Review: Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Title: Desires of the Dead

Author: Kimberly Derting

Series: The Body Finder #2

Publisher: HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins

Publication Date: February 15, 2011

Pages: 368

Source: Library

From Goodreads:

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 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.

***

I don’t know why it took me so long to read Desires of the Dead because I really enjoyed The Body Finder (see my review), but I finally got around to it. And I’ll be honest – it was just okay.

Now hold on. This isn’t a negative review. I liked Desires of the Dead, but I found it a little underwhelming. There were definite improvements that were made, but then some parts went backwards for me. Let me explain…

*Improvement #1: The ending. This was one of my biggest “mehs” about The Body Finder, but Desires of the Dead brought it on in a big way.

*Improvement #2: More engagement with the parental units. I was happy to see that Violet’s mom and dad actually played more of a role in her life in DotD. She’s kind of going through some major shiz – her parents need to be around more.

So now on to my mehs…

*Meh #1: The relationship between Jay and Violet. It became diluted and not as much as a focus in the story. Part of the reason I liked The Body Finder so much was because of the chemistry between Jay and Violet. This totally took a backseat in DotD and made me have a major sad face :(

*Meh #2: “Dead” parts of the story. At some points I felt like nothing was happening with the characters or the storyline when all I wanted was some creepiness and excitement.

So yes, Desires of the Dead has its pros and cons, but overall it was an enjoyable book that I would suggest reading at some point, especially if you enjoyed The Body Finder.

PS – I would highly suggest reading The Pledge by Kimberly Derting (see my review), which is a different series but seriously AWESOME.