Book Review: Desires of the Dead

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 they 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 tings 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.

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I LOVED The Body Finder. It was such a great mix of contemporary and paranormal mystery. So I was expecting Desires of the Dead to be equally amazing. However, in my opinion, it just didn't measure up to The Body Finder. It was still amazing! Just not quite as amazing.

One of the things that didn't really work for me was Jay and Violets relationship. Its not that I don't like them as a couple (because I totally do!) but Violet kept acting like their relationship dynamic had changed soooo much that she couldn't trust him with any information. I was like seriously girl? You don't think you can confide in your boyfriend about people possibly creep stalking you? Just because you're afraid of him telling your parents/uncle? Isn't that a GOOD thing that he wants to make sure you're safe? And its not like Jay wasn't protective of you before! He would have done the same thing in The Body Finder! Although I have to admit I do think that Jay is a bit overkill on the protectiveness thing.... But anyway I just thought that was a bit strange. But maybe that was just me.

I also thought Violet came off as a little whiny. She was jealous that Jay was spending time with Mike, but then she wasn't willing to open up to Jay when they did spend time together. She couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to trust the FBI so she just kind of waffled back and forth and then she just felt sorry for herself. I just kept thinking get a grip girl! But the awesome thing was that by the end of the story Violet really grew as a character. She had opened up to Jay and she had come to a decision about using her power and that was great. So Violets growth really did overshadow her shallowness in the beginning of the story. Its always nice to see a character learn and grow.

I loved that Kimberly Derting chose to continue having the intermittent sections told from another point of view! The sections in Desires of the Dead weren't quite as freaky as in The Body Finder but it was still a great aspect of the story.

I think the mystery aspect of the story could have been a bit stronger. A lot of Desires of the Dead was based around Violet grappling with her feelings for Jay and her feelings about her powers so it was less centered on a mystery like The Body Finder was. However I think that the mystery elements were perfectly placed to keep the plot moving along. And I definitely have to say that no one handles a suspenseful ending quite like Kimberly Derting! She really knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Desires of the Dead is an awesome book. It has mystery, suspense, romance, and unfortunately for me, a lot of teen angst. I really loved Violets character development, and Jay was great as always. If you liked The Body Finder you will most certainly like Desires of the Dead! I give it 4 out of 5 ice cream cones.

5 Words to Describe This Book
Creepy stalker, important decisions, suspenseful

Wanna internet stalk the author? (NOT REALLY! Hehe...) Check out Kimberly Dertings blog here.

Julia :)