3 Stars. Wished it was Darker. I loved the concept of this book. It was quirky and interesting. Violet has a special ability that helps her find dead bodies. And, when girls her age start getting murdered in her hometown, she's in a pequilar situation to both help the police in their investigation, but also draw attention to herself.There were a few parts in the beginning where the backstory got heavy. There were also places where I felt there was more telling than showing. For example, when the second body is found we don't see how Violet finds out about this. I wish we could have seen how she found out and her reaction. There's another part where the book discusses how seriously the school is taking the deaths of these girls, but this isn't really described.
There was some pretty language and a few really beautiful scenes. The chapters through the killer's POV, in particular, had some well-written descriptions. I just wish there'd been a few more of them. One of the things I loved was the death echoes. I liked that each presented in a different way. I thought that entire concept was unique and interesting. I only wish we knew why each person had the echo they had. They seemed a little random.
I felt like the way characters were introduced could have been better. For example, I didn't like that Grady isn't introduced until he asks Violet to the dance. It's mentioned that they've been friends for a while, so I wish the author would have mentioned him earlier. Or, just not mentioned that they were friends growing up because honestly, they didn't seem that close. His arrival felt like the author just added characters as needed. I also felt this way with some of Violet's friends. A few of them aren't mentioned at all until they all go shopping together.
Another thing that bothered me was that I didn't actually like Jay that much. Violet was constantly thinking of Jay throughout the book. Which I understood, but it got to be a bit much at times. He was also kind of controlling and while he seemed to have Violet's back he made a lot of assumptions about what she wanted or what was best for her and I didn't like that. He was pushy. I wish he would have asked Violet what she wanted more often. There were still times when I was rooting for him and Violet, especially in the beginning, but the more I got to know him the more he did things that bugged me.
I liked the subplot with Jay and Grady at first. Violet likes Jay, but Jay seems oblivious and Grady likes her. At first, it was great. But as it went on I got annoyed with it. Violet basically uses Grady. I felt bad for him because she was stringing him along. I wished she had kinda liked him.I also disliked <spoiler> how he attacks her at the party and tries to kiss her. Then Jay swoops in to save the day. It just felt really cliche. I didn't think the author had to turn Grady into a creep. He was more interesting when he was just a guy that liked Violet. </spoiler> Also, there were times where Violet's relationships felt like more of the focus of the story than the murders. More than halfway through the book Violet's involvement with the actual murders had been minimal. I'm most disappointed by this because the scenes where Violet was tracking down the murderer were awesome!
There were a few scenes where Violet was either purposely looking for the killer, or found herself in a situation where she was near him and the author did a good job building suspense. Whenever Violet was using her abilities I felt like I couldn't put the book down.
Overall it was a fun and unique read, but I'm not sure I'll continue with the series.
