The story is extremely well written. It hooks you in and gets you intrigued.
It is a slow burn full of tension.
A terrific read.

Really loved this. So engaging and believable, and what characterisation! Perfectly plotted, made me want to read everything Durranf writes!

I have read and enjoyed the authors previous novels but this one was a disappointment. Dislikeable characters (apart from the dog and the boy Max), slow pace and a claustrophic, rambling story.

My introduction to Sabine Durrant, FINDERS KEEPERS promised an exciting story but it was so slow moving I gave up. I was thoroughly confused from the beginning to the point I had no idea who was narrating or what she was on about. I had managed to glean that the narrator was female, probably due to the premise outlining Ailsa and Verity as major contributors to the story. But I was thoroughly lost and despite reading that others had persevered with it till the plot developed into something better, I just got to the point where I didn't care anymore. I had no idea who was who and who did what...or why. And the chapters started in a confusing way with something like a shopping list and then the unpicking of a word and what it means.

Maybe I might revisit the book at a later date (when I have time) and give it another go...who knows? But at this point, I found the book to be far too slow and confusing to hold my interest.

I would like to thank #SabineDurrant, #Netgalley and #HodderAndStoughton for an ARC of #FindersKeepers in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, took a while to get into, but a great story-line with great characters.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This book pulled me in immediately. I loved the tension and suspense that was built up slowly throughout and really had me on the edge of my seat!. I thought Verity was a wonderful character, who had many layers to her which in turn added new depths to the story. As the book progresses, we learn more about her, and as we do so, you find yourself questioning if she is as innocent as she initially seems.
The authors writing style is marvellous, and although you are fully aware that there is something strange going on, you can not even begin to put your finger on it. Slowly, more becomes apparent and really leaves you shocked.
Full of twists and turns, with an ending you simply do not expect, this is by far one of the best books I have read!.

A slow read where I was given an inquisitive Verity in her early fifties becoming friends with new neighbors. A catastrophe occurs.

My first book by author Sabine Durant, the beginning was very slow. I almost gave up but I stuck to it and the book developed hauntingly. I found a connection with Verity where her narration kept the plot going. Suspense slowly built up and I ended up liking the book much more than I hoped.

I’ve adored Sabine Durrant’s previous books and was delighted to be invited on to the blogtour for her latest thriller Finders, Keepers.

Our story is narrated by Verity, an elderly single woman who has lived in the same house her entire life. Having cared for her mother until her death a few years ago, Verity lives a very insular life which comprises of working from home researching the history of words for the Oxford English Dictionary and going to the local pub quiz on a weekly basis. She has no family or friends and when new neighbours, The Tilsons, move in next door she becomes obsessed with them.

Finders, Keepers is an exceptionally atmospheric and creepy story full of tension and suspense. The reader finds out early on in the story that someone has been murdered and Verity slowly unravels her version of events through chapters leading up to the murder and then present day.

Verity didn’t just “speak” to me, she jumped out of the pages into my imagination and I could “see” her clear as day. A lonely and potentially vulnerable older woman who has spent her life being ignored and unappreciated, putting her mothers ailing health above her own needs and life and finding herself at the age of 50+ alone in a dilapidated house full of junk with no-one to care for.

This book contains some heart-breaking moments which made me feel such emotion towards Verity, yet at times towards the end I wasn’t sure whether to pity her or fear her as the author cleverly keeps the reader on their toes with Verity’s strange and compelling narrative.

I was absolutely GLUED to my kindle and whilst I had my suspicions about who did what to whom and why I was constantly being surprised throughout. Full of twists, red herrings and some absolutely dis likeable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes dark, domestic noir.

Loved this domestic noir type book. Amazing characters this had me addicted from the start. I’d highly recommend this book.

From the moment I ordered this book I struggled to put it down. It had me gripped from the beginning and cleverly played out the lives and relationships of the characters who's lives twisted and turned and made you wonder what was going on between the lines. One of those books that keeps you wanting more till the very end.

Thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It takes an immense talent to write a slow-burner that simultaneously grips the reader from the very first page to the very last. Well, Sabine Durrant has this inimitable talent in spades. Psychological thrillers do not get better than this. What draws the reader into this twisty tale are Durrant’s keen observations on the human condition and the rich inner lives she creates for her characters. Women are at the forefront of this very human story. On the one hand we have Verity, spinster and carer to her recently deceased mother. Verity is also an obsessive, compulsive hoarder. Indicative perhaps of long buried secrets, to say the least. Then we have Alisa, newly arrived next door neighbour to Verity, complete with family in tow. There is husband Tom (who we learn early on has been murdered) along with their three children. A complicated bond forms between the two women when Verity, a word wrangler for the OED, begins tutoring Ailsa’s son, Max. Although the women become close, it is a friendship forged in a febrile atmosphere of secrets and lies, mistrust, exploitation as well as a ubiquitous, yet complex fondness. How this heady mix of emotions contributes to Tom’s death is the mystery at the core of the book. With pitch-perfect pacing, Durrant reveals all in a masterly fashion, throwing in a few unexpected twists along the way. These stunning psychological insights reveal just how well Sabine Durrant understands people. Stylish, subtle, nuanced and gripping - a psychological thriller that truly lives up to its billing. One of my must-reads for 2020.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc of Finders Keepers by Sabine Durrant.

This follows 52 year old Verity whom is a single woman but has been around a bit though, she lives in a cluttered house in which she grew up in as a child. She is usually only in the company of her companion the dog named Maudie. The house attached to her has had a more modern makeover and spruce up, in which is her new neighbours the Tilsons. The wife Ailsa is controlled by her husband named Tom, they also have children named Melissa and twins Max and Bea. The wife and Verity actually become mutual friends with each other so Verity is then become a part of their lives..... The story is told through Verity as the narrator of the book....

4 stars this was a very mysterious and page turning thrilling book which had me page turning start to finish and it was very well written so well done Sabine Durrant for this.

I really enjoyed this book and will give it a huge thumbs up. With a great story line and excellent main characters - I would highly recommend this book.

Dark, Neighborhood Noir.....
Dark suspense - neighborhood noir if you like - carefully crafted characters, mounting tension and cleverly engineered twists. A satisfying read. Very much a slow burn but works nicely to create gradually mounting tension.

Finishing a novel by Sabine Durrant is always bittersweet. Part racing to get to the denouement, part realising you'll have to wait another year to be at her twisty-turney (or sometimes just twisted) mercy again. What I enjoyed most about Finders Keepers is that while I always had a theory or two on the go, none of my suspicions were borne out. This is one for people who miss Barbara Vine or who loved Magpie Lane.

With many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me see an advance copy.

It's a peculiar novel and it took me by surprise (the ending), but I think the pace could be a bit faster. It took a long time to get there, although the journey wasn't unpleasant.

Verity is a fascinating character and she completely surprised me, more than once during the reading.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked Sabine Durrant's previous book, Lie With Me and was delighted to have been gifted an e-arc of Finders, Keepers.

However, I couldn't finish it. I really tried. I got to 40% and was just so bogged down in non-essential plot details, rambling dialogue and really just found it an incredibly monotonous read. I struggled to pick it up and unfortunately didn't care about plot twists or finding out the truth of the story at that stage. So I'm sorry to say this is a DNF for me.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Finders, Keepers by Sabine Durrant… what can I say about this? All good, of course. Throughout the book, you just know things aren’t what they seem. Right away I got Notes on Scandal by Zoe Heller vibes, did you read that novel? It’s a must-read if you haven’t read it.

The character of Verity is a lonely older woman who has lived her life taking care of her mother, who is now deceased. She mourns the sister who has left and Verity spends her days working on her computer in her crumbling house in need of repair with her beloved dog Maudie at her side.

Then new neighbors move in and Verity finds a friend in Ailsa Tilson. She doesn’t care for Tom, Ailsa’s husband who is frequently mean to their son Max, with whom Verity forms a bond. He’s also on Verity’s case about her overthrowing plants and weeds which have invaded the Tilson’s yard.

The book goes between the present, where we know someone has been murdered, and the past leading up to the crime. It’s not until the very end where everything comes together, but as a reader, you will draw your own suspicions.

Take a look at the plot:

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.

I loved the writing, it’s so evocative. I was there in the house as Ailsa discovered what Verity was hiding. I was there when Verity was alone, ruminating over her life. The story unfolds at a perfect pace, allowing you to learn little things here and there. Its a dark story and suspenseful.

The author did a brilliant job with this book and I cannot wait to read more from her.

Pre-order this now, it comes out on October 20!

An unlikely friendship, a family tragedy, tension, mystery and so much more. What more could you ask for from a book ?

Verity lives alone, apart from the company of her dog Maudie, and tends to keep herself shut away in her family home apart from the weekly quiz night at the local pub.

The Tilson family buy the adjoining house to Verity and after completely gutting and modernising they all move in. Tom seems to be overbearing and controlling whilst his wife, Ailsa, seems to be more laid back.

The two women start up an unlikely friendship and Verity helps tutor Ailsa & Tom’s son Max. Tom however doesn’t see eye to eye with Verity, all he sees is her overgrown garden and dilapidated house. But then tragedy strikes and their lives will never be the same again.

This is very much a tense slow burner and told via Verity’s perspective. Verity and Ailsa are both great characters that really develop over the storyline. A very clever and greatly crafted plot that builds the tension until the very end.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Finders Keepers by Sabine Durrant is a tense psychological thriller that builds suspense slowly, lulling you into a false sense of security, in much the same way as the seemingly blossoming friendship between Verity and the Tilson’s does.

Verify has lived in Trinity Fields all her life. Not a person to embrace change, she uses her home and belongings as a shield of defence between herself and the outside world. But when the Tilson’s move in there’s something about them that draws Verity in, leading to a friendship between them that she never expected. But when something awful happens and secrets begin to surface, events take a sinister turn, meaning life will never be quite the same ever again…

Narrated by Verity, this is very much a character driven story. Told over a dual timeline, Finders, Keepers is a dark and disturbing tale, the atmosphere so thick with tension you could almost cut it with a knife. It isn’t a fast paced read by any means, but the story drew me in from the very first page and kept me enthralled right up until the final page had been turned. As the pieces of the puzzle begin to slot into place and the truth begins to emerge, the story propels forward to a shocking denouement that I did not see coming!

Sabine Durrant has written a superbly plotted and compelling tale that’s filled to the brim with intrigue and suspense. I love a book that has the ability to surprise me and Finders, Keepers manages to do so with ease.

A clever slow burner of a psychological thriller that I would highly recommend.