Review: Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

The Synopsis:
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.




My Thoughts:
Earlier this year, I read the first book, The Body Finder, and was instantly hooked into this series.  I began and finished The Body Finder in one day--the mystery and suspense perfectly written and executed by the characters.  This series isn't a genre you don't usually see on the YA shelves, and I'm not exactly sure why.  I'm a total murder/crime lover at heart.  And I especially liked the first book.  I thought it was so cool to get into the serial killer's mind and see why he did the things that he did.  It made sense.
Violet is an interesting character.  Although she does not act out of character very ofter, she tends to do very stupid things and get herself in bad situations.  It's not that she can help it or anything, but it can be infuriating watching from the sidelines as she works out things for herself and solves mystery.  Sometimes, she even acted like a kid, but then I also have to consider she only is a sixteen year old girl with a fickle mind.  What I really admire about her character is how fearless she is, even if her fearlessness can get her into trouble sometimes.  And her fearlessness pretty much screwed her up once she attracts the attention of the FBI.  Yeah, that can't be good.
One thing that I liked about this book was letting Chelsea, one of Violet's friends, shine a little more in this book.  We don't see much of Violet's friends in this book, or even the first book, and I wish they were.  Chelsea, especially, is a riot.  I think it's partially because I have a friend that is pretty similar to her, but she's just one of those characters that I really enjoy to watch on the pages.  To break it down, more Chelsea = happier me.
Instead of a serial killer on the loose, there's more of a stalker hanging out in the shadows.  Although I found it a bit weird, I didn't get the very creeped out kind of vibe from Violet.  That could be because she's not easily scared by much, but I would have thought there would have been more of a creep factor.  And please don't get me wrong because it seems that Kimberly Derting is the queen of making mysterious and creepy books.  She surely is a master of it.  And, of course, there's more than just a stalker out there.  Something very dangerous, too.
In all honesty, I found the first book more interesting than this one.  I'm just choosing favorites here, mind you.  I mean, the first book had me at the edge of the seat with a killer headache.  I read that book with little to no disruption and had my adrenaline going on its own little roller coaster ride.  That book was awesome.  And so was this one.  I didn't find myself biting my nails or anything, but I surely was engrossed with its dark mysteries and a budding romance, full with its ups and downs.  Nothing like your average day teenage drama to throw in there, too, as Violet tries to hunt down dead bodies, even though how morbid that sounds. 
Overall, I gave this book four out of five stars.  I loved the intricacy of the plot, and the imagery wasn't that bad, either.  If one there was one thing that really put me off was that her parents weren't as commanding and strict as I'd think them to be since their daughter since to attract danger no matter where she goes.  Other than that, I thought Desires of the Dead was a gripping and thrilling read that I think would appeal to the inner detective in all of us.