Review--The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

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

Before, Violet's morbid ability to sense the dead led her to uncover dark murders and long-buried secrets in her small town. Now that she's working with a special investigative team, Violet hopes she can help even more people--whether by saving a life or catching a killer.

Although she's relieved to finally be honest about what she can do, her instant connection with her mysterious partner, Rafe, is both confusing and unsettling, and their unique bond creates tension with her boyfriend, Jay. When she discovers the body of a college student murdered by "the collector," Violet refuses to give up on the case. With her own relationship on the line, Violet doesn't realize that the serial killer is looking to add to his collection and that she may have caught his eye. Will the life Violet has to save be her own?
 

For a series that doesn't have any strong, concrete paranormal elements, The Body Finder series is truly freaking awesome and definitely one I enjoy with each and every edition! Kimberly Derting's The Last Echo is definitely another notch on her belt for being an all time awesome read!

This time around, we see Violet joining Sara and her league of special teenagers finding missing people--usually dead--and solving the impossible. This time, the culprit is a man being dubbed at the Collector. And he's totally freaky. As always, I am blown away by how freaking scary Kimberly can write her villains. As in previous books, we get to be in the killer's point of view (third person) along side Violet's (third person). And seriously, every chapter he had gave me the creeps! He was totally skeevy and deranged, the worst kind of psychopath!

Of course, that just means Kimberly is a freaking fantastic author!! To write a character's pov like that takes talent! I don't think I could ever write my villains as creepily like that. Best to stick with the heroine's first person point of view!

Of course, as the cover description mentions, Violet becomes a target for the Collector. Even though she doesn't match his usual "type", he is drawn to her and wants her. He craves for happiness and a completion he longs to find with love. You don't even have to know that this poor guy was traumatized somewhere down the line that has made him into the psychopath that he has become.

Of course, that's not the only killer who has his eyes on Violet. Except this one doesn't want to her to love him as he loves her, he just wants to kill her. Nice, huh?

There's a lot of character development in this one. Last time--and it's been soooo long since I read Desires of the Dead as an ARC that I cannot remember much--Violet was just learning about Sara and her group of teens. We didn't know much about them other than that they had their own unique talents and helped Sara solve cases that they received from some unknown government dude. Well, we get a little more insight on a few of them. Particularly, Gemma, Sara and Rafe.

I enjoyed learning more about some of these guys, they were pretty mysterious when we first met them and we get some totally awesome new insights. Rafe, naturally, is the most interesting since he and Violet are partners of a sort. There's definitely tension between these two, and it amazes me how Violet cannot always see it. Especially when people are telling her in subtle ways, without ever giving name to it.

There were a few romantic interludes with Violet and Jay. I wished Jay could've been around more, but he wasn't really. He's not apart of the "gifted teens" group and isn't really supposed to know all he does. But Violet won't let go of him nor he her. I admire their devotion to one another. Their romance is the sweet type, not the fiery kind we see with some other YA titles. And yet, I still like this kind of romance. While I don't like "romance" books, I do like romance in my books. It has a different level of intensity in some ways. Violet and Jay are a very sweet couple, yet I am wondering what will happen between them after this current book's ending.

The ending, naturally was stellar! Violet is once again in danger of the murderer that has been lurking about. Seriously makes you reconsider living near Seattle--or the particular city Violet lives in, can't recall if it's mentioned, but know she drives to Seattle to the Center--since murderers tend to hang out there! And there was a surprising and eerie twist to the end that Violet doesn't learn about until a little later. Another chilling moment kind! And what I dubbed as the "final-final ending" was also shocking! It was just a jaw dropping kind of shock! Cannot wait to read the next one in this series, which is only a few months away!

The Last Echo is definitely the best in the series to date! While there's always the magic and awesome-ness of the first book, this one was just freaking fantabulous! Kimberly writes an awesome pseudo mystery where we get to be in both the heroine and villain's heads that gives deeper insight to the story! If you're a mystery fan, I would recommend this one. It's different from the cut and clear "who-done-it" mysteries, but is still a fantastic kind of read that should not be passed up!


Overall rating 5/5 stars