Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 336pgs

The Story

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 Review

Okay, so I heard from other readers that this book is the last of The Body Finder series and if that is the case, I have to say I'm pretty disappointed, especially of the events that occurred in this book. For one, I felt as if the story was the same old, same old as the previous three installments of the series which is not necessarily a bad thing but more so . . .  just too predictable, and two, I felt like there were way too many loose ends for a last book and for me personally the last book in a series has to go out with a bang and sadly for this book just . . . didn't.

DEAD SILENCE brings us back to Violet, our main heroine, and while she should be concentrating on her upcoming prom and graduation, but instead, she can't forget her own imprint and she especially can't forget about her being kidnapped not too long ago. But when Violet soon finds a family dead in their own home and when one of her classmates is accused of murder, she is more than determined to put herself in danger (yet again) and find out who the killer is before it's too late.

Again, I stress that the plot isn't anything different compared to the rest of the books in the series. You have someone murdered or something similar to that and then Violet has to find the killer. Same old, same old. So even though I do regularly enjoy these types of stories - particularly thrillers and mysteries - as they have a Nancy Drew feel to them, but unlike the very first book in the series, The Body Finder, which I enjoyed a lot and even it's sequel, Deadly Desires, but now I've just lost interest in the series altogether because it has become way too predictable for me. I mean, the problem with many sequels is that it's hard to succeed after a very successful first book or rather it's hard to create another exciting book in a series for those hardcore readers, and like what happened to me with this series, there is hardly any progression for this storyline and for the characters as well, and I almost feel like everything should have been settled already by the third book by now. So again, it was not a bad book this one (probably not what you think with me giving this book only one star) or at least the twists and turns part, but . . . I'm just too tired to care about things now in the series.

Regarding the characters, I still liked Violet (well mostly) as a character and especially her boyfriend, Jay, but like what has happened throughout the course of this series, the whole love triangle ordeal with Violet's boyfriend, Jay, and with her suppose 'friend', Rafe, was too overdone and not to mention overwhelming for me. Too la-de-da and MOVE ON ALREADY PLEASE! I think for most readers we all know that she loves Jay (she loves him SO MUCH and we've known that all along) and really that's that. End of story. There is simply no reason whatsoever - no reason at all - why Violet should have anymore feelings for this Rafe dude, especially when we know personally that she wants Jay in her life no matter what. Friend and romantically. Ugh. Again and again, it's just too predictable this book and it's just so boring now with the characters and everything else that they do because they do exactly the same thing as they have done in the previous books (I'm talking about you suppose love triangle thing that shouldn't really be one to begin with) and the characters just continually keep on making the same mistakes and really never learn from them in the end nor try and do anything different to prevent repercussions of some pretty terrible (and avoidable) situations. Again, I'm tired of everything. Tired of it all. I give up!

Overall, DEAD SILENCE was a means to an end for me and while I wasn't all too happy about how everything ended, but that's that I guess. The end.

The Rating

1/5 stars

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 360pgs

The Story

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 . . .

The Review

I had so many high hopes for the third installment, THE LAST ECHO, of Kimberly Derting's bestselling young adult series The Body Finder. As expected the author continues to deliver a spine-tingling mystery with that same-old 'creepiness factor' that we love and adore in her writing (because they are so creepy, right?) and her books always leaves me with one eye open throughout the night, but for this time round there was just something missing in this next chapter of Violet Mathers's story and it's rather a pity too.

The main heroine, Violet, has been greatly loved by me from the first two books in the series and even today she still remains to be one of my favourite characters in the YA book genre. Being your not so average teenage girl with literal body-finding abilities and forever finding herself entangled in all sorts of mysterious and deadly cases, ones where she marginally escapes death itself, Violet in her short lifespan has experienced more than your average teenager should and I admire how she deals with every single situation that is thrown at her. That's what we love most about her character. However, while our Vi is strong, capable and determined, but much like with the storyline something has changed in Violet's character. Not in a bad way per se but enough to make me question her motives. From the previous two installments she had so much trust in others, especially with her family and friends, but I thought she trusted her new "family" of friends, her FBI gang with similar abilities as hers, a little too easily. Mostly with Rafe's character whom we met from book two.

Now I've found myself completely frustrated with this book (which was probably the central reason to why I didn't like this book as much as the others), more so when it came to the whole love triangle fiasco that Derting has etched into this story. Not only was it the direction I was hoping to avoid but it was also something that I felt - personally - didn't need to be in there in order for readers to fall even harder for this series. It just wasn't needed since we have Jay to cheer us up, the childhood best friend and now boyfriend of Violet, who is . . . honestly . . . the perfect boy through everyone's eyes and I love him to bits. He's totally in my top 5 of hot fictional boys and unlike those fierce and mysterious fantasy boys, what appeals to me most about Jay is how normal and down-to-earth he is and I want a Jay of my own! Seriously where is my own Jay been hiding? Who knows, really. But what this book lacked in so many ways was Jay himself and it was a total downer to say the least.

In the romance department I still firmly believe that Jay and Violet are made for each other - they're just SO perfect together - and he's always been there for her and her body-finder ability right from the start of things, but for once in this series I just wanted more spotlight put onto Jay's character because he clearly deserves it and he's totally capable of so much more than the author is willing to offer up for his character. Sure the character Rafe, a boy we were introduced to in the second book, Desires of the Dead, is an intriguing character all on his own and I can see what others see in him (you know with him being the mysterious dude with some hair full of secrets haha), but what I don't understand is why Violet would ever think about Rafe or look at him in a way she has always looked at Jay . . . especially when she now has the perfect Jay all to herself. Oh man, Vi needs to seriously rethink her situation because I've had it. *shakes head* You have Jay Vi . . . JAY! YOU DON'T NEED RAFE . . . like . . . EVER!

Overall, THE LAST ECHO was a disappointing third installment (it just didn't go the way I hoped it would) but the whole 'Girlfriend Collector' mystery was equally as enthralling as the other two installments beforehand and it reminded me so much of the Kiss the Girls movie which I loved. So, if you're already a fan of this series and of this author, then you're still going to love this new book no matter the frustrations of its love triangles and teenage angst. It's a killer for sure!

The Rating

3 1/2 / 5 stars

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Release Day: 15th February, 2011

Publishers: Harper Collins

Pages: 368pgs

The Story

The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered - and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

The Review

I loved The Body Finder but now since reading the sequel, I'm totally smitten with Violet and her loveable, adorable and totally guy-love-interest-worthy, Jay! A lot of the time, the first book in a series is awesome - you know, when you're left wanting more - and then once you dive into the sequel . . . you usually don't get your money's worth . . . but I absolutely LOVED this book! From it's high-tension, from its sweet-and-sometimes-frustrating-but-still-kind-of-great-swoony-lovey-dovey romance and of course . . . you also get an awesome mystery all blended in together!

In DESIRES OF THE DEAD, you finally get to see a more serious side to Violet and Jay's relationship. In the first book, The Body Finder, it focused more on the long-time friendship between these two main characters and how their romantic relationship came about, however in this sequel, you get to see them away from the "best friend" light. To prove a point but without giving away spoilers, I will say that there's a scene in the book that was sooooo sweet (if you guys have read this, then you know what I mean by this SCENE) and I loved the way the author dealt with their relationship this time round. I guess you could say that the development of their characters was built more on attraction and any girl will fall for this! Trust me! Meanwhile, readers will get to explore how Violet is coming into her own - what with her "gift" of hearing echoes of the dead - and how she struggles in using this power.

But what I love most about this book is how Kimberly Derting develops her mysteries and how well she writes. Like my favourite Nancy Drew novels, this author knows how to make you KEEP GOING in reading and you don't want to stop until you have reached the very end! At times, the book was quite predictable in terms of who's the KILLER and how things may wrap up in the last pages (since I'm such a Nancy Drew super-freak sleuth) , but nonetheless, while the case is closed . . . there are still many questions that need to be answered. If you haven't devoured this series yet, please do because DESIRES OF THE DEAD was a great addition to the YA series and I'm looking forward to the third installment of The Body Finder series!

The Rating

5/5 stars