What do you think?
Rate this book
Body of Evidence #3
Soul Survivor
""There's nothing magical about murder...."" Santeria markings. Hindu magick. Druidic runes. Japanese mysticism. The latest series of murders in Somerset has everyone confused, including the local police and the Medical Examiner's office. They seem to be the work of one killer, but each murder has a completely different, ritualized, M.O.
Working alongside her boss, Dr. Slikowski, Jenna Blake is back on the research trail, trying to discover the identity of the killer. Unfortunately, Jenna is still grieving over the murder of her friend Melody, and is becoming distracted by her growing feelings for Somerset detective Danny Mariano.
Jenna needs to do some serious soul-searching. Her mind isn't on the job. But if she doesn't start paying attention on and find the connection between these ritual murders, Jenna may not survive her first semester.
Working alongside her boss, Dr. Slikowski, Jenna Blake is back on the research trail, trying to discover the identity of the killer. Unfortunately, Jenna is still grieving over the murder of her friend Melody, and is becoming distracted by her growing feelings for Somerset detective Danny Mariano.
Jenna needs to do some serious soul-searching. Her mind isn't on the job. But if she doesn't start paying attention on and find the connection between these ritual murders, Jenna may not survive her first semester.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1999
3 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Golden
799 books2,973 followersCHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 7, 2018
it is a pretty good book. A lot happens through out the book; such as jennas friend,melody, was murdered, her dad gets a new girlfriend, shes trying to solve a murder case that involves Hindu figures/ritual, she caught feelings for detective danny. she feels as her world has turned upset down.
July 15, 2025
Continuing my nostalgia book journey through A Body of Evidence series. This is book number three and my least favorite so far. That’s not because I’m an adult rereading a young adult CIS type book, but because the plot of this one just falls flat.
Read
February 3, 2021I'm pretty sure I read this one too
November 11, 2012
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
The third book in the BODY OF EVIDENCE Series, SOUL SURVIVOR, proves that sequels can be as good, if not better, than the original!
Jenna Blake is fighting to regain her balance at Somerset University. In only a few weeks, her world has been turned upside down: her best friend, Melody, was murdered; her father, a Professor, started dating; her half-brother, Pierce, was accused of murder; and her two good friends, roommate Yoshiko and Melody's brother, Hunter, have started going out. Her job with the M.E.'s office has been going well, but she still doesn't feel as if life is in perfect balance. She's feeling depressed, a little sorry for herself, and out of sorts.
Then weird murders start happening in Somerset and the neighboring town with overtones of ancient Hindu and mythological sacrifices. Dr. Slikowski asks Jenna to accompany him to murder scene, where he's been asked for his opinion, and Jenna is thrilled to be in the inner circle. Thrilled, that is, until the cops on the case make her out to be an imcompetent kid, someone to baby-sit the M.E., who's confined to a wheelchair. Dr. Slick puts them in their place, but Jenna is left with the feeling that as long as she's only eighteen, no one will take her seriously in this profession she's chosen to make her own.
As the murders progress, Jenna starts doing her own research into the rituals that the killings seem to be based on, and comes up with some of her own conclusions: the murderer is probably a woman, she's probably dying, and she's probably trying to take over another human body.
As Jenna works with Dr. Slikowski, M.E. employee Dyson, and Somerset detectives Audrey Gaines and Danny Mariano to figure out who is behind the murders, Jenna is once again put into a position where she's in danger. Add to that the fact that her crush on Detective Mariano is growing stronger while at the same time her feelings for fellow college student Damon are mixing themselves up, and Jenna's personal life is as tumultuous as her professional one.
SOUL SURVIVOR is another winner in Christopher Golden's Body of Evidence Series. I can't wait to see what happens next in Jenna's life, especially if she's going to leave the M.E.'s office, as the ending of this book implies.
A real winner!
The third book in the BODY OF EVIDENCE Series, SOUL SURVIVOR, proves that sequels can be as good, if not better, than the original!
Jenna Blake is fighting to regain her balance at Somerset University. In only a few weeks, her world has been turned upside down: her best friend, Melody, was murdered; her father, a Professor, started dating; her half-brother, Pierce, was accused of murder; and her two good friends, roommate Yoshiko and Melody's brother, Hunter, have started going out. Her job with the M.E.'s office has been going well, but she still doesn't feel as if life is in perfect balance. She's feeling depressed, a little sorry for herself, and out of sorts.
Then weird murders start happening in Somerset and the neighboring town with overtones of ancient Hindu and mythological sacrifices. Dr. Slikowski asks Jenna to accompany him to murder scene, where he's been asked for his opinion, and Jenna is thrilled to be in the inner circle. Thrilled, that is, until the cops on the case make her out to be an imcompetent kid, someone to baby-sit the M.E., who's confined to a wheelchair. Dr. Slick puts them in their place, but Jenna is left with the feeling that as long as she's only eighteen, no one will take her seriously in this profession she's chosen to make her own.
As the murders progress, Jenna starts doing her own research into the rituals that the killings seem to be based on, and comes up with some of her own conclusions: the murderer is probably a woman, she's probably dying, and she's probably trying to take over another human body.
As Jenna works with Dr. Slikowski, M.E. employee Dyson, and Somerset detectives Audrey Gaines and Danny Mariano to figure out who is behind the murders, Jenna is once again put into a position where she's in danger. Add to that the fact that her crush on Detective Mariano is growing stronger while at the same time her feelings for fellow college student Damon are mixing themselves up, and Jenna's personal life is as tumultuous as her professional one.
SOUL SURVIVOR is another winner in Christopher Golden's Body of Evidence Series. I can't wait to see what happens next in Jenna's life, especially if she's going to leave the M.E.'s office, as the ending of this book implies.
A real winner!
July 11, 2011
Well at least the story was good... more or less. I honestly don't know if I was trying to find something to dislike about it or if I actually couldn't find anything to like about it. Since I really liked the first two maybe I was just due to dislike one, ten books in a series I'm not going to love all of them.
But this one just went and I don't even know what word to use since I usually try to avoid these type of things, but it went after religion, interracial dating, it turned out someone was gay; that plus gender and age discrimination. Some were more than others but they were still thrown in here in an obvious way. And I know all that stuff is really out there but like I said I try to ignore it all; except the last two since I am a five foot one 21 year old female, who does not look her age. Plus I'm Hispanic so I've had a lot of people question my nationality too. Which is basically why I try to ignore all of that but this book just wouldn't let it go.
I'm not saying that it was a huge deal, it just bugged me. Plus we barely found out certain details about pretty important characters that I think should have been mentioned since book one.
Oh and Jenna's depression was a little annoying too, understandable yes we've all been there, but still kind of annoying.
The whole thing wasn't very smoothed out.
But this one just went and I don't even know what word to use since I usually try to avoid these type of things, but it went after religion, interracial dating, it turned out someone was gay; that plus gender and age discrimination. Some were more than others but they were still thrown in here in an obvious way. And I know all that stuff is really out there but like I said I try to ignore it all; except the last two since I am a five foot one 21 year old female, who does not look her age. Plus I'm Hispanic so I've had a lot of people question my nationality too. Which is basically why I try to ignore all of that but this book just wouldn't let it go.
I'm not saying that it was a huge deal, it just bugged me. Plus we barely found out certain details about pretty important characters that I think should have been mentioned since book one.
Oh and Jenna's depression was a little annoying too, understandable yes we've all been there, but still kind of annoying.
The whole thing wasn't very smoothed out.
July 25, 2019
This is still a good, light mystery book. It's got mysticism mixed in with the killer's motive that keeps it interesting. I just don't like it as much as the other books in the series because the personal, character development side of things doesn't do as much for me. Already established in the previous book is some of the arguments of Jenna's parents, against her staying in her job. Also is the growing attraction to Detective Mariano that can't be acted on. In this book, Jenna also has to deal with grief over Melody's death, and with her friends Yoshiko and Hunter starting to pair up, she feels like a third wheel and unable to talk with anyone. It makes for a more angst-y novel than many of the others in the series. I got tired of hearing the same narrative about her arguments with her parents or the detectives. It picks up a little at the latter end, but overall, the episodic storyline is good and the arcing storyline less so.
Read, enjoy, then press on with the series! I like the others better.
Read, enjoy, then press on with the series! I like the others better.
April 1, 2011
Comments before reading: I picked up this book back in 2002 on my way to spring break in Vegas. I didn't read it on the plane and I haven't read it at all. It seems to be a murder mystery with a lil side love story. Hopefully it's good.
Comments after reading: This book was okay. I don't normally read mystery books and it seemed kind of predictible who the killer was. I figured it was the person it was but I forgot about that person til they revealed them as the killer. I'm not sure if thats how they are supposed to be written. It was a bit interesting to see into the hindu ritual of soul switching. I dunno if it's real or not though.
Comments after reading: This book was okay. I don't normally read mystery books and it seemed kind of predictible who the killer was. I figured it was the person it was but I forgot about that person til they revealed them as the killer. I'm not sure if thats how they are supposed to be written. It was a bit interesting to see into the hindu ritual of soul switching. I dunno if it's real or not though.
July 28, 2015
As all the books in the series so far, I really liked this, and as I skimmed a few reviews, I was afraid that Jenna would seem whiney, but I think that the losing of a close friend and the grief (see the book before in the series) was well handled and not too much.
Fast read, no sex, a little romance, a little love-triangle (yeah, just a warning).
Could have been a bit less obvious, more twists, except for the major twist in the end, did not see that one coming and reading the blurb of the next book I do not think it will hold.
So, for not being complicated enough, only 4 stars, still highly recommended, a Teen/YA-Version of Kathy Reichs.
Fast read, no sex, a little romance, a little love-triangle (yeah, just a warning).
Could have been a bit less obvious, more twists, except for the major twist in the end, did not see that one coming and reading the blurb of the next book I do not think it will hold.
So, for not being complicated enough, only 4 stars, still highly recommended, a Teen/YA-Version of Kathy Reichs.
December 20, 2013
Enjoyed this third in the series which is a bit Nancy Drewish but good for a light read.
June 6, 2014
another fun read with Jenna.
Read
March 26, 2010F GOL boe bk. 3
Forensics
Forensics
March 23, 2014
11-20-2012
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews