Finders Keepers By Sabine Durrant

‘Finders Keepers’ is the latest book by Sabine Durrant.

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.

Finders Keepers is an intense and claustrophobic story about revenge and obsession.

The story is written primarily through the narrative of Verity and in the past and present.

The story begins with Verity caring for Ailsa You’re aware that something has happened, a tragedy but it’s only as the story flows back and forth that you realise that Alisa has been charged with the murder of her husband. Verity is now her carer and Ailsa doesn’t remember much. In the past sequences, we see the sophisticated Alisa and her husband Tom move in beside Verity with their 3 children and Verity and Ailsa become close friends. But Verity doesn’t think that their marriage is as perfect as they make out, as she’s heard the shouting and seen the tense exchanges between the family members.

The story is an observational story. Verity lives alone with her dog and has a lot of time on her hands, so when Ailsa befriends her she jumps at the chance. It’s sad in some senses as Verity is a lonely person and Ailsa cunningly uses this to her advantage getting Verity to babysit or tutor knowing that she won’t say no.

The flow of the story is cleverly written and really pulls the reader in as the two women become firm friends and confide in each other about their past and present. The different tenses really set the tone of the story on the lead up to the murder as well as the developing friendship.

With an intriguing and flawed narrator and a host of interesting characters, ‘Finders Keepers’ is the ideal psychological thriller that made for compulsive reading.

You can buy ‘Finders Keepers’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.