Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Body Finder (The Body Finder #1)

by Kimberly Derting (Goodreads Author)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 23,782 ratings · 2,701 reviews

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 th...more

Hardcover, 327 pages

Published March 16th 2010 by HarperCollins Children's Books

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

2010 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade Literature)

3rd out of 301 books — 1,973 voters

Judge A Book By Its Cover!

32nd out of 2,450 books — 5,805 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Apr 16, 2012 Sara Grochowski rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED AUGUST 2009

Okay, I realize that it is ridiculously early to be posting a review of this book, but really, with a book this good, who cares?

I am, quite simply, in love with this book! I read it three days ago and I'm still in love with it. I'm considering rereading it - I RARELY EVER reread books!

The Body Finder has so many elements that really appealed to me. Firstly, I found the serial killer and murder mystery aspect of the book really well done. I'm a big fan of show...more

42 likes · like · see review

Jul 15, 2012 Alyssa rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Read below.

Shelves: 2011-read, gave-up-on, get-with-library, not-even-okay, really-excited-for, ya-romance, highly-anticipated, me-and-my-dirty-mouth-review

This review has been edited since its original posting.

I normally won’t touch books that I didn’t finish because I think it’s unfair for me to judge without thoroughly examining the product. The Body Finder is one of the rare exceptions because I hated this book so much I just need to – and I mean need to - a) warn my great Goodreading friends to stay away b), get this piece of work out of my mind for good and c) vent. But just a little bit.

So, I’ll skip the intro and get right to the dirty:

1)...more

37 likes · like · see review

Aug 14, 2010 Janina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller-suspense, paranormal, young-adult-fiction, read-in-2010, death-loss-grief, given-away, let-me-down, romance, best-friends-falling-in-love, i-see-dead-people, series-lost-interest

It's a little bit difficult for me to rate this book.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it in parts and it was definitely not boring (I finished it in a few hours), but I had expected more.

Violet can sense echoes; feelings, smells, colours or sounds left behind by murder victims, which not only make it possible for her to locate dead bodies but also to find their murderer.
So far, she mostly had to deal with dead animals, but when a cruel serial killer is on the loose in her hometown, she believes...more It's a little bit difficult for me to rate this book.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it in parts and it was definitely not boring (I finished it in a few hours), but I had expected more.

Violet can sense echoes; feelings, smells, colours or sounds left behind by murder victims, which not only make it possible for her to locate dead bodies but also to find their murderer.
So far, she mostly had to deal with dead animals, but when a cruel serial killer is on the loose in her hometown, she believes it to be her responsiblity to stop him.
In the meantime, she also has to deal with her growing feelings for Jay, her best friend since childhood ...

Sadly, the crime part of the story fell totally flat for me. Once Violet decides to hunt for the killer, the solution comes too fast and too easy, almost without any action on her side. Also, I found it somewhat disappointing that there wasn't even a list of suspects, so that I as a reader had no possibility to guess who the murderer could be.
For a serial killer book, I didn't find it creepy at all, and I missed being on the edge of my seat with a constant feeling of suspense while reading certain scenes. The glimpses we get into the killer's mind didn't really do anything for me either. They didn't scare me, and they certainly didn't make me fear for Violet - but maybe I read too much Henning Mankell in the past and have become desensitized?

The chemistry between Violet and Jay at the beginning was great. I really like their kind of love-story: life-long friends suddenly develop feelings for each other, but do not dare to mention them to the other out of fear their friendship won't survive then.
Towards the end, their relationship got a bit too all-consuming for my taste, though. They were practically together 24/7, only thinking of each other and sooo in love. Especially the whole homecoming event was seriously over the top.

I went into this loooking for a good mystery with a paranormal twist, but got a love story instead. If that's what you are looking for, you might enjoy The Body Finder, but I was disappointed. Overall, I don't think you'll miss something if you skip this. I don't think I'll be reading the sequel, Desires of the Dead.(less)

48 likes · like · see review

Nov 15, 2010 Nomes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: love-the-premise, 2010, hype-fail, i-thought-i-would-love-this-but

2.5 stars

This is a hard one for me to rate. First off, I flew through it - it's an easy and fairly addictive read - but I don't think it's a book that will linger or be a favourite.

For a serial killer book, it wasn't that creepy and there weren't clues for the reader to feel a part of the investigation (which is part of the thrill for me as a reader). I can't help but think of books in this similar genre in Adult fiction which pack a lot more punch, and maybe it's unfair to compare a YA novel wi...more 2.5 stars

This is a hard one for me to rate. First off, I flew through it - it's an easy and fairly addictive read - but I don't think it's a book that will linger or be a favourite.

For a serial killer book, it wasn't that creepy and there weren't clues for the reader to feel a part of the investigation (which is part of the thrill for me as a reader). I can't help but think of books in this similar genre in Adult fiction which pack a lot more punch, and maybe it's unfair to compare a YA novel with Adult thrillers, but it fell a little flat for me - there was nothing original or surprising about the killing/investigation part of the story.

The book really was more about Jay and Violet. Unlike most people, I found Jay to be fairly dull despite his gorgeous grin. We are told he and Violet are best friends, told he is hot and then watch for a good quarter of the book how half the girls in the school are falling all over him. The scenes with him and Violet were sweet, but he didn't do anything to impress me. His dialogue was standard, neither funny or brilliant.

That is, until half way through. Okay, so after the party - things turned (suddenly) hot and Jay's personality finally showed up. It just took half a book for him to get there. And considering nothing happened between him and Violet for the first half, well, Derting more than made up for that in the second half. Jay knows how to charm the parents but once they leave the room, he brings the sexy right on back.

As for the supporting cast of friends, they all seemed a little interchangeable - none made an impression on me.

I did love the family vibe, Vi's parents were cool and so was her uncle.

This book is written for teens and it probably is the perfect blend for them - some wish fulfilment with a hot stud of a best friend turned boyfriend, lots of sexy/hot scenes that are still PG, a not too freaky serial killer to ease young teens into the genre - (although when I was a teen I read lots of thriller/killer adult fiction with some freaky bad dudes and coped pretty well :)
(less)

18 likes · like · see review

Nov 06, 2012 Stephanie (The Night Bookmobile) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, reviewed

The Body Finder is an unfortunate example of wasted potential. I am sad to say that, because I feel that Kimberly Derting throws out some great ideas, ones that could have been amazing, but inevitably fell short and got buried under a nauseating romantic plot and a sea of characters who were nothing more than stereotypes.

I loved the beginning of the novel. We start off with a young Violet finding the body of a dead child. If the whole story had followed in the footsteps of the prologue/first cha...more The Body Finder is an unfortunate example of wasted potential. I am sad to say that, because I feel that Kimberly Derting throws out some great ideas, ones that could have been amazing, but inevitably fell short and got buried under a nauseating romantic plot and a sea of characters who were nothing more than stereotypes.

I loved the beginning of the novel. We start off with a young Violet finding the body of a dead child. If the whole story had followed in the footsteps of the prologue/first chapter I would have loved it. Violet's ability to find dead bodies isn't exactly a new concept but I thought the way in which she did it was very neat. Dead bodies came to Violet as an echo. The echo represented their life and death. It could attack any one of Violet's senses. She might hear the sound of fireworks, smell strong coffee or feel the touch of downy feathers on her skin. She could also sense death on others as an imprint. It was difficult for Violet to even be around her cat; since he carried the imprints of the creatures he'd killed.

I also found the murder investigation to be entertaining despite being a bit predictable. I read the majority of this novel in one sitting and was completely engrossed by the chapters in which Violet uses her ability to try to catch a killer. I also liked the included chapters from the killer's perspective. Unfortunately, I envisioned several endings that would have been more shocking than where the story actually went. I also didn't like the attempts to trick the reader into thinking something, because it was rather obvious that it was being done, so I didn't suspect it was true. I think that if these risks were actually taken with the story (specifically a trick played near the end) it would have made for a more gripping read.

My main gripe with this novel is the relationship between Violet and Jay. Honestly, they did not have personalities outside of each other. It was yet another situation in which the lead male is being fawned all over by every girl in his vicinity, but of course he only has eyes for our awkward heroine who couldn't possibly understand what he could see in her. Not only was it annoying that all of the other female characters in the novel apparently lost all sense of themselves when Jay was in the room and only cared about fighting other girls for his affections (ugh), it was also annoying that Violet inwardly mocked these girls and then turned around and did the exact same thing herself. She was constantly thinking about melting and how hot/sexy/attractive Jay had gotten since going through the apparently magical process of puberty.

In connection with this, I also didn't appreciate the treatment of Lissie Adams in this story. She is Violet's "competition" for Jay. She is referred to as "shallow and boring" and "just another brainless cheerleader" and given no depth beyond being the obvious bitch stereotype ready to claw Violet's eyes out to get to Jay. Is this really all we want women characters to amount to in novels? It's also said that she is a "slut" and she "gives it up to all the guys" and goes by the nickname "kneepads". This is a conversation being had at a table of girls. Was this necessary? I don't agree with slut shaming and I don't see what purpose this cattiness served for the novel. Jay, of course, can just cast this girl aside very rudely for Violet and it's viewed as ok, romantic even, because she is a bitch/slut/walking talking bag of evil. He even says that he was using her to make Violet jealous so she would realize he liked her. Um, couldn't he have just... I don't know... told her he liked her? Too simple, Jay? Too direct? Not enough casualties involved?

There is also a "friend" of Violet's whose only purpose is to be the "stupid" friend who never gets anyone's jokes and doesn't understand anything. At one point another "friend" of Violet's jokes to the girl that she must ride the short bus. Nothing like a good dose of ableism on top of all of that slut shaming. There was also a situation where one girl was to said to like to play the "bi-curious card" even though she was like SO TOTALLY STRAIGHT (as if it would be weird if she weren't) and all of the other girls would yell "Gross!" in response to her fake advances. One of the girls is even said to be homophobic. I enjoyed the serial killer plot, and I thought the idea of echoes and imprints was very original. Too bad the rest of the novel brought such an interesting concept down to its level in the dumpster of stereotypes and offensive tropes.

More Reviews and other fun stuff at my blog: The Night Bookmobile (less)

19 likes · like · see review

May 08, 2011 Lora rated it 1 of 5 stars

Gave up somewhere between page 100 and 120. The thing is, I love the friends-before-lovers scenario.

I blame it on the writing.

7 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-gold-star-award-winner, trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Bear with me for a moment as I gush fanatically about how much I loved THE BODY FINDER like some crazed Twilighter who has just caught a glimpse of Robert Pattinson. I loved this book. Absolutely, totally, completely loved it. I want to, as I used to say when I was seven, marry this book. If I could, I would erase it from my memory and go back and read it all over again, just to experience it anew. And, right this minute, I would gladly give up either of my chi...more Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Bear with me for a moment as I gush fanatically about how much I loved THE BODY FINDER like some crazed Twilighter who has just caught a glimpse of Robert Pattinson. I loved this book. Absolutely, totally, completely loved it. I want to, as I used to say when I was seven, marry this book. If I could, I would erase it from my memory and go back and read it all over again, just to experience it anew. And, right this minute, I would gladly give up either of my children to have another book featuring Violet and Jay to read right...this...minute.

Okay, end of maniacal gushing about how awesome this book is.

THE BODY FINDER has to be one of the most unique YA books I've ever read. It deals with a serial killer, which I've never run across before in a book marketed to teens and young adults. Since reading about serial killers is one of my favorite pastimes (no cruel jokes about my tormented psyche here, please), I knew before I even began reading the story that it was probably going to be great.

It also deals with a teen who can sense death. A sound, a smell, a feeling, a presence - somehow, ever since she was little, Violet Ambrose could find things that had died. It started out as finding dead animals, but one particularly horrifying experience at age eight had Violet discovering the body of a young girl. So far, Violet has never been overly-traumatized by her special ability. She has the full support and understanding of both her parents and her best friend, Jay Heaton, so she's never had to deal with this talent all alone.

This year, though, things are about to change.

First, she's having some definitely non-friendly feelings towards Jay. Somehow, she's begun to notice not just how funny and smart he is, but also how hot and sexy he is. The more she tries to convince everyone around her that she doesn't have a thing for Jay, the harder it is to convince herself of the same thing.

Secondly, someone is abducting and killing young girls in the area around where Violet lives. With the ability to sense not only those that have recently died, but the lingering effects of death on those that have caused it, Violet is determined to figure out who is wreaking havoc on her town. With or without Jay's help, she plans to follow her senses wherever they take her, hoping that they'll lead her to the killer so that she can point him out to her uncle, who happens to be the sheriff.

But as almost always happens in cases like this, Violet and Jay find themselves up against something - or someone - a whole lot more crafty and cunning than they could have imagined. If they're not careful, they could end up being the next victims of this vicious killer.

Okay, just a little bit more gushing. Not only is the storyline of THE BODY FINDER amazing, so are the characters and the dialogue. I have to give Kimberly Derting the highest praise for writing a story that never, ever patronizes its intended readers. I have had problems in the past with a few YA titles, due only to the fact that certain authors feel the need to tone or water down their writing, since they're not writing for adults. Ms. Derting doesn't do that - her story is scary, sexy, emotional, and downright riveting at all times; she never "writes down" to the teen or young adult who will pick up the book.

Pre-order THE BODY FINDER now, today, right this second. And please, Ms. Derting, pretty please, I'm begging you here, write another story featuring Violet and Jay. These are two of my favorite new characters, and I really, really need to read another story featuring them!!
(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Jul 24, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-arc, books-i-own, signed-arcs, signed-books

Another great debut to add to the list!

The Body Finder is one of those can't flip the pages fast enough novels. And the point of view chapters from the serial killer added a creep factor like no other ya novel I've read! It was enough to make afraid to be out alone at night...!

I loved the relationship between Jay and Violet. It's so very obvious that they both have feelings for each other and watching their relationship progress was probably my most favorite aspect of the novel. It really balanc...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2012 Annie Brewer rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Every freaking one!!

Recommended to Annie by: Vee-you rock!!

Shelves: absolutely-amazingly-awesome, books-on-my-shelf, favorite, irresistable-hot-guys, 5-star-worthy

Ohhhhhh. Emmmmm. Geeeeeeeee.! This is my new favorite series!!!! Holy crappadoodle!!! Fdgdrtesacvnkoyessxcnooyrecbhtrd hfdh. Yea that's what I said! Review to come as soon as my head clears!! This book left me speechless!!!!!

Okay, I think I am composed enough to write this review now. Sorry, my head was reeling from the events that took place before my very fearful eyes. WHEW!!!! It was a whirlwind for sure. So, upon reading this, I had bought this book along with its sequel about 3 months ago....more

18 likes · like · see review

Oct 14, 2009 Sarah MacLean rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: debs2009, young-adult

scary thriller + yummy romance = book that made me miss my subway stop.

yes. it's that good.

78 likes · like · see review

Feb 28, 2011 Nan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No One

Shelves: nook, never-again, young-adult

This book sucked.

I won't go into great detail about how badly this book sucked, because if you're drawn to it, you'll probably have to find out on your own. But suck it did.

Derting's book has an interesting premise; her main character, Violet, can sense the location of murder victims. Her gift is hereditary, and she inherited it from her grandmother. Everyone in her family, and her best friend Jay, know about the gift. As a small child, she found the location of a murdered girl. For some time af...more This book sucked.

I won't go into great detail about how badly this book sucked, because if you're drawn to it, you'll probably have to find out on your own. But suck it did.

Derting's book has an interesting premise; her main character, Violet, can sense the location of murder victims. Her gift is hereditary, and she inherited it from her grandmother. Everyone in her family, and her best friend Jay, know about the gift. As a small child, she found the location of a murdered girl. For some time after the discovery, she was distraught, but once the girl was buried, she recovered.

This set the pattern for her life to this point. Violet can sense any murdered body--including those killed by animals. Once she discovers the body, she buries it, and then she finds peace. Until that time, the body radiates a sound, scent, or taste that overwhelms her other senses. Unfortunately, her family owns a cat that does kill birds, so this feeling happens often. She's managed to get by so far by having a small graveyard in the backyard.

Sounds promising, no? Trust me, the "no" is the right word.

When Violet returns to school for her junior year, she's troubled by her attraction to Jay. He's been her friend for years, but he matured greatly over the summer, and he's now the object of desire for nearly every girl in the school and apparently the tri-city area.

When she's not obsessing over Jay, Violet is disturbed by the reports of missing girls in her community, but the disappearances only become real once she finds a body.

At this point, the novel takes a nose dive.

Here, as readers, we are introduced to a random chapter from the point of view of the killer. He's hunting these girls and gets off on the chase. Oddly, he likes girls that surrender meekly; if they struggle, it ruins his mood. His sections of text are always in Italics--you know, in case we mistake his thoughts for those of Violet. We have to have that extra visual to make certain that we understand that Violet would never consider a girl her age "delectable." (I could be wrong about the word there, but it's the sort of word he would have used. I'm too lazy to flip through my nook and find a real quote.)

Personally, I hate mysteries that include chapters from the point-of-view of the killer. The viewpoint hopping disturbs me simply because I'm not a fan of splitting a book between two characters, for one reason. For another, in this book it seems like a sloppy attempt to imitate adult mysteries or television shows. In a show like Criminal Minds, it makes sense to show the killer's POV. This gives viewers a chance to compare his/her behavior with what the profilers recognize and to build suspense. However, in a novel, it doesn't work so well. In this case, the killer is used to build suspense and cause readers to constantly fear that this time he's got Violet in his sights . . . but he doesn't. The cheap trick of having Violet and the victim act alike gets old, and quickly. Even more annoying, I have to admit that I don't think this trick belongs in a YA novel. I have no problems with YA novels about murder. However, I don't think it's a good idea for a YA to be from the POV of the killer. Asking teens to read those thoughts seems inappropriate.

Add to this the fact that the novel was boringly predictable. When I realized the timing of the end of the novel, I bet my husband $5 how and when the novel would end. He didn't take the bet, which is just as well. I would have won.

I found this book to be a terrible waste of my time. I will not read the second book, and I doubt that I'll read anything else by Kimberly Derting. I understand that this is a young adult novel; I read YA novels more than almost any other genre, so I'm familiar with its tropes. Just because it's YA doesn't mean that it has to be bad, and this one is very, very bad. In fact, it sucked.(less)

19 likes · like · see review

Mar 28, 2011 Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cover-lust, all-time-favorites, books-i-own, heart-pounding

You know, books like these really make me stop and ask book lovers like myself a really important question. WHY OH WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO READ THIS? SERIOUSLY! This book has been sitting on my shelf now for months. I remember it being on my to-read list for god knows how long and how excited I was to read it but after I bought it, I just didn't pick it up again. And now that I have read it...I have to say that I am amazed!

I mean, when I first started reading this, my rating for the book was like a four and I was only mildly impressed by what I was reading. But then the excitement really picked up. I was actually shocked to be so drawn in by a character in the 3rd person but Violet certainly had mine after the first 50 or so pages. I found her to be quite enjoyable, not one of my favorite YA characters but by far better than most. I am really looking forward to what happens to her in the next book because Derting has left me desperate for more.

And then of course...there's Jay! *swoon* Now I FINALLY see why the bloggers are all obsessed with this guy! Seriously, how could you not be? He's an actually sweet guy that doesn't seem like a girl dressed in drag. Plus he had his super cute moments, especially when he tried to make her jealous, which is something A LOT of guys do. The only problem I had with him is that I felt Jay lacked character. I would have loved to see more of him, get a greater feel of his personality and that's the only real problem I had with this book. I'm hoping that he develops some life in the sequel.

And the plot. Holy crap! At first, when I started reading the predators POV, I was pretty skeptical. I kept thinking, 'This is a little dumb' and I kind of laughed at each of the kidnappings (I have a twisted sense of humor). But then I realized just how much of the book was affecting me. It was so wonderfully crafted that my heart would pound and when it was dark, I honestly had to look over my shoulder to see if I was being followed. I couldn't even have the lights off because I was so chilled to the bone by the ending. But the read was well worth it.

Long story short, I absolutely loved Derting's debut. I can't stop asking myself why why why did I wait so long to read this book and I'm just so excited to get my hands on the sequel, Desires of the Dead, which is out in my bookstore so I'll be getting that in a few weeks. :)

Rating: 4.9 out of 5 Stars(less)

8 likes · like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, ya

The Body Finder turned out to be quite the little gem. I was in one of those moods were I couldn’t decide what type of book I wanted to read, I just knew that whatever I began reading needed to be something that I could immerse myself in. The Body Finder fit that bill perfectly.

I know, the premise sounds a bit hokey. It does seem significantly impossible to imagine a girl who can sense dead bodies, right? But I’m here to tell you that somehow this author made Violet’s quirky and rather icky tale...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 25, 2013 Ida rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: love-it-like-theres-no-tomorrow, one-of-a-kind, y-u-no-kissy-kissy, that-boy-is-mine, there-goes-my-ovaries

First, let me get this out,

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TQY#^*WYQJHVABDAGKNABSPOQLSAMXVAYOWLSJABDHAYOWIQ*O#IHQBNABDLA?NVDJHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CRAP! I don't know how to stop all these fangirl feels! VIOLET!!!! THAT ENDING MADE ME A NERVOUS WRECK!!! JAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! OH MY GOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH! Y U SO HOT?! Eeeeeeeeeepppppp!

Okay okay, I'll ca...more

5 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2011 Jen at Reading Lark rated it 5 of 5 stars

I recently reread this, in anticipation of the Dead Silence (Body Finder #4) blog tour, and I quickly found myself swept back into Violet and Jay’s world. I absolutely ADORE this series. It has everything for me; romance, mystery, a smidge of paranormal and a healthy slice of suspense... *deep sigh*

Reading about Violet Ambrose and her bizarre ability is just so refreshing to me. She is a normal girl with everyday issues of overprotective parents, best-friend who she secretly loves, and uncontro...more I recently reread this, in anticipation of the Dead Silence (Body Finder #4) blog tour, and I quickly found myself swept back into Violet and Jay’s world. I absolutely ADORE this series. It has everything for me; romance, mystery, a smidge of paranormal and a healthy slice of suspense... *deep sigh*

Reading about Violet Ambrose and her bizarre ability is just so refreshing to me. She is a normal girl with everyday issues of overprotective parents, best-friend who she secretly loves, and uncontrollable hair. I think I fell for Violet before I’d passed a chapter. What I really love though is how she detects the bodies of murdered people and animals. She can feel echoes coming off them, and those echoes can be anything from a nasty smell, to a shrill noise, to a bitter taste. It is just so unexpected, and often those echoes sneak up on her. Usually, it is just the cat giving off the imprint of an echo, walking past after a hard night’s hunt, but one day it isn’t just the cat. One day, she finds a dead girl, and from that point on Violet can hardly feel at ease until she is laid to rest. Then more girls start to disappear and Violet feels like she has to help in some way, because the echo given off by the body is imprinted on the murderer, meaning that Violet is in a very unique position because she can see/smell/hear who it is without them having the slightest idea.

What I loved about The Body Finder was Violet’s support network. Her parents, best friend and uncle (the chief of police) all know about Violet’s ability and they work with her to a certain extent. It is so unusual in young adult fiction to find a teen who does confide, and I loved how they understood through their disapproval of her actions.

The biggest shout out for The Body Finder has to go to Jay though. If I could only have one book boyfriend ever, Jay would be my pick every time. He has been Violet’s best friend since first grade, with her through all the funerals for murdered rabbits and so on, and he adores her. He loves her, she loves him, but neither own up to it for quite a while. The chemistry between them is simply delicious, and would make Jane Austen fans curl their toes in delight. Jay is the perfect combination of goofball and hot. He is funny, loves to banter, and he is very protective of Violet without straying into ‘worrying’ territory.

This series gets my absolute seal of approval, no qualms, I adore it.
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Ariana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, paranormal, sweet-romance, series

Isn't Jay the perfect boyfriend ever? :D

I just LOVED the romance in this book. It felt real for once, you get know why Vi loved Jay - and it was not just a silly crush over his messy hair, or deep eyes or any other thing like that - and you get to love him too for being such a sweet guy. That's because he is so nice to her, always supportive, understanding her (no need for words) and so romantic, and funny.. They are perfect for each other and you get to feel that. For the first time I felt in...more

6 likes · like · see review

Oct 04, 2011 Liliana ♥s Mythology rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural-abilities, favorites, love-the-book-cover

Review also found here: http://lili-lost-in-a-book.blogspot.c...

I love these types of books! Suspense, thriller, mystery, plus a little romance ;) Perfect!

Violet, as the title suggests, has the ability to find bodies...dead ones of course. How? Its kind of hard to explain, but she calls them echos. Its an imprint carried by the dead body, and the killer (if there is one) carries that same imprint.

So there's this killer on a killing spree...super scary (especially since the book takes place in WA...more

6 likes · like · see review

May 12, 2011 Mara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, dropped-series, paranormal, young-adult

My positive remarks about this book happen to be many. The romance is actually healthy, in that it isn't a love at first emotional abuse situation. Violet and Jay slowly fall into love from friendship, which is quite refreshing. Also, the killer is actually convincing. Derting presents his sections of the story in a manner that was intriguing and knowledgeable without becoming ridiculous or campy. Violet is dense, but likable and easy to relate to. Jay doesn't really creep me out. All good thing...more

7 likes · like · see review

Sep 02, 2010 Krys rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs-manuscripts, own, medium-length-book, mystery-suspense, third-person-narrative, young-adult, series-i-love, urban-dark-fantasy-paranormal, series, state-washington-setting

Violet Ambrose has a strange ability. Since she was a little girl she is able to sense the bodies of dead animals. At first this seems to be an innocuous oddity until one day at 8 years of age she finds a body in the woods behind her parents home. Years later, now a junior in high school, a rash of kidnappings/murders flourishes among the local girls and Violet decides to use her unique ability to track down the killer.

Juxtaposed with this intense thriller of a story lies another one... a sweet...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 06, 2010 Michelle Flores rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Original Review - Here!

The Body Finder is a story that could be described as half mystery and half romance. Narrated in two POV, it tells the story of Violet Ambrose, a common girl that owns the very peculiar talent of recognizing the imprint left behind from a killer. It’s in present time in history that a serial killer begins stalking town when Violet understands that it’s in her hand to find such character while dealing with all newfound emotions towards her best friend Jay. I really en...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 17, 2010 Olivia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, books-read-in-2010

This book was so good and so suspenseful, that I couldn't put it down. I loved the authors writing style and how the characters were so well developed. I was captivated from page one.

I could definitely see this being a movie in the future. I will for sure be reading more books by this author. I recommend this book to fans of Laurie Faria Stolarz. They remind me of each other.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Simona rated it 3 of 5 stars

Poznáte ten pocit, keď ste počas i krátko po dočítaní jednoducho nadšení? Časom sa vám hlavou začnú zobrazovať rôzne scény a už z nej nemáte taký dobrý pocit. A neskôr zistíte, že ide o úplne priemernú knihu, ktorú síce milujete, ale vyššie hodnotenie ako 3* jej jednoducho dať nemôžte.

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 28, 2010 Kristy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm having a hard time rating this one.... I don't know, 3 or 4 stars?!?!?!
Going the middle ground with 3.5 (goodreads really needs to let us give half stars!)

This was not at all what I had expected, it was far better. We are following Violet's story, she is a "death finder". It started of where dead animals would create a sound and call to her. Then as an 8 year old girl she found another human, another little girl dead in the woods. Time passes, it's back to only animals until she is 15. There...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2010 Realteenreviews rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Murders :)

Shelves: dream-catchers-list, favorites, living-destinys-list, north-stars-list, shore-whisperers-list

The Gist

When she was a little girl Violet found a body buried in the woods. She doesn’t know how she did this but her body was being drawn to the dead girl’s body. The thing about this girl she found was that she was murdered. Ever since then she has been able to track dead bodies even though ever since she was little she hasn’t found a human body just birds and other animals that her cat has brought home. Now she is a junior and she can’t shake the feeling that this year is going to be differen...more

1 like · like · see review

May 01, 2013 Joanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, ghosts, april-reading-challenge-2013, fantasy

Okay so here we go

I practically got exhausted already reading 4 novels with the lost souls theme (along with my busy week and all); good thing I've chosen great books to read! In saying that, I've actually read The Body Finder after The Archived and don't get me wrong but while my world with Mac felt so young, I enjoyed that more than I did here. Overall though, I still liked my experience with Vi and Jay and the psycho killer. And here's why:

The Plot. There's mystery, there's suspense and there...more Okay so here we go

I practically got exhausted already reading 4 novels with the lost souls theme (along with my busy week and all); good thing I've chosen great books to read! In saying that, I've actually read The Body Finder after The Archived and don't get me wrong but while my world with Mac felt so young, I enjoyed that more than I did here. Overall though, I still liked my experience with Vi and Jay and the psycho killer. And here's why:

The Plot. There's mystery, there's suspense and there's a strange talent. A package!

The Characters. Violet Ambrose, our heroine is love and hate for me. Love - because of how she manages her talent and control it, how brave she is alone yet how also normal she is when she's with Jay, her bestfriend and lover. Hate - because while she's brave enough, she just can't do it all alone safely. She trips a lot and she's always near accidents. Jay, on the other hand, there's nothing to hate from him! This character is not the aloof, arrogant, bad-boy type that I've always craved for because he's more like of a boy-next-door-football-star-player type who always cares for his bestfriend yet he's still a hell hot to love. His character is so nice he can even pass for a guardian angel. Vi's friends Chelsea, Jules and Claire are hilarious - same old high school gossips here and there and pointing at each other jokingly. Vi's got a cool circle of their own without having to be eyed popular. Last but not the least, the mystery antagonist has done a good job for me to hate him and his calmness.

Pacing. Majority gets nice and smooth yet just right for the suspense; but sometimes it gets dragging especially with Vi's part swooning over Jay, fighting over her feelings and examining the echoes. I like how the antagonist's POV's are written though - not much mind-talk, straight to the point.

Ending. Cliffhanger ending (as expected). I'll see how it goes onto the next book but still, it made me hate Vi for being so stupid.

So yeah, I'm willing to continue on with the series and I'm hoping the next ones will not make me hate Vi more. :P(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 05, 2012 Jenna rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of the twilight saga

Recommended to Jenna by: myself

The concept is pretty good; I'm all for girls finding dead bodies.
But I though the book was slow moving (a shame because I love a good FICTITIOUS serial killer) I just didn't like Violet. Something about her just really grated on my nerves. the book wasn't bad it just wasn't really good. Average I guess. I'm going to be honest here though I only read it for the serial killer's notes. Shameful, but thoroughly entertaining. I positively love diving into the minds of insane people.

I also positively...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 15, 2012 Dija rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Dija by: Annie Brewer

Shelves: 2010, childhood-friends-turned-lovers, meh, ya, uf-or-pnr, could-have-been-sooo-much-better, waste-of-anticipation-energy, read-in-2012, my-reviews, first-in-series

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!

As with most books, The Body Finder can be divided into two halves; in this case, the half when Jay and Violet are "just friends" and the half after they become a couple.

First Half:

I loved this part of the book. I adored Jay, loved the relationship between him and Violet, was even intrigued about the mysterious killings. The third person narration took some getting used to though and was mildly irritating at parts. It wasn't entirely unnecessary, but the book would have been...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Mel (who is deeply in love with Hal) rated it 1 of 5 stars

The library lied to me. The shelf I pulled this book from lied to me. The little sticky tag on the spine of this book lied to me. Be warned: this is more a rant on all the ways this book disappointed me. Coherence is not guaranteed. (But those of you who know me probably know not to expect that, anyway.)

So. Two days ago, I was prowling the Action & Suspense-categorised bookshelves in my local library, hopeful for a kick-ass crime story to whisk me into literary oblivion for a while. (I am cu...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2012 Veronika rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-english, i-own

Autorka
Touto knihou vstoupila do knižních vod Kimberly Derting. Kromě série The Body Finder má na svědomí i sérii Pledge.

Děj

The Body Finder si pro nás nachystal detektivní román s paranormálními prvky. Když byla Violet malá, cítila ozvěny mrtvých zvířat a nenabyla klidu, dokud nebyla řádně pohřbena za jejím domem. Tento "dar" nacházet mrtvé získala po své babičce. Když jí bylo osm, našla poprvé mrtvou dívku.

Teď je jí šestnáct a řeší daleko jiné problémy. Po letních prázdninách si najednou uvědom...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 Lauren (Lauren Reads YA) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Fracture, Wake, and Numbers

Shelves: i-own, favorites

Check out my book blog for more reviews!

This book was so much better than I thought it would be. I expected a 3-star book, and it surprised the shit out of me when I started. From the very first page, I was hooked. I’m not a huge fan of paranormal, but this is different in a way. The writing style is so, so beautiful. I just wanted to quote it on Twitter all the time.

The echoes are always different, depending on who’s killed. It can be a sound, a smell, a sight, a taste. It also leaves the same...more Check out my book blog for more reviews!

This book was so much better than I thought it would be. I expected a 3-star book, and it surprised the shit out of me when I started. From the very first page, I was hooked. I’m not a huge fan of paranormal, but this is different in a way. The writing style is so, so beautiful. I just wanted to quote it on Twitter all the time.

The echoes are always different, depending on who’s killed. It can be a sound, a smell, a sight, a taste. It also leaves the same imprint on the murderer, and that is how Violet is trying to find the killer.

Violet was a great main character. She wasn’t whiny or annoying, but actually realistic for a change. Her friends annoyed me a bit though. They were stereotypical and didn’t feel real to me, and I don’t remember them very clearly, which probably means that they didn’t impress me as much.
Jay has been Violet’s best friend for years, but lately he seems different. He has changed in a good way, and Violet is not the only one who’s noticed. She has her hands full, not only struggling to find the person who has been abducting and killing all these girls, but also trying to keep Jay from the popular Lissie Adams, who has been annoyingly interested in him.
I loved Violet and Jay’s relationship, too. Their chemistry was so strong and genuine.

The book switched perspectives between Violet and the killer, and that was something that I absolutely loved about this book. It was refreshing. In most books, you don’t see the bad guy’s perspective, but it has always interested me because I want to know why they do what they do. It doesn’t switch perspectives every chapter, but every now and then, when the murderer is doing something important like picking out a girl, you see his side of the story. It makes the book so much creepier, because you see how much of a sadistic psychopath he is, if you weren’t convinced before.

The ending—oh, the ending. It was suspenseful and unpredictable (to me, at least. But I suck at knowing what’s going to happen next). I can’t wait to read the rest of the series, and Kimberly Derting’s other book The Pledge. Oh, and I can’t believe this is her debut novel. I just can’t. It’s so good.

While and even after reading this, I was seriously scared to go outside alone when it was dark. But it also made me aware of all the creeps walking around, which is a good thing, I think.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
what song ?	3	17	May 19, 2013 01:25pm
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting--> Start 5/8	85	53	May 13, 2013 08:52pm
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting- Starts 2/11	37	16	Feb 22, 2013 07:59am
Gourley Jefferson...: Body Finder Discussion	2	3	Dec 11, 2012 02:59pm
Questions about the end...Spoiler Alert	10	101	Nov 25, 2012 03:28pm
DO NOT VIEW IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK HUGE SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!	10	52	Nov 19, 2012 07:39pm

combine
Other Editions (16)

More editions...

Videos About This Book

6 comments

Genres

Fantasy > Paranormal

545 users

Young Adult

447 users

Mystery

326 users

Romance

305 users

Fantasy

294 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

121 users

Romance > Paranormal Romance

84 users

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

73 users

Young Adult > Teen

61 users

Suspense

60 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Kimberly Derting

Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins), THE PLEDGE trilogy (Simon & Schuster), and THE TAKING trilogy (coming Summer 2014 from 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...more

More about Kimberly Derting...

Books by Kimberly Derting

Desires of the Dead (The Body Finder, #2)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Body Finder

12 trivia questions
5 quizzes

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Body Finder

“He loved her.
Jay Heaton, her best friend since childhood was in love with her. He didn't say it but she knew that it was true.
And the part that really freaked her out, the part that caught her completely off guard, is that he wasn't alone. Because even though she'd been denying it for a long, long time, it had always been there... waiting beneath the surface of their friendship. And now that it was out there was no going back.
And it was so weird to even be thinking it but...... she was in love with him too.” — 196 people liked it

“What are you doing here?" she asked as she slowed from a jog to a walk and placed her hands on her hips. It would take her a few minutes to get her breathing back to normal. Longer if he kept smiling at her like that.
He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. What about you?"
She opted for the obvious and filled her voice with as much sarcasm as she could. "I live here, actually” — 159 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Body Finder
avg rating	preview: The Body Finder Goodreads rating: 4.03 (23782 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6261522-the-body-finder?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358266631l/6261522.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6261522-the-body-finder?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting[/url]

The Body Finder (The Body Finder #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website