Novel Review: The Last Echo (The Body Finder, #3) by Kimberly Derting

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Paranormal Thriller/Romance

Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins)

Release Date: 2012

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In the end, all that’s left is an echo.

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....

The Cover:

I like all of the covers in this series. They're simple and eye-catching and very pretty. They give a good feel of the novels, too.

Review:

I’ve been meaning to read this book forever, but I finally got to it. And I’m glad I did.

I was a little under enthused with the last book, as it was a bit forgettable. This book was better, I’m happy to say.

The romance was a little downplayed in emotion, though. I still like Jay, but I was definitely feeling the attraction between Violet and Rafe, and surprisingly even seeing the good side of them being together instead. But mostly the romance, the feelings on Violet’s side, just weren’t really coming through for me. I wanted them to, but I wasn’t fully feeling it.

I didn’t remember anything about Rafe or Sara from the previous book. But I liked them. I liked most of the gang, although Gemma’s backstory, Derting’s trying to give her a background and reason, didn’t really work for me. She was still a jerk, and I didn’t really understand why. I definitely saw why Violet would stay with them, though. She related to them in a way that she doesn’t with anyone else, and she needs that.

The mystery in this book, the murderer, was very powerful, though. I saw why he was the way he was, and was still thoroughly creeped out by him. After everything that happened with Violet and him, I understand her decisions. It was intense and violent and scarring. Which makes the ending even more exciting, more interesting.

I believe the next book is the last, and I’m interested to see what happens in it.