Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

So, I really did not wait that long before going out and finding the sequel to Derting’s The Body Finder. I don’t think it was as good. If you don’t know what I’m talking about in my review, please read my earlier posting called The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, where I reviewed the first book in the series.

It starts off not too long after the last one finished. Violet is still finding dead people, and someone from the FBI doesn’t take too long in figuring out that Violet has a gift. She is soon caught up in a couple of murders, one involving the family of her boyfriend’s new best friend. And because Violet is now dating Jay, she feels like she cannot confide in him the same way as she did before when they were just friends. Violet does a lot of things on her own in this book. And there’s a lot of extra side teen drama with her friends and the new guy (Jay’s new bff). There’s even a fun weekend getaway in the snowy woods.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the whole girl with dark powers thing. And I love that she’s finally dating Jay. And I love that she never lets Jay boss her around and tell her what to do. She wouldn’t even speak to him for a week when he said he didn’t believe her about something. So, I love that she stands up for what she believes in. She’s strong to go through everything she does. She’s just kind of dumb. And there were moments in this book, where I was so annoyed by her rash, dumb decisions that the awesomeness that was the dark supernatural murder solving was almost not worth it. 

When I say dumb, I mean that Violet kept repeating the same mistakes she made from the beginning in book 1. Characters really need to grow and learn from past mistakes for me to not to think of them as dumb. Why does she continue to go off in the woods by herself? Why does she not confide in the people who love and support her? She kept saying she didn’t want to worry them, but really, I felt like screaming “Who cares? You are the kid. They are supposed to worry about you.” And how many more times does Jay need to prove himself before you can trust him?

Also, my favorite thing about book 1 was the back and forth point of views between Violet and the killer. Here, the back and forth is between Violet and another girl, who granted has a tough life, but who just isn’t as interesting as the killer from book 1.

So yes, the main character bothered me more in this book than in the previous one. And there was no interesting point of view side story of the killer. But other than that, I did read it in one sitting. I still needed to know the outcome and I still hoped the best for all the characters involved.  I give it a 6/10.