My enormous thanks to Jenny Platt for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for Finders, Keepers by Sabine Durrant. I’m delighted to share my review today.
Published by Hodder and Stoughton on 9th July 2020, Finders, Keepers is available for purchase through the links here.
Finders, Keepers
‘A masterly slow-burn gripper’ Louise Candlish
‘Deliciously sly yet also profoundly moving – a twisty game of cat and mouse that keeps the reader guessing at every step’ JP Delaney
‘Pitch-perfect. I absolutely loved it’ Lucy Dawson
‘Elegant and astute, Finders Keepers is truly gripping’ Louise O’Neill
Ailsa Tilson moves with her husband and children to Trinity Fields in search of the new.
New project – a house to renovate. New people – no links to the past. New friends – especially her next-door neighbour, the lonely Verity, who needs her help.
Verity has lived in Trinity Fields all her life. She’s always resisted change. Her home and belongings are a shield, a defence to keep the outside world at bay. But something about the Tilsons piques her interest.
Just as her ivy creeps through the shared garden fence, so Verity will work her way into the Tilson family.
And once they realise how formidable she can be, it might well be too late.
My review of Finders, Keepers
Neighbours can have secrets!
Finders Keepers is a claustrophobic, uneasy and unsettling narrative that I thoroughly enjoyed because it made my skin creep as if I were seeing something slightly distasteful and yet completely compelling. The aptly, perfectly named, Verity’s voice is strong and convincing so that I was sucked into her world and that of her neighbours, Tom and Alisa, almost against my will.
I thought the plot was masterful with a drip feeding of hints, distractions and credibility that captivated my attention throughout. Reading Finders, Keepers is a bit like catching something out of the corner of your eye. It’s unsettling but you’re not quite sure if you saw what you thought you saw. As well as providing a cracking story, Sabine Durrant considers what it is that makes us who we are, the persona we present to others and the way manipulation can come in many forms so that whilst Finders, Keepers is a riveting story, it is one that has many layers to fathom. The psychological element is subtle, and so plausible that it has far greater impact than brutal physical violence of some reads.
I loved Sabine Durrant’s creation of character. Throughout I couldn’t decide if I loathed Tom or felt sorry for him as the author manipulated my reader responses so unnervingly. Verity’s voice creeps into the reader’s mind until they are mesmerised, whilst Alisa seems like a chimera not to be entirely trusted. Both Alisa and Verity have a neediness that is utterly convincing but at the same time, each woman has a manipulative strength too so that it is impossible to know who is controlling whom and who can – or cannot – be trusted. The interplay between the people in Finders, Keepers, the conveying of meaning through what is withheld as much as what is said and the dynamics of control, all add layers of creepiness whilst seeming to be perfectly benign. I thought this was excellent.
About Sabine Durrant
Sabine Durrant is the author of three psychological thrillers, Under Your Skin, Remember Me This Way and Lie With Me, a Richard & Judy Bookclub selection and Sunday Times paperback bestseller. Her previous novels are Having It and Eating It and The Great Indoors, and two books for teenage girls, Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles and Ooh La La! Connie Pickles. She is a former features editor of the Guardian and a former literary editor at the Sunday Times, and her writing has appeared in many national newspapers and magazines. She lives in south London with her partner and their three children.
For further information, find Sabine Facebook or follow her on Twitter @SabineDurrant.
There’s more with these other bloggers too:
Linda's Book Bag 
This really does sound creepy, LInda. I’m glad I don’t know my neighbours at all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fortunately, our neighbours are lovely!
LikeLike
I adored this book, she’s one of my all time favourite authors x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t it brilliant? I wish I’d read her sooner. thanks for dropping by Anne x
LikeLike
I don’t often comment, but this time I had to. As a fan of Sabine Durrant, I read Finders Keepers very soon after it was published. Like you I found it totally riveting. I know that area of South London, scruffy and gentrified, and have friends who have a stylish house in Balham. So I had a a very vivid picture in my mind all the way through. I even began to conjure my friends into the roles of Tom and Alisa. It made me wonder – very unfairly – if I really know them all and what undercurrents there might be in their marriage! Your review is absolutely on the nail, and far far better than anything I could have come up with about this book. An excellent read and very filmic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How lovely of you to stop by and comment Gilli. I agree totally about the filmic nature of the book and think it would be perfect for the large or small screen.
LikeLike
heard a lot about this book and soon gonna read this book. 😄
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
LikeLike