Desires of the Dead by Kimberley Derting

Description

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 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.

Review

Desires of the Dead is Derting's follow-up to her immensely popular debut novel, The Body Finder. Derting presents another mystery, one that is equally as gripping. New characters are also introduced: Megan and Mike, a pair of siblings new to the school, and Sara Priest and Rafe, whose intentions are very hard to decipher at first for both Violet and the reader.

Like The Body Finder, there was plenty of mystery present in Desires of the Dead. The story revolving around the siblings was predictable yet still engrossing. Derting included the thoughts of someone involved in the crime, as she did in The Body Finder, though I didn't feel these were as engrossing or to put it plainly, as creepy as the murderer's passages in The Body Finder.

What I particularly liked was the addition of Sara Priest - I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how that storyline progresses in the next novel. Rafe was also a very intriguing character, though I hope his relationship with Violet never becomes more than platonic. Jay is a total sweetheart - you grow to love him even more than you did in The Body Finder. Violet was maybe slightly less likeable in this book because she kept going off by herself in the middle of the night without telling anyone. You think she'd know better, considering the events of the last novel. Her friends didn't really make much of an impact, the only one who really stood out being Chelsea, but this was almost a positive thing as it meant there was a bigger focus on Violet's and Jay relationship.

I felt that their relationship was presented in a realistic way. Obviously it had its ups and downs, but these were handled in a believable manner by both characters. Derting effectively captured that sense of a new stage in a relationship with someone you've known for a long time. All the especially romantic scenes were handled delicately - no sleaze here.

Derting's prose was mostly smooth, however there were some places where I felt it was too stilted. It didn't affect how riveted I was, however - I literally could not stop reading it.

All in all, as impressive as its predecessor.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks very much to Headline for providing me with a copy for review!