The Last Echo by Kimberly DertingPages: 360
Grade: 9+ (violence)
Series: The Body Finder (#3)
Publisher: Harper Collins
Source: Borrowed from the Library
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Description: 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...
Thoughts: I totally love Kimberly Derting’s writing and I’ve been a big fan of The Body Finder series so far. Jay and Violet are one of my favorite YA couples and I dig that, despite the trend in paranormal for orphans or bad home lives, Violet’s family is tight knit and super supportive. I also like that the focus is always on the mystery and less on the paranormal (even if Violet uses a paranormal gift to find the killer).
While I did enjoy this book a lot, it wasn’t my favorite of the series. Rafe and Violet’s relationship bugged me. Not only was I disappointed that there wasn’t more of Jay (hello - their relationship is one of the major reasons this series rocks) I was more disappointed in the lack of development with Rafe. Everyone kept saying he was so different with Violet, but I never really felt it. I mostly felt irritated at him and didn’t understand the connection Violet felt.
Violet’s new “friends”/coworkers also aren’t high on my list of people to like. Everyone is so cagey and snotty. I’m not sure I care to read about these characters.
The mystery wasn’t as intense in this one as it was in the others, but the stakes were a lot higher. It was definitely a roller-coaster ride and a great mystery with lots of action.
Even though Jay wasn’t around much in this book I still love the way their relationship is portrayed. I love their friendship and I love how much they trust and respect each other, even when Jay is jealous of Rafe and The Center - Jay is still so supportive and mature. I also love how they’re tiptoeing into the physical aspect of their relationship. They’ve known each other forever and over the three books, they’re just starting to talk about the physical stuff - it’s very natural and flowing - nothing rushed or hurried. It’s incredibly refreshing and romantic.
Overall, I dug this book, but it was a little disappointing. I had my hopes up to have my socks knocked off and it just didn’t happen.
