Sunday 5 July 2020

BLOG TOUR: Finders, Keepers - Sabine Durrant


One woman's secret is her neighbour's opportunity.

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.


What did I think?

Like the ivy creeping through Verity's fence, Sabine Durrant's mesmerising words slowly but firmly grabbed hold of me in her addictive new novel Finders, Keepers.  I would definitely describe Finders, Keepers as a slow burner but it's like a pot on constant simmer that you can't take your eyes off; this is one watched pot that is about to boil over.

I loved the character of Verity; they do say it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for.  Spending many years as carer to her mother, Verity has led a very sheltered life.  Now that she is living alone, it's things rather than people that bring her comfort...until she gets new neighbours.  Ailsa and Tom Tilson move in with their family and, although an unlikely pairing, Ailsa and Verity become almost friends.  I say 'almost' friends as it felt from the start that Ailsa was using Verity.

I may have had my doubts about Ailsa's friendship with Verity but it was Tom who really got on my nerves.  I mean it does sound like Verity's house looks a bit ramshackle, but they bought the house next door to her knowing that already.  What right does Tom have to tell Verity what to do with her own house?  It felt like he was bullying her and I felt so angry at times as he wouldn't have been so confrontational if he had a male neighbour.

As Verity's job involves updating the Oxford English Dictionary, each chapter starts with a relevant item from the chapter and a word along with its meaning.  I loved this extra touch and found myself looking forward to them, wondering what interesting words I would learn or re-experience.  When Ailsa finds out about Verity's job she seizes the opportunity to gain a free tutor for her son, Max.  Ailsa did initially promise to pay Verity for her time but the money never seems to materialise, increasing my feeling that the Tilsons were taking advantage of Verity.  Like I said earlier though, it is the quiet ones you have to watch out for...

Captivating and compelling, Finders, Keepers is a simmering pot of a novel; it may bubble along nicely but it's always threatening to boil over.  Like a creeping ivy, Sabine Durrant weaves tendrils of suspense and intrigue through the book until we find ourselves firmly in its grasp and once it grabs you, which it inevitably will, it's impossible to put this book down.  

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:


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