The Body Finder (The Body Finder, #1)

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 the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself. Publishers Weekly Derting's first novel demonstrates unusual skill in weaving together contemporary teenage preoccupations with its paranormal plot twist. Violet is starting 11th grade with a beatup Honda, a vow to get to class on time, and a crush on her longtime best friend, Jay. She's also learned to cope with an eerie skill inherited from her grandmother—the ability to hear the “echo” left behind by those who have died violently. Usually this means chucking the cat outside if it's killed a mouse, but when the bodies of girls turn up, Violet turns away from concerns about the upcoming homecoming dance and becomes determined to use her ability to find the murderer. The third-person narration views Violet and the events of the book with a removed, thoughtful quality (“Coincidence. Chance. These were the words she counted on to create a veil of deceit, to keep her 'gift' a secret”), but Violet's thoughts and words feel true to her age and personality. Short, interspersed sections from the perspective of the killer add a creepy, page-turning quality. A strong debut from a promising author. Ages 14-up. (Mar.) 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 the world ... and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer -- and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer ... she might become his next prey 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 bodiesor at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murdererand Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself. The first book in the Body Finder series from Kimberly Derting is equal parts romance and mystery. Sixteen-year-old Violet is hiding two secrets. The first is her confusing new feelings for her childhood best friend Jay. The second is her unusual ability to sense the dead...and the people who killed them. Violet has never considered her morbid ability to be a gift, but when a serial killer begins terrorizing her small town, Violet realizes she may be the only person who can stop him. Ever protective of her, Jay agrees to help Violet, and as they search, Violet realizes she isn’t the only one whose emotions have changed. But as they fall in love, Violet is also getting closer and closer to discovering the killer...and becoming his prey herself. The Body Finder is the compulsive first book in the four-book Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting. High school junior Violet uses her uncanny ability to sense murderers and their victims to try to stop a serial killer who is terrorizing her town, and although her best friend and would-be boyfriend Jay promises to keep her safe, she becomes a target.