Thursday, March 3, 2011

Review: Desires of the Dead

Desires of the Dead
By Kimberly Derting
Publication date: February 15, 2011

My review:

Violet's ability to sense the "echoes" of those who have died violently is a secret she closely guards. Only her family and her best friend turned boyfriend Jay know about it. Using her ability to solve a crime nearly cost Violet her life before. Now, someone who works with the FBI appears to have found out about her and Violet must decide if she wants to use her ability to aid them. It isn't an easy decision to make however and Violet's life becomes more complicated when a new family arrives in town. Jay becomes friends with Mike but Violet doesn't like feeling like a third wheel, especially when Mike's sister Megan appears to have an interest in Jay. When Violet receives threatening messages, she suspects Megan is involved. There is a mystery surrounding that family that someone would kill to keep buried...

Desires of the Dead lacks the level of suspense of The Body Finder. The killer's identity seems obvious and I didn't find any unexpected plot twists. While there are creepy scenes and Violet is in danger, the missing ingredient is the mystery. What makes this novel still enjoyable is the romance between Jay and Violet. The romantic tension is stronger than ever as Violet and Jay navigate the changes in their relationship. Their friendship has had to weather challenges but now that they are dating it isn't exactly smooth sailing as they figure out how to communicate with each other. I think that was portrayed very well.  

Overall I thought this was a good sequel although a bit disappointing when compared to the first book. I liked the introduction of a new character who may have similar abilities to Violet's and I think the series is heading in an interesting direction.While not as good as The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead is still an entertaining paranormal suspense novel and I look forward to reading book three. 

Readalikes: The Mark by Jen Nadol, Meridian by Amber Kizer, Deception by Lee Nichols, The Third Eye by Lois Duncan


Note: I read and reviewed this ARC as part of an ARC tour courtesy of Star Book Tours.

2 comments:

  1. I completely agree that this one was good, but not as good as TBF. I do love Jay and Violet's relationship though. That was the best part. I am interested to see where the series is going to go as well. Great review, Christina!

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  2. I agree that Desires of the Dead lacked the tension and suspense that The Boy Finder did, but I still enjoyed seeing more of Jay and Violet's romance. Great review!

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