Plot-wise, The Body Finder is a straight-forward murder mystery/thriller. Because the story revolves around teenagers, and the protagonist is a teenage girl with special psychic powers (in this case, sensing dead people), there was an old-school Lois Duncan feel to it, except without the dated 1970s references. It was really Kimberly Derting's writing which made The Body Finder special, evoking a delicious creepy mood throughout the novel. The beauty of the Washington state setting was vividly described and I enjoyed reading about the blossoming relationship between Violet (the protagonist) and her childhood best friend Jay. Derting also made a good call using the third person narrative, which really played up her strength of eliciting that wonderful gloomy atmosphere. 
 The reason why I'm only giving The Body Finder three stars is because of what I mentioned before, the plot being very simplistic. I felt dissatisfied with the ending which felt a little too rushed and the resolution too perfect. But I will definitely read the sequel.