The Last Echo (The Body Finder #3)

~The scariest psychopath yet~

One of the most twistedly thrilling aspects of Derting’s series is the sick avenues introduced to Violet because of her gift. She’s witnessed some gruesome things, and as her ability allows her to find the murdered dead, you can only imagine what sorts of… disturbing things she’s stumbled across. In each book so far, there’s been an elusive sicko responsible for ugly murders within the area. The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting features The Collector (or TC, as I’ll be calling the killer), and he’s somehow the most chilling of the serial killers thus far.

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting treats us to alternating chapters with this warped villain, as always, and we see how deeply wrong TC is in the cranium, how his desires seem almost innocent, normal and how they turn into something not, something very dark and frightening. And unlike past baddies, TC does manage to evoke some small form of sympathy from us despite his horrible, dastardly deeds, which is interesting considering we’re talking about A MURDERER here. TC shows that not every dangerous person is born with something rotten inside him—it’s made in him by the cruelties of others. Does that excuse his actions? DEFINITELY NOT. But, it was different and interesting to feel pity for a such a deeply disturbed person, responsible for so much loss and pain. I like characters, especially villains, with that kind of complexity.

~Crime mysteries, parents, and a worried boyfriend~

With the developments in Desires of the Dead fresh in mind, The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting expands on the new characters brought on so that we get to know the group acting as Violet’s very own crime investigation unit, who very much want to utilize her special skill. Each are amusing in their own way, but there isn’t much to connect to yet, unfortunately. What I liked more than the actual teenagers is how they go about solving the crime mysteries that crop up. They’re daring, protective, and work as a fascinating team as they use their own cool underlying powers.

While this might seem all well and fab—yay, Violet fits in with some equally weird peeps now!—little Miss Supernatural Nancy Drew over here isn’t pleasing her parents very much with all the trouble she finds herself in because of her friends and all this tracking down bodies business, which is a severe detriment to her mental welfare. Not to mention the fact that the more she puts herself out there, the more baddies and crazies does she attract to herself and her home. Her parents exert their So Shall It Be powers over her life, constantly aching over what’s best for her and helping her prevent making the same mistakes. The parental involvement is a plus, for me at least, because not only do we rarely get to see that in YA—how unrealistic is that, really?—but because her parents are pretty fly themselves and they actually care A LOT.

And because of all this crime busting, this part of Violet’s life is sucking up all her time. WHICH MEANS LESS JAY. WHICH I’M NOT IN FAVOR OF. Of course Jay is one of my favorite fictional males, and I DID NOT APPRECIATE the lack of face time with this awesome boy. He’s there, sure, but can you blame him for getting jealous? Here Violet is hanging around every day without him and in the company of a very attractive guy clearly interested in her. Poor Jay. I’ve never seen a teenager with so much patience and a knack for suppressing things.

~Which brings me to the suspicious love triangle~

To say I was furious with Derting over the potential introduction of a love triangle is putting it mildly. I WAS UNREASONABLE AND INFURIATED. I felt cheated, manipulated. I never thought that Derting would stoop so low and show off a sexy piece of boy-candy as a very non-subtle plot device. Maybe that’s what played into my lack of excitement over the second sequel. The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting just made me madder in places because I was starting to find myself attracted to this enigmatic, sarcastic Rafe. I wanted to shake my fists and cry into the stormy sky my rising horror and agitation at having desires for anyone besides Jay.

But, damn the boy, it’s impossible not to like him a little. Still, that didn’t mean I was on board with a love triangle, or of Violet dumping Jay for this Rafe *scoffs*. Yet, I could see and feel that electric attraction however over-used the type. Violet and Rafe’s relationship gives a nice flavor to the story, all charged tension and forbiddeness—because, hullo, she is with Jay after all. Thankfully, I got to appreciate Violet for her restraint—otherwise I would’ve written her off as unforgivable.

~Hmmm, some new, unexpected-ish villainy~

The ending of The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting hints at a different sort of antagonism in the next, and, I believe, final, book in the series. It makes me wonder whether there will be another murder mystery/very sick killer in the next one or a more common nasty. It seems as if a very intriguing, exciting fight awaits the characters and I can’t wait to dive in, see where the series goes, how it ends.

My biggest wish for the final installment is more Jay involvement. Not just in hot, sexy, smoldery scenes but in her crime-mystery-solving and bad-guy-catching. Because that would bring whole new levels of sexy to his character. Just saying.

As a whole, I had a lot of fun with The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting and I found it to be a definite improvement from Desires of the Dead.

Originally posted at Paranormal Indulgence, 6/2/12