Published 16 March 2010
In the spirit of full honesty, I will say that I never planned on buying this book. It just wasn't something that appealed to me as a reader, however, this all changed after reading Lenore's review. She made the book sound like something it would be shameful to pass up. So, I went and ordered myself a copy. This is one of the reasons why I love reviews, because one review changed my whole perspective on a book that never appeared on my radar. Did I love it as much as I thought I would based on her review? why yes I did.
The Body Finder is a well written first novel, with splashes of narrative from the serial killers as well as our protagonist. However, given the premise of the story and the unique gift that Violet is marred with, this is not the thriller you would expect. No, this story strayed away from the horror and potential violence that could have been written into the story, and swerved more towards a character driven plot. For me, this wasn't so much a book about a young girl who has the ability to sense and locate the dead, which sounds scary and weird. No, this was a love story. The more bitter sweet moments are the ones that I remember from the novel.
Violet and her best friend Jay have know each other since they were children. I loved that the relationship displayed to us in the book spanned over many years, interspersed with memories from when they were children, memories which have built them into the characters we see in the book. This was a nice touch, because it gave me as a reader more knowledge about their past, like they were letting me in on a secret. Their behaviour towards each other was never dramatic or far fetched, it was very real, and showed perfectly how a relationship between friends can change into something more. Tension filled scenes are my favourite kind, and The Body Finder had plenty of them, especially when you realise that both Jay and Violet feel the same way, but have yet to admit it to each other.
The one thing that sticks out in my mind as an amazing character trait was the fact that Violet was not afraid of her ability. It wasn't something she freaked out about, it wasn't something she spent 50 pages moping about, it was something she embraced, because it was part of herself. Maybe this is because its not something she inflicted on others, rather than something she was just able to do. She was a very strong and resilient character.
The Body Finder is one of those books that gets under your skin, and its not the plot line that kept me hooked. It was the narrative and behaviour of the characters, which morphed this into a character driven novel that I think everyone would enjoy. This is a must read.
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