Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

(TO READ MY REVIEW OF THE BODY FINDER CLICK HERE)

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.

Review:

I loved loved loved this book! Just as with its predecessor, Desires of the Dead is stunning on all counts. It's romantic, mysterious, suspenseful, funny, and very creative. Kimberly Derting'swriting is so fantastic, and her characters all so three-dimensional with such different and pronounced personalties that they, the plot, and the books themselves are so completely unforgettable.

Violet comes off just as strong as before, and her eerie ability becomes even more eerie in this novel, when it begins to involve characters closer to her and Jay. Violet's choice of working for someone, using her ability purposely to find murdered people and their killers, was easy to sympathize with--could you really tell someone something you'd spent your entire life keeping a secret, if it would benefit others? Even if it was something as dark as Violet's ability?

Jay is so sweet and protective--the ideal boyfriend/best friend--that you just have to love him, and I swear, I'm more in love with him than Violet is. The normal (well, semi-normal; most of us don't have to deal with the prospect of murderers coming and killing us,) issues that him and Violet face help with building the strong romantic focus, make their relationship very realistic and paced just right, unlike quite a few other young adult fiction novels of today.

I have to say, Derting does a fantastic job--even better, I think, than Kiersten White (author of Paranormalcy)--with supporting character development. My favorite character, actually, is Chelsea, Violet's closest girl friend. She's absolutely hilarious, and definitely has the most memorable personality in the two books. She's just so snarky and witty; I completely adore her! Claire is so sweet an innocent, too, that it just makes me laugh.

As with the first book, I really enjoyed the brief chapters in the supposed "killer"'s perspective, because you feel connected with her on a certain level, and sympathize with her emotions and the circumstances in which she lives . . . you can almost understand why she does the things she does. This adds to the book's suspense, because, in some ways, you almost wish that what it's telling you is wrong--she cant really be the killer, can she? This aspect of the book was very unpredictable, because you never really knew--not until the very, very end.

The seeds of doubt the events in the book planted in my mind drove me crazy with suspense and kept me reading until late at night, unable to stop. The romance reels you in from the very start, and the suspense doesn't let you go. I read for hours on end, staying up as late as I could, putting my homework aside, all along not even realizing how fast I sped through it, how quickly I passed each chapter mark. All in all, Desires of the Dead is another masterpiece by Kimberly Derting!

These books would be fantastic for fans of the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series by Meg Cabot, Melissa Marr's stunning Wicked Lovely novels, and the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong.

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