Review: Desires of the Dead - Kimberly Derting

VIOLET AMBROSE'S SECRET IS OUT
Violet has a curious gift: the ability to sense the echoes emitted by murder victims. Only her boyfriend Jay and her closest family know. But when she locates the body of a missing boy sought by the FBI she puts herself firmly on their radar.

NOW SHE'S BEING WATCHED
As if dealing with regular calls from the FBI isn't enough, threatening notes are being left on her doorstep, and she feels disturbing echoes around the home of Jay's new best friend. Violet needs answers fast...

WHO CAN SHE TURN TO?
Violet should feel closer to Jay now he's moved from best friend to boyfriend, but she hasn't told him what's worrying her. She tells herself she's protecting him, but is their fledgling relationship strong enough to cope?

As Violet faces her fears alone she uncovers dark truths that lead her to danger...

The Body Finder Series:
The Body Finder
Desires of the Dead
The Last Echo
There will be a fourth book in this series but the title and release date are currently unknown

Visit Kimberly Derting's website for more information

Review:
Violet has the ability to detect echos left behind by murder victims, the same echos that are carried around by their killers. This has always been a closely guarded secret known only by her family and her best friend (and now boyfriend) Jay but it now looks like someone else has found out. With the FBI constantly asking questions and someone leaving threatening notes for Violet she has a lot on her plate. But why is she finding it so difficult to turn to Jay for help?

I absolutely loved The Body Finder so was really looking forward to reading Desires of the Dead. I'm still fascinated by Violet's abilities and I thoroughly enjoy Kimberly Derting's writing style, she has a great way of building suspense but I'll admit I wasn't as shocked by the ending as I was when reading the first book, I'd actually figured things out fairly early on which was a shame because I was really hoping I'd got it wrong.

One of my favourite things in the first book was the romance between Violet and Jay, it is so refreshing to come across a couple who have known each other for years and slowly come to have deeper feelings for each other. Jay is just as swoon worthy as ever - in fact I think he was even more adorable in Desires of the Dead and I love him more than ever! However, I found myself disappointed by Violet's attitude for a lot of the book. She absolutely refuses to talk to Jay which just didn't make sense to me - he has been her best friend and the person she could always turn to forever so it annoyed me that she wouldn't trust him now when she needed him the most. I felt quite sorry for him and almost reached the point where I wouldn't have blamed him for giving up on her. She did manage to redeem herself by the end though so I have high hopes for the pair of them in the future.

What I really enjoyed most was the FBI involvement, I don't want to say much for fear of spoilers but we are introduced to some interesting characters (I'm particularly curious about Rafe!) and I can't wait to see the effect that certain events have on Violet in the next book. Although Desires of the Dead didn't quite live up to my expectations I would still recommend the series - The Body Finder was one of my favourite books in 2010 and the series is unique in the YA paranormal market and well worth picking up. If you're a fan of the first book you don't want to miss the new developments in Desires of the Dead and I will be among the first in the queue for the next book!

Source: Received for review from Headline in exchange for an honest review

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