Where Dead Bodies Lie (Body of Dowser #1) by Kat Cazanav
Synopsis
For as long as I can remember, I have been told to follow three important rules;
Always guard my ability
Never share my secret
And pretend to be normal.
However, those three little rules don’t make my life easier. I still find dead people and deal with strange visions. Not to mention, an attraction to a boy who doesn’t exist. Whenever we cross path’s he mists away like smoke on a mirror. He drives me crazy, that Kaff Cooper.
As a flock of dead crows fall from the blackened sky, Kaff becomes the only one who can see the truth straight to the dark underbelly of who I actually am.
My hands feel the pull to extract the forsaken, the lost, the forgotten. It comes as naturally as breathing and there is no stopping it.
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My Review
I was intrigued by the premise of this book. The idea of a body dowser was too good to pass up. Stella has the ability to find water with nothing but her fingertips. Her father uses her ability to mine for gold, until Stella’s powers dredge up more –dead bodies and possibly something dark from another realm. The cave-in that follows kills her father and almost Stella herself.
Stella moves in with her Aunt Lily, who is barely an adult herself, but does her best to raise her young niece. Lily sends Stella to boarding school in Canada to give her an opportunity at a better education. There, Stella meets Kaff Cooper, who’s as mysterious as he is good-looking. Creepy things begin to happen in the small Canadian town, and everyone is pointing the finger at Stella.
Plot
The story starts off with a young Stella, then jumps forward to her freshman year where she first meets Kaff and unleashes her ability on a school field trip. She’s sent back home, being too weird for the exclusive school, and home schooled until her senior year. The school offers to expunge her record, giving her a chance at a full college scholarship, in exchange for three days of community service at the school.
The rest of the story unfolds over those three days and it’s a lot. Maybe two-thirds of the story take place over a short window of time. The story is almost exclusively plot-driven and it’s a busy, twisty plot. There are some things that didn’t make sense to me and others that seemed implausible, but for the most part, it’s a good, fast ride.
World Building
The world building is fantastic. Author, Kat Cazanav, paints a dark world that is as gloomy as the stunning cover of her book. Her settings come alive in intense fashion. The world of body dowsing is complex and sometimes confusing, but I think that’s okay, because the story is told in first person and the protagonist herself doesn’t seem to fully understand it all.
Characters
Stella is a unique character. She’s grim, brooding, and yet likeable, in a Tuesday Aadams sort of way. Kaff Cooper is the most intriguing character in the book. I never quite figured him out, but I want to. Kaff Cooper alone will get me to read the next book.
Top Five Things I Enjoyed About Where Dead Bodies Lie
1. The settings. The descriptive details the author uses paint a beautiful, dark picture that comes alive in stunning and sometimes terrifying ways.
2. Aunt Lily. Stella’s young aunt puts her life on hold to become a mother and you never doubt that she’s always got Stella’s best interests at heart.
3. Kaff Cooper. The boy is an enigma, but he can be sweet and he truly cares for Stella.
4. Body Dowsing. This was a really creative, unique twist on the paranormal.
5. Kaff’s Bedroom. When Stella breaks into his room to find out more about the mystery boy, what she discovers gave me the chills.
Bottom Line
Where Dead Bodies Lie is a unique twist on the young adult paranormal genre with interesting characters and plenty of plot twists.
Disclaimer
I was provided with a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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Title: Where Dead Bodies Lie
Series: The Body Dowser #1
Author: Kat Cazanav
Release Date: December 16, 2014
Pages: 245
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Author Kat Cazanav
About the Author
I keep thinking I’m almost done writing this novel. Just one more chapter and I’ll let it go into my editor’s hands. Then something happens and I delay the inevitable; ending a relationship with a bunch of cool characters and saying good bye to a story that lived in my head forever. I use any excuse not to finish what I started nine months ago.
I have to pay bills, feed the dogs, feed myself (repeatedly) pick lint off my sweater, stare at the floor. The list goes on and on. But then I snap out of it. What am I thinking? Of course. I’ll turn it into a series. My characters will never die. I call my editor and give her a date. Now there’s no way out. I have to finish and set the story free. So this week I’m completing “The Body Dowser” with the hope all my readers enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Where to Find Kat Cazanav
Goodreads │ Website | Facebook | Twitter
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Giveaway
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