Review : Desires Of The Dead by Kimberly Derting

Summary (from Goodreads)

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.

Personal Thoughts

I read The Body Finder some time back and I enjoyed the book. Because of that, I was very excited to jump into the second book, Desires Of The Dead. However, I felt like the book didn't really satisfy as a sequel and I ended up being disappointed.

Violet is still recovering from the murder cases that she dealt with last year when she comes across yet another body of a young boy who was kidnapped some time back. In doing so, she attracts the attention of the FBI. At the same time, someone keeps sending Violet threatening messages.

When I read a sequel, I expect a main character to have grown emotionally from the previous book. Violet, in my opinion, went downhill instead of going uphill. She acted incredibly stupid and took rash and hasty decisions that made her seem immature. You would have thought that with everything she had gone through in the previous book, she wouldn't ever go out alone in search of dead bodies, but no, Violet constantly kept going out in the middle of the night. I was incredibly frustrated by her behavior. On top of that, she never talked about the bodies that she found with members of her family or her boyfriend, all of whom knew about her secret abilities. These very people were a constant support and help to her in the previous book and it's unfathomable why she refused to share her discoveries with them. Even when it came to Jay, she acted hypocritical and childish. She clearly didn't trust him with her secrets, but when she confessed to him about the possible identity of her stalker, he had a tough time believing it and he told her that. What did our dear Violet do ? She threw a fit about how Jay did not trust her and broke up with him ! I was like "Really, Violet ?" People in relationships have disagreements, but does that mean you break up with them when you have differing opinions ?

The romance in The Body Finder was really cute. In Desires Of The Dead, it became downright sappy and completely annoying. All Violet and Jay did was making out on every occasion. Like I mentioned above, Violet had huge trust issues when it came to Jay. I couldn't understand why. He was a good guy and he was her best friend for such a long time. Because of that, their relationship seemed unrealistic. A relationship isn't only about kisses and dates, it's also about trust. It, also, annoyed me how Violet became jealous of Jay's new friend, Michael. She kept saying that she had to compete for Jay's affection now. Seriously, did she expect him to be constantly around her ? Hypocritical, considering the fact that she refused to share her secrets with him. Plus, I thought Jay was a little too overprotective of Violet. There was basically no chemistry between the characters and overall, it was a let-down.

I even found the plot line to be bland this time around. It was very predictable and I had already guessed the guilty party early on. One aspect that I love when I read murder/mystery books, is the actual element of suspense. Desires Of The Dead failed in that department. While the previous book was highly entertaining, this one ended up being a bore. There was nothing really captivating about the whole story. The fact that Violet's parents were so absent throughout the book was also very concerning. I didn't understand how they weren't aware that their daughter often wandered about late at night. One other thing that bugged me was the whole thing with the FBI. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the FBI supposed to obtain permission from the parents before they can question a minor ? This book had my eyes rolling continuously throughout my reading !

I expected something more epic from Desires Of The Dead. I wanted it to be more exciting and enthralling than it was. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I will give the third book a shot since I already purchased my copy, but I don't have high hopes. If Violet keeps acting immature in that one, it might end up being a DNF for me.

Rating

Cover : 3/5

Plot : 2/5

Characters : 1/5

Writing : 3/5