Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting
The Body Finder #4
Release Date: April 16, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Bought
Goodreads Stars: 3
Rating: Enjoyable

Buy the Book: Amazon UK

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself. - Goodreads

Dead Silence gave me something that I unwittingly always wanted: history on Violet's grandmother and her powers. Violet is given her grandmother's journal, and through that she discovers lots of new things about her grandmother and the powers that they shared. FUCK YEAH. I didn't realise that I wanted this while I was reading the previous few books, but now that it's been brought up I find myself wondering why I never thought about it before. Learning about Vi's grandmother and the Circle was so cool, and so interesting. It was great to finally have some backstory, as well as have more stuff thrown into the mystery.

Well, I guess I should talk about the love triangle. I have terrible luck when it comes to shipping in books and TV shows. My favourite couples hardly ever end up together, and I'm starting to think that I did something to offend the Writers Guild of the Universe. (If the president of the Guild is reading this, please let me know what I did to you, because I'm sure we can fix it. Should I start gathering material for the sacrifice?)

Anyway, regarding Rafe and Violet (yes, I love them together, shut up)... what was the point in introducing this pairing? It seemed to me that the whole thing between them only happened to create drama between Jay and Violet. I hate it when that happens! Relationships have to serve a bigger purpose, rather than be thrown around haphazardly. WHAT IS THE POINT. Someone give me the answer.

Rafe is basically tossed aside and given to someone else, which I thought was totally stupid. Why give me three books of build up just to throw that away, and pair him up with some randomer that he's only known for a couple of weeks. WHY.

The killer in this one was very interesting, and I really enjoyed reading those chapters. I loved the whole cult vibe that was going on. I don't think you can top the killer from The Last Echo, but I still enjoyed this person's perspective. It was WEIRD.

Looking back, I don't like the first chapter/prologue because I think it takes away from the suspense of the ending. The ending didn't turn out exactly how I expected, but while I was reading the build up it felt as though I had already covered the ending and I didn't need to see it again. I guess I should have had more faith, but meh.
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I desperately hope that Dead Silence is not the final book in this series because I'm totally intrigued by some of the reveals that happened in this book. Mostly the stuff to do with Violet's grandmother. However, I hope that if there is another book, Rafe leaves (or his love interest does) because my bitter shipper heart won't be able to take seeing them together.

This isn't the best book in the series, but it's still pretty enjoyable. The backstory is A+. I wonder how Kimberly Derting would feel about writing a prequel series about Vi's grandmother. Hmmmm.