decide to take a chance on him, I wouldn’t be distraught. Rafe is deep and troubled and I honestly believe he needs Violet to make him whole again.

Speaking of troubled, the case in this installment is probably the creepiest Violet’s encountered yet, and she’s seen a lot of weirdness already. This time around, she’s trying to help catch a serial killer called The Girlfriend Collector and prevent him from killing again by determining his next target. But, as per usual, Violet’s involvement in the case has put her directly in the line of sight of the murderer, and if Violet doesn’t figure him out quickly, she may become his next victim.

I love all of the characters in this series, but Derting has a real knack for creating sinister, disturbing villains with well-developed motivations and backgrounds. I love the dual narrative of these novels, as well, switching the perspective from that of Violet to the inner-workings of the killer’s mind. Seeing things through the eyes of a murderer really increases the creep-factor.

Fast-paced and hair-raisingly intense, this novel kept me engrossed and inspired any number of frightening dreams. And I’ll never look at lilac nail polish the same. The author has set the bar high for herself and for the next novel in the series, but I have no doubt she’ll surpass my expectations.

Rating: 
 
Book-A-Likes:  The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Slide by Jill Hathaway



 

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Labels: arc tour reviews, book trailers, book-a-likes, harper-collins, kimberly derting, reviews, the body finder

In My Mailbox #24

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  It's a weekly meme where we all get to brag about the books and swag we got in the mail, for review, won in contests, etc.





For Review:

The Last Echo (The Body Finder #3) by Kimberly Derting, courtesy of Souther Book Blogger ARC tours
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2) by Kady Cross, from HarlequinTeen via Netgalley

Purchased/Ebook deals*:

Black Hole Sun by David MacInnis Gill
Oppression by Jessica Therrien
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

*I put up the links to these ebook deals on Friday.  Please see the Uncovered - 3/23/12 post for direct links.

Anything interesting in your mailbox this week?

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Labels: ebook deals, in my mailbox (imm), murder mystery, steampunk, the body finder

Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Title:  Fracture
Author:  Megan Miranda
Series:  n/a
Publisher:  Walker & Company
Publication Date:  January 17, 2012
Source:  Netgalley
Links:  Amazon | Goodreads
Rating: 

From Goodreads:

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine--despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

Review:

This story was so unexpected and surprising. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I almost didn’t even give it a try. I passed it up several times on Netgalley because I was afraid it would be too contemporary for my taste. I’m glad I did eventually read it, though, because it’s now going on my favorites shelf. Seriously…it’s not very often that I’m left completely satisfied at the end of a novel. And it appears that this is a stand-alone…bonus points for that.

The entire time I was reading this story, I kept thinking to myself, she could be writing about me. The mistakes, the heartbreak, even the academic aspect felt all-too familiar to me. At least, the teenage version of me. And yet, the story was unpredictable. It doesn’t skip a beat getting right to the action, and though it’s not explosive action, there’s never a lull in the storyline. When I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about it, and I stayed up way past my bedtime trying to find a good place to stop for the night. (There’s not one…I suggest you read it straight through if you can.)

Fracture is reminiscent of Kimberly Derting’s The Body Finder series, except instead of being lured by the imprints of dead bodies as Violet is, Delaney seems to be drawn to those who are on the brink of death. Even the best friend/potential boyfriend angle is similar, but it’s handled so differently in Fracture that that’s where the similarity ends.

The characters were very realistic, as were the character interactions. I never once thought, A real teenager wouldn’t say that. Delaney was impulsive and stubborn and afraid of being hurt, just like any other girl. Her relationship with her best friend Decker was strained after the accident because everything had changed, and he was harboring some serious guilt. Her parents treated her like she was someone else, someone they didn’t know. And yet Delaney persevered, threw herself into her studies to try to get back to normal. Enter Troy. Like matters weren’t complicated enough.

If the story itself wasn’t perfectly orchestrated, that ending sure was. Wow. I’m not one to be easily surprised either. I’ve been reading for a long time, and I’ve come to expect certain things from the writing in this genre, and most of the time, those expectations are met, be that good or bad. But with this novel, I can honestly say I did not see that ending coming. Actually, I didn’t see a lot of what was coming in this story. I know many are raving about this book, and I have to agree…this is definitely one book not to miss!

After reading Fracture, check it out on Facebook to read a short story told from Decker's POV from the eleven minutes Delaney was under the ice to when she wakes up, six days later.  Your only payment is a tweet or a Facebook share.  Enjoy!

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Labels: fracture, reviews, surprises, the body finder