Review Detail

Here is someone who knows how to end a chapter. It’s one of those deals when no matter how many times you tell yourself that you’ll stop reading at the end of the chapter, it just doesn’t happen. They end so compellingly and with such suspense that it just seems the natural thing to continue reading.

The strange thing about this book is that it contains a lot of things that usually bother me, but none of them do. There’s the trio of quirky friends, the ultra protective boyfriend, and the main character with ‘special abilities’. There’s even a clunky old car. But it all makes sense, it works. The characters are all unusually good; you can see why these people want to hang out with each other. And this boyfriend (whose name is Jay) was actually likable. He had personality! This is very exiting to me, because you see a lot of him.

I really liked Violet (the main character), too. She was, well….normal. And I mean that in the best possible way. She was almost like a real person, she does some foolish things every now and then, but not in a way that disgusts you. You go right along with her, thinking it’s a good idea, until you realize just how silly it was, just about when she does.

The only thing that actually bothered me, and I’m being nit-picky here, is that during the first chapter or so Kimberly Derting uses a very figurative writing style. It was just a little flowery and kind of distracting. I’m not sure if she stopped or if I just got used to it. But it certainly didn’t bother me after the first five pages or so. That’s not to say that the writing is bland or anything, it’s got great imagery, with slightly poetic description, which is something that I personally appreciate.

The premise was really neat too, I mean the girl finds dead bodies, what’s not to like? Derting also did a great job making each of the echoes different and sort of personal to the person they belonged to.

This is an immensely well rounded and good book, filled with subtle suspense and light humor. It’s really not like anything else I’ve read, and should be enjoyable to anyone with a wide range of interests, combining mystery, a light sprinkling of horror, and just plain old life. Because that’s what it’s all about, Violet’s life, her's is just a bit more exciting than most.