I loved this book, it’s my new favourite Sabine Durrant novel! It follows Verity who lives alone in the only house she’s ever lived in. One day she has new neighbours move in next door and she goes out of her way to befriend the couple and their children, particularly their son Max. When the novel opens Ailsa is living with Verity so straight away I was keen to find out why and what had happened. The novel then slowly unfolds and we go discover how Verity became so close to her neighbours, and a little about how they viewed her. We also see her bond with Max, as she begins to tutor him. This is a slow-burn novel but it’s so gripping that I read it all in one sitting! I loved the slow reveals and the way the plot and the characters developed. There is more to Verity than you know at first and the gradual peeling back of layers in her character is fascinating. I highly recommend this one!

I have been a fan of Sabine's work for a little while now. I haven't managed to read all of her books just yet, but I am getting there. I read the synopsis for 'Finders, Keepers' and it certainly sounded like the sort of deliciously, creepy psychological thriller that I particularly enjoy. I was spot on because it was all that and more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Finders, Keepers' but more about that in a bit.
I know I am paranoid by nature but there was something about the two female lead characters that I didn't trust and I didn't like. I can't put my finger on what exactly set the alarm bells off for me. As time went on and I learnt more about that pair of them then I kind of felt vindicated in my distrust/ dislike of them. I won't go into further details as that might give far too much away.
It took me a little while to get into this story. It wasn't because I didn't like the book but more to do with the fact that I was tired when I started to read the book and I was finding it hard to concentrate. However, once I got into the story I was away and I found it extremely difficult to put the book down for any length of time. I had my suspicions as to how the story was going to pan out and of course I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or whether or not I had the wrong end of the stick entirely. The pages turned over increasingly quickly as my desperation to find out what happened, grew and grew. All too soon, I had reached the end of the book and I had to bid the characters farewell.
'Finders, Keepers' is well written but then I think that to be true of Sabine's books in general. She has a way of grabbing your attention from the start and then drawing you into one hell of a fast paced and unpredictable rollercoaster ride of a read. The characters in this story intrigued me but at the same time they creeped me out a fair bit. I did feel as though I was part of the story and that's down to Sabine's really good storytelling and her addictive writing style. 'Finders, Keepers' was an absorbing and tightly plotted story, which kept me gripped and on the edge of my seat throughout.
In short, I really did enjoy reading 'Finders, Keepers' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Sabine's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Finders Keepers is another dark, twisty and woeful novel from Sabine Durrant, with interesting multilayered characters and well plotted storyline. It was a little slow and repetitive in places, but I enjoyed reading it nevertheless.

I haven't read Durrant before, so I was excited to get stuck into a new to me author. Finders, Keepers is a slow burning, twisty book that kept me gripped.

Finders Keepers is the first book I have read by Sabine Durrant and on the strength of it I will be definitely reading more. It is one of those novels where the readers assumes that they know what is going to happen only to be mistaken.

When a family moves next door to Verity she is eager to make friends although a little apprehensive. But when she develops a rapport with the son Max, who she helps with his schoolwork she gets closer to Alisa his mother. His father, Tom, though is a little less friendly. He isn’t very happy with the state of Verity’s garden, and even less happy when he discovers that she is a hoarder. I admit, I’d be the same, the description of her house made my toes curl.

I have to say that Verity is a little strange. I suspect that many have a neighbour like her. Little social skills, brittle and causing concern with hoarding. I did misunderstand a lot about her though, especially with what made her so protective of her sister’s bedroom and their disagreement.

Alisa wasn’t a character I warmed to, There were times I suspected that her life wasn’t quite like she said it was. And she wasn’t really a good friend to Verity. But there were aspects of her I admired, especially as the novel progressed. I did like Max though, very much. He was probably my favourite character in the whole book. Warm, hurting and desperate for a friend.

A great introduction to a new author for me.

I absolutely love Sabine Durrant's books, I've been a bit fan since reading Lie With Me, borrowed from my local library 2 years ago, and nearly tiddled myself with excitement when I heard about a new book being released. I think she's a brilliant storyteller and I think she has the right amount of nail biting suspense needed to keep readers gripped. However, this was like reading somebody else's works, and that made me so, so sad 😞I liked the storyline but I found this so 'draggy', it dragged on and on unnecessarily for so many pages, I came very close to DNF'ing several times as I struggled to connect with characters and I struggled to remember anything that had previously happened. I'm sure so many people will enjoy this book, but for me - someone who loves Sabine's work for what it is - this was a very dramatic change of pace and I'm sad to say I won't be as excited for her next novel as I feel I may be a bit disappointed.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
Finders Keepers by Sabine Durrant is a psychological thriller, with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader Interested. I wasn’t particularly keen on any of the main characters but enjoyed the final twist at the end.
Recommended.

Finders, Keepers is narrated by the somewhat eccentric Verity Ann Baxter, and she's really quite an engaging character. At the beginning, we learn that Verity's former neighbour, Ailsa, is now living with her, having been charged with the murder - by poison - of her husband, Tom. How this situation came about makes up the bulk of the story, all seen through Verity's eyes, beginning from the day Ailsa and her family moved in next door.

Tom is overbearing and a bit of a bully. He's not impressed by Verity's house and garden, considering the state of it to reflect badly on his own. And he's not especially nice to his wife and children, particularly son Max, who he seems to find unsatisfactory in every way. If being an obnoxious git was grounds for murder, though, the population would be a lot smaller than it is. Did Ailsa really go to those lengths to be rid of her husband?

Verity herself is an oddball - she's lived alone since her mother died, sister Faith is no longer on the scene, and she earns her living, interestingly, by updating definitions for the Oxford English Dictionary. (Each chapter commences with a relevant word and its definition.) We learn more about Verity as the story unwinds, and I really enjoyed her voice.

Like Sabine Durrant's other books, Finders, Keepers was a highly enjoyable and intriguing read - recommended.

Verify has lived in the same house to fifty years. She had lived there with her mother and sister, Faith. Her mother had died and her sister had moved away. A family of five move into the house next door and Varity makes friends with Ailsa. Verify starts tutoring Ailsa's son, Max. Ailsa's husband is a control freak and he doesn't like her Ailsa'sfriendship with Verify. But one day tragedy strikes.

This story is told from Verity's perspective. The pace, tension and suspense build up slowly. The plotline is intriguing. It's also a chilling and dark read. The story has a dual timeline that jumps back and forward from the day they first met to the present day. This shows us how their relationship developed. This is a well written and cleverly crafted story that I don't want to say to muchabout and spoil it for potential readers.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author Sabine Durrant for my ARC in exchange for a honest review

A fresh, gripping thriller I thoroughly enjoyed this. Fans of Shari Lapena and stories like The People at Number 9 will really enjoy this. Ailsa and Tom move in to their gorgeous newly done up home, but things change when Ailsa becomes friends with Verity- their next door neighbour who’s home is the opposite of their own. Their friendship is the backbone of this story, and the twists and turns kept me guessing throughout.

Verity has new neighbours. They get off to a rather abrupt start when the husband Tom appears on her doorstep and pretty much demands that she trim the trees and bushes in her garden as they “don’t want them propagating into theirs”. They mellow (or at least Tom does for a while) and Verity goes over for a drink and things calm down. She helps the son with his English and makes friends with Ailsa the wife. We go back to when they first moved in and now that Verity has Ailsa living with her who is tagged. This was part of the bail condition and the case is for murder- we know very little. Most of the story is when the family were living together and tell of the relationship between them and Verity. Each chapter begins with an object and a definition. An object- I won’t spoil why and the definition as Verity works for the Oxford english dictionary and has an interest in lexicography. I liked and felt for Verity- an eccentric with her heart in the right place and one whose life had almost passed her by. She told of a love that “didn’t work out” and spent much time looking after her mother in her later years. This is a well told tale ( as ever!) and there is a tension when Tom appears and you feel for Ailsa who is nervous in his presence and appears to want everything right in fear of anything displeasing him. WIth a mention of coercive control and someone not knowing or believing they matter this struck chords. A very clever, brilliant read.
(amazon will be done on 9th- misfits farm)

I adore Sabine Durrant’s sharp and precise prose. She is so good at burrowing into a character’s head and giving you glimpses of their innermost thoughts, without necessarily revealing everything, that the reader ends up tantalised and wanting to know more. Durrant’s characters drive her books and reward you every step of the way. You know that in Finders Keepers, both Verity Ann Baxter and her new neighbour, Ailsa Tilson are not telling you everything – indeed you suspect that one if not both are the epitome of unreliable, but the plotting is so good that these characters engage, then chill and bring you into their world when you realise that the slow burn that you have been experiencing was a call to wake up and smell the coffee…and now it’s too late.

Verity Ann Baxter is an OED lexicographer, working from home. She has lived all her life in her now rather run- down house in Trinity Fields, South London. She and her sister lived there until her sister Faith moved out and left Verity to care for their mother until the end. Now it’s just Verity and her dog, Maudie.

Tom and Ailsa Tilson move in next door and Verity immediately takes a dislike to the rather overbearing Tom and his demands that she clean up her hedges. Ailsa, his wife, though is more intriguing to Verity. A bit on the scatty side, forever apologising, finding her three kids a bit off a handful and she seems to Verity to be ground down by life and the demands of her husband.

Ailsa is everything that Verity is not. The contrast between the two women could not be greater, yet they bond over Max, one of Ailsa’s twins whom Verity is able to tutor and whom she grows fond of, seeing the uncertain young man as the antithesis of his father.

Verity and Ailsa strike up an unlikely friendship that benefits them both, but neither is willing to let the other in too far. Then one day something terrible occurs and the suppressed secrets start to spill out with devastating results.

I loved all the contrasts that Durrant has built into this book. The sleek modernism of the Tilson’s new house compared to the smelly, run down house that Verity lives in. The second hand clothes compared to Ailsa’s floaty designer numbers and the Tilsons’ immaculate garden next to Verity’s junk strewn lawns.

There’s a poison in the air that hangs over this relationship and you know that inside there are suppurating wounds that are festering and that the pus is rising slowly to the surface. What you’re not quite sure of is what wounds lie behind it and it is the creation of that dark story that makes Sabine Durrant the superb storyteller that she is.

Utilising a dual time line, she builds a picture that flits from their first meeting back to the present day, revealing how the relationship developed as contemporary events are unfolding.

Verdict: Dark, delicious and really rather chilling, Sabine Durrant has created a modern gothic novel. Suspenseful and surprising, this is a psychological thriller not to be missed.

This was an oddly compelling book, fully skewering the social mores of nappy valley but adding in the quirk of an Eleanor Oliphant. Nevertheless I wouldn't say I enjoyed this, but read with a sick sense of dread at each denouement and twist. A surprisingly heartbreaking read and definitely thought provoking

Ailsa, her husband Tom and their three children move into their recently renovated home next door to Verity. She has lived in the same house all her life, and it is in desperate need of some TLC. An unlikely friendship develops between the two women, and when Tom is poisoned Ailsa needs Verity’s support and wisdom more than ever.
I found myself totally absorbed by this book and due to the twists within the story, was constantly changing my mind about each character. Verity is incredibly well portrayed as an eccentric oddball, and her relationship with Ailsa’s son Max is completely believable. This is another great thriller from Sabine Durrant that is both witty and gripping.

Ailsa moves with her husband and family to Trinity Fields and becomes friendly with her next door neighbour Verity.
Both have secrets and someone dies.
I found the characters interesting and particularly the relationship between Verity and Ailsa’s son Max.

Verity Ann Baxter who narrates the story is what one would call an unreliable narrator. There is something off about her as she tells her story both in the past and the present. She has secrets as do her neighbours the Tilsons. However It is truly difficult to work out who is worse and has more to hide. Is it Verity who lives In squalor hoarding And collecting piles of rubbish in her house? And where is her sister Faith? What has she got in her house that she doesn’t want people to find?
What is Neighbour, Ailsa Tilson, hiding and what is the nature of hers and her husband’s relationship. Tom is bullying to both her and their son, Max, who loathes his father.
Unfortunately we cannot believe anything that comes out of Verity’s mouth so we can only see everything through her eyes. Is Tom and Ailsa’s relationship so bad or is it just wishful thinking on Verity’s part? Does Max really hate Tom or is it just Verity’s view of the situation.
The author portrayed Verity really well- she is so creepy and definitely the next door neighbour from hell. She’s lived in the same house all her life and apparently suffered several tragedies- caring for an elderly, infirm mother, a broken relationship and an estranged sister.
The new neighbours are a welcome distraction from her work as a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary.
When Ailsa asks her to tutor her son, Max, Verity manages to inveigle her way into the family. Max loves her although Tom thinks she’s rather weird. Ailsa seems to be sympathetic and friendly towards Verity but is she just using Verity for her own ends?
I loved the OED dictionary definitions at the start of the chapters which describe what each one is really about. It gives the reader a rough idea of what might be coming and is very clever.
The technique of two time lines is also good as it builds up the tension whilst describing what happened leading up to the main event of the story and how Verity became over friendly with Ailsa in the first place.
I didn’t much like any of the characters in this book but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it immensely. The twists and revelations came thick and fast and I raced through it very quickly in my eagerness to find out what happened at the end.
This is a great psychological thriller which Is easy to read and distracted me in these strange times. I’d thoroughly recommend Finders Keepers to all psychological thriller fans. Verity Ann Baxter Reminded me of Barbara from Zoe Heller’s Notes on A scandal or even a female version of Sebastian Faulk’s Engelby. Dark and chilling but very enjoyable.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very clever intricately woven tale.

The character Verity really drew me in. I was mesmerised by her; her thoughts and feelings, her history and the kind of woman she has become as a result. She is one hell of a woman. Stubborn and very much set in her old fashioned ways. This book shows that the little things shape who we are... and exactly what part does Verity play in this story? Word of warning, the ending is fabulous.

There were some moments where I really felt for Verity’s neighbour, Ailsa, with how her husband, Tom, treats her but then I always thought that she was a bit strange too as her behaviour could be erratic at times.

Finders Keepers is a beautiful slow-burner and the writing really captures your attention. Every minute detail and scarily realistic description really make the story what it is. I highly recommend it and think it’s Sabine’s best book to date (and that’s saying something because all her others are magnificent too!). Sabine is at the top of her game.

It was OK. Good enough. But nothing really sucked me in or had me gripped and I do want more from a book that is meant to keep its reader guessing

3.5 stars rounded up.
This was a bit of a weird book for me - and I mean it in a good way. Verity, who has lived in the same house all her life, has new neighbours. The Tilsons - Ailsa, her husband, and their three children - have moved in to the house they have been renovating. Things start off a bit hitand miss between them as Verity is not the most house (and garden) proud person and the Tilsons are always egging her to do something about the smell and the mess. Slowly though, she starts to worm her way into their lives, firstly as she tutors the son and then starts to befriend Ailsa. But who is using who? And so begins a very strange story that weaves around and about itself. We know from the start that something bad has happened and that Ailsa is in big trouble but it's not until the lid starts to come off and the worms escape, we start to see the whole picture emerge...
Oh my, this is a book chock full of rather dislikeable characters. All of them! And with few saving graces it actually became hard to care about any of them at one point. I think it was only interest and intrigue, and indeed nosiness, that kept me reading at times. Maybe like a car crash I just couldn't look away. But I am glad I persevered as I was rewarded by the time to got to the end. Maybe not wholly satisfied, but sated nonetheless.
It's definitely a slow burner which didn't really help me much along the way but there was something about the author's style of writing that captivated me and egged me on to keep going. It's claustrophobic along the way and often also quite sad and there were times that I did feel for Verity, annoying that she was, as she had had a bit of a rum deal.
All in all, a solid read that I will recommend if you like this sort of thing. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Verity lives in the house she has lived in all of her life, where she was carer for her mother and where she watched her sister grow up and move away. She lives a fairly isolated lifestyle, working from home making updates to the Oxford English Dictionary, with her only real social life being the weekly pub quiz.

She watches as the builders gut and renovate the house next door and is enthralled by the items being thrown away. She cannot resist snaffling away many of the items for herself.

When the neighbours Tom and Ailsa and their three children - teen Meg and twins Bea and Max move in, first introductions aren’t the best with Tom. He tries to intimidate Verity into cutting back the garden trees and generally keeping her home in better repair.

Verity is invited for drinks where Tom addresses this issue again. The twins return from school and it is apparent that Max is struggling with some of his lessons, in particular Maths and English. During the evening, Verity makes the spellings homework fun for Max. Later, Verity is asked if she will tutor Max in English for £15 per hour. She agrees but she is actually never paid for the tutoring.

As Ailsa and Verity become better acquainted, Verity’s eccentricities come to the fore and Ailsa discovers that Verity is a hoarder and many of the rooms in the house are inaccessible. Ailsa decides to help Verity clear the house, uncovering things that were both disturbing and sad.

The book opens with Ailsa living with Verity. It then goes back to tell the story of what happens next, as written by Verity.

The story is great. The way that it’s written, really drags you in and makes you feel that you personally know the characters. When Max achieves a great school report, you’re giving a huge congratulatory clap inside.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and in fact couldn’t put the book down. It’s my second book by Sabine Durrant and I loved Lie With Me too.

I rate it 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟, it would have been 5 but I felt the ending needed more work, particularly with regard to Max and his knowledge of hemlock.

My thanks go to the author and publishers Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an independent review.