Review: Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Title: Desires of the Dead (Body Finder, #2)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Pages: 368
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: February 15, 2011

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

When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well.

My Thoughts (contains some minor spoilers):

Desires of the Dead starts off a few months after The Body Finder. Everything seems to have pretty much returned to normal for Violet after the incident during the Homecoming dance. Things change, though, when she discovers the body of a young boy stashed in a cargo ship container in Seattle. Violet is later contacted by the FBI, who want to know exactly how she managed to locate the body. This is when Violet's problems begin.

It's hard not to compare this book with The Body Finder. Both books are similar in that there's chapters for the 'stalker' and Violet needs to figure out that person's identity before an innocent person gets hurt or even killed. Some of the differences in this book are that there's a couple new characters and Violet is much more secretive. I will admit that those are the reasons I didn't love it like I did the previous book. Of course new characters are to be expected, but I didn't have much of a feel for them. The brother and sister felt random. And the FBI characters seemed really important, but they didn't get much scenes. (Maybe the author is saving them for a third book?) As for Violet and her secrets, I got pretty annoyed with her when she kept information from everyone, including Jay. Those secrets just led to more problems and caused her to be upset throughout the book. Sometimes it was a bit too much.

There were some other issues I had with the book, but they were minor compared to how I felt about the new characters and the secrets. And while I didn't love it as much as The Body Finder, I did enjoy Desires of the Dead overall. The moments between Violet and Jay were probably my favorite parts to read. I would recommend this sequel to those who liked The Body Finder and want to know what happens next with Violet (and Jay).

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Kimberly Derting for the ARC!