Some good developments in this installment. Violet, for the most part, is growing, although she still makes some silly decisions, and I don't always understand her motives Why, for example, would she tell Dr. Lee to stay away from Chelsea if she suspects Chelsea may be able to see imprints too? She's said over and over that Dr. Lee has helped her, in spite of her reservations about him. . One of my other goodreads friends said something about reading books about teenagers and then being frustrated with the characters when they act like teenagers, and I think that applies to my attitude toward our heroine here. Her whole thing about wanting Jay but kind of wanting Rafe too isn't anything out of the ordinary for a teenage girl, but I still keep wanting to yell at her to just pick a dude and stick with her decision. And she has, really, but Derting can't resist putting in niggling doubts about Rafe. I'm glad, at least, there wasn't a full-blown love triangle in this book, which I was expecting after the last book when Violet started having confusing feelings about Rafe. I'm also glad my other worry didn't come true-that Violet would be lying to everyone the whole book about still being a part of the Center. Her turning over a new leaf and telling people the truth was actually very refreshing

So with all the good, I still wasn't feeling it like I had in the earlier books. I'm not sure if that's due to Derting's writing or just to the fact that I recently finished something that knocked my socks off. This paled in comparison but wasn't in itself a bad book.

For Body Finder fans, I'd say it's worth reading. The author is building on Violet's gift and the group she's joined, as well as developing character relationships. Jay had a little more to do in this book than in the previous one, but I'd still like to see more of him. The mystery sort of took a back seat to all the other stuff going on, but it was OK too. I was glad to see that the author wasn't as predictable as I expected her to be this time around, and I plan to stick with the series. ( )

Dead Silence (The Body Finder #4) by Kimberly Derting is just as good as the rest of the series! Violet, who can feel the murdered by an 'echo' imprint on the murdered and on the murderer, now has her own imprint. She also has to help a classmate who is accused of murder. She knows he did not do it, she can see no imprint on him. No one else can be sure but her. Trying to find the killer by tracking the imprints on the killer leads her into dangerous situations not only for her but for her friends. Very good plot, good suspense, and love the concept. I love her books! ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Great book full of suspense, romance, and fantastic characters. The Body Finder series is one of my all time favorite young adult mysteries ever!

Opening Sentence: Jay hit the door with his shoulder, but it didn’t splinter beneath his weight or anything so dramatic.

The Review:

Violet has finally felt that she is in more control of her ability to find the bodies of the murder victims and their killers. But now she has an imprint of her own and she feels like her control is starting to slip. She wants nothing more than to finish her senior year and spend time with her boyfriend, Jay. However, the people that run the special crime unit she is a part of won’t let her quit and they have made threats to the people she cares about most.

Violet is drawn to a horrific murder scene where a family was brutally killed. One of her friends becomes a suspect and to clear his name she must find the true killer. As the killing spree continues, Violet must use her unique ability to try and tract the madman that has to be stopped. As she gets closer she realizes that she’s not just putting herself in danger, but all those she cares about as well.

Violet is just as cute as she was in the first book. From the very beginning of this series, I felt a huge connection with Violet. She was so easy to love with her sweet demeanor and loyalty. In true Violet fashion she tends to make some dumb mistakes and gets herself into unfortunate situations, but her flaws just make her more likeable. She grows so much as a person throughout the series and it was wonderful to see the amazing woman she has become. I am so sad to see the end of her journey and I will really miss her.

Jay is such a stud! He is such a great guy and the way he treats not only Violet, but everyone, really is so endearing. He is one of those guys that is always trying to help whenever he can and makes everyone feel good about themselves. His relationship with Violet hasn’t been perfect, but it has been realistic. I wish that there would have been a few more Jay moments in the story, but the parts that he did have were perfect and he has become one of my favorite book boys.

I loved this series and I am really sad to see it end. Just like its predecessors, Dead Silence was brimming with suspense, romance, and creepy serial killers. The characters that Derting created are so engaging and easy to connect with. The plot is full of intrigue and keeps you guessing until the very end. I actually binge read the whole series this week and found that I couldn’t put it down until I was finished. There were a few things I didn’t like about this book. The first one being that there was another love interest for Violet. I felt that it was completely unnecessary and added drama that was slightly annoying. The second thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the ending. It’s not a bad ending but it was left very open ended and I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. I don’t mind leaving some things up to the imagination but instead of filling satisfied like I wanted to, I was left wanting so much more. I don’t know if there will be anymore books in this series, but I hope that there is or at least a spin off series with some of the secondary characters because I feel like the story isn’t quite finished. With all of that being said, I still really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend this series to anyone that enjoys a good mystery.

Notable Scene:

She’d known there would be bodies. Of course she’d known it, she told herself, as she shoved her palm against her mouth to keep from screaming out loud.

She stayed frozen like that, with her hand stuffed in her mouth as she leaned against the window for several long seconds … minutes … or possibly hours.

She couldn’t tear her gaze away from them.

All three of them.

Her vision was nearly blocked now as the colors of the kaleidoscope echo swirled and whorled and erupted in front of her eyes, leaving only gaps through which she could see.

But it was enough.

She could make out their sightless eyes. And their gaping wounds. And exposed throats.

FTC Advisory: HarperCollins provided me with a copy of Dead Silence. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

I’m not sure if this is the final installment or not? It certainly didn’t read like the final, but I checked the author’s website and couldn’t find any mention of a fifth book.

My biggest issue with this book and the reason it only got three stars, was that it was so much more violent than all the others. They have all dealt with murders, serial killers, or kidnappers yet the author never went into much detail about how the victims had been killed. I think there may have been one mention of a strangling but that’s all I recall. For that reason, I was caught off gaurd by how detailed and graphic the murders were this time around.

As always there are chapters from the killers POV scattered throughout. While there didn’t seem to be as many of these chapters as in the other books, they were much more dark & twisted causing me to skim over and skip large portions of his chapters.

While book three pretty much pushed aside all mentions of school or Vi’s original cast of friends (Chelsea, Jules, & Claire) that we came to know in the first two books in favor of The Center and Vi’s new friends (Rafe, Krystal, Gemma), this book brought it all back. It focused on the school setting, and worked to weave both casts of friends together, which was nice. I really liked getting to know Chelsea better and more indepth than ever before. We get a little teaser of something at the end that has me looking forward to where things will go for her character as the series continues.

Overall, I was dissapointed in the darker turn this book took, but I’m hoping if there is another book (PLEASE, let there be another book!) that it will be a little less graphic and answer some of the questions I have swirling around in my mind concerning Chelsea and the Center. ( )

What I Loved
Endings
As much as I hate saying goodbye to a series, I'm also glad to read an ending, however the book was left with a little cliffhanger leaving the possibility of coming back to the series.
Creepy
I'm not much of a scary book reader, but I will read this series and I do completely enjoy Kim's brand of twisted tellings. Once again Kim has managed to creep me out and think twice about being around people.
Story
Another great book in this series. Filled with fun (since I'm no longer at this age) high school drama, murderous suspense, teenage romance and a story to keep the pages easily turning.

Didn't Like
This is the end of the series, so sad about that. I truly do hope Kim comes back to this series one day, I would love more books in this creepy series. Even the ending left a little cliffhanger that suggested future books.

Recommendation
A must read series, but be prepared to be scared and creeped out after reading. ( )