The Body Finder

The Body Finder is the first novel written by Kimberly Derting.    Violet Ambrose is a body finder  — not because she wants to be, but because she sees colors, hears echoes, and tastes things that no one else does.    These are indications that she is near the body of someone or something that has been murdered or near a person who has killed something or someone.    The killer may be a murderer, but also may simply be a hunter, a military veteran, or a police officer like her Uncle Stephen, chief of their small city’s force.    Violet’s parents, her Uncle and Aunt, and Jay, her best friend since age 6,  are the only ones who know about this “gift” and are very supportive.    Violet found her first human body when she was eight while she and her father were exploring the woods behind their home.    As Violet and Jay begin their junior year of high school, Violet is overcome with what she considers an irrational case of love for Jay who has greatly matured during the summer.    She strives to keep her feelings limited to the “best friend” kind and not let Jay know.   While celebrating back to school with the annual bash at the lake house of friend Gabrielle’s grandmother,  Violet is drawn to the body of a young girl in the edge of the lake.    The town begins to be worried about their daughters who are no longer allowed out alone even though this girl was from a neighboring town.    When another girl goes missing from just down the street, and then another is missing from a teen party Violet was attending, everyone realizes there is a serial killer.    Violet decides she must find this killer herself using her gift.     She forces Jay to be her complicit partner in this search as she deliberately places herself in danger.    Read and find out what happens – with the killer, with the relationship of Violet and Jay, and with other friends and relatives.     This novel will truly keep your attention.