Author: Kimberly Derting
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (April 17, 2012)
Book Synopsis: Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet's talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers.
Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it's Violet's job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by "the girlfriend collector" she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new "relationship" and Violet may have caught his eye....
First Impressions: The first two books in the Body Finder series were completely awesome, so I was very happy to receive The Last Echo for review! Despite what its name suggests, this is NOT the last book in the series, thank goodness. I’m not quite ready to be done with these books just yet. The characters are way too much fun! I also love the cover art on this new edition and I think it complements the other books very well.
First 50 Pages: The Last Echo starts off right where Desires of the Dead left off and Violet Ambrose has begun working with Sara Priest and the team of psychic teens at the Center. It follows the same basic blueprint as the first two books in the series. It is written in the third person perspective from two different characters: Violet and the new killer, The Girlfriend Collector. Like all of Kimberly’s books, it had me hooked right in from page one until the end. There is so much action, suspense and mystery involved with each of these books; it is hard to put back down once you have begun to read them.
Characters & Plot: I love each of these books because they have the ability to almost stand entirely on their own. In each book, new characters, murderers, and killers are introduced which makes each book that much more exciting and different from other books.
Violet is very much becoming a cool character. It is fun to watch her grow and learn how to deal with this life she has to live. Violet has this amazing, yet totally creepy, ability of being able to see imprints of the dead on murderers. I guess that is one way of being able to spot a psycho, right? In this book, we also get to know the other characters at the Center, including Sam, Sarah, Rafe, Gemma, and Krystal. Each character has their own unique ability, with some being completely different from Violet’s ability. While other characters are able to “predict” the future, Violet’s special ability only really lets her see things after they happen, which is why she needs the others to help sort things out.
The parts in this book that are from the killer’s point of view were amazing and rather frightening all at the same time. Totally creepy to the max! It is kind of scary being able to see inside the mind of a murderer as they go through the actions they take to kill someone, or are planning on killing someone. The murderer in this book is The Girlfriend Collector, who does pretty much what his name implies. He wants to find a girl who truly loves him and he won’t stop killing until he finds the girl who does. Wouldn’t it just be easier and less messy to break up and move on? This guy is a major loony!
I can’t forget about the romance! I know the burning question everyone wants to know about The Calling: Does Violet hook up with mysterious Rafe? Or does she stay with swoon-worthy boyfriend Jay? I’m not going to spoil the surprise here! What I will say is that we learn more about Rafe in this book then the previous and he also makes more appearances. There is SOMETHING going on and I have a feeling more is going to happen with Rafe in the next book. I could be wrong, but I just have a sneaking suspicion! I do love the scenes in the book with Jay though. He is just so sweet, but I can see Violet being with either boy by the end of the series. I’ll leave it at that!
Final Thoughts: I loved this book! It was totally worth the wait and I’m excited to see what the next book will bring. The Last Echo leaves off with a cliff-hanger that made me want to scream and cry at the same time because I know the next book won’t be out for at least a year. Boo! You really must read this series because all of the books are great and I never can find anything to complain about!
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I have the first book of the Body Finder series on my to-read list, it's been there for so long! But that might not be a bad thing, I can get them all and read them one after each other!
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