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Finders, Keepers by Sabine Durrant was published with Hodder & Stoughton July 9th. Described as ‘brilliantly creepy and completely absorbing’, it is a tale that really gets under your skin, an unsettling tale. With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review. Sabine Durrant’s Sun Damage is gloriously teasing, and is just about the most exciting and obsessively readable book to have passed through my fingers for eons. Set in the beautiful south of France, the descriptions of the area made me sigh for the sun, but as the story unfolded this clever and original crime story won me over until, in the well known and timeworn manner, I simply could not put it down. I think the success of Sabine Durrant's writing is the depth of her characters and the way she allows us gradually to get to know them. Your first impression of Verity and the new neighbour Ailsa Tilson alters gradually as words are spoken, deeds are done or not, and the lie of the land shifts just slightly.
Secrets and lies permeate the story. Fear too. For 'Lulu' is fearful of not only being found out in her deception, but also of a man who is vengeful and murderous. Meanwhile, the vacationing residents of the villa who hired Lulu have their own secrets, antagonisms, veiled hostilities, and deceptions. This really is a tale about contrast. Despite Tom's anger towards Verity and her overgrown garden, with weeds that dare to creep into his perfectly created space, the two women strike up a relationship. Whilst it would be difficult to call this a traditional friendship, it's certainly a compelling and intriguing pairing and always seen through Verity's own eyes. This one scores in the way it is written, the atmosphere it sets, of anticipation and dread. There is a feeling that something is not ok right from the beginning.Verity is a creature of habit. A lonely eccentric, she spends her days living in the same house she grew up in with her rescue dog Maudie. Surrounded by life long memories and possessions, she doesn’t like change. Always looking for ways to save money or scavenging for things to keep. Life is usually solitary and simple, that is until the Tilson’s move in next door. Sabine Durrant excels in character creation. I have a great fondness for unreliable, and quite frankly, unlikeable fictional characters and this book is filled with them. Verity's narrative is completely one-sided and the reader will often question what she says. Aisla is drawn as a flighty, sometime cruel woman, whilst Tom's portrayal is that of a bully who expects everything to go his way. I was getting rather tired of it, frustrated with it, annoyed enough that I might have quit if I hadn't needed an audiobook so much, but then the last bit turned it around and finally got interesting again. It took too long to get interesting again. Written with Durrant's usual acuity, Sun Damage is an attractive two-for-one deal: smart observation of family life and Brits abroad in the middle, bookended by a Highsmithian thriller' SUNDAY TIMES
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. I’m a huge fan of Sabine Durrant as her slow burning psychological thrillers are exactly the type of books I love! Finders, Keepers was high on my list of anticipated reads of the year and thankfully it didn’t disappoint. It’s roasting hot in Sainte Cecile sur Mer and Sean and Ali have their sights set on Lulu Fletcher Davies, a new tourist in time and the perfect mark. For Sean and Ali are con artists and this is how they make their living. But on this occasion things don’t go quite to plan and Ali ends up doing a runner to a remote villa where she takes on Lulu’s identity & does her utmost to remain undiscovered. But as we all know, secrets don’t often stay secret for long… Claustrophobic and suspenseful, with an engaging narrator and a satisfying twist: perfect poolside reading' GUARDIAN Verity has lived in the same house in Trinity Fields, London for her entire life. She cared for her mother before she died, and her sister Faith left years ago. Now, it's just Verity and her dog Maudie who occupy the large, somewhat dilapidated house. Verity works from home, she's a wordsmith; working on new definitions for updated versions of the dictionary.However, even a con artist can have a heart, and when their latest scam goes seriously wrong, Ali flees. She finds herself working as a live-in cook to a group of wealthy Brits who are holidaying together in the South of France in a large house. How she ends up there is a journey in itself, and a very bumpy one at that. She assumes a different name and identity and within days has become a much relied upon staff member. This novel explores how our early experiences mold our personalities in adulthood. Our protagonist, 'Lulu' is not a bad person, but she has done very bad things. Lulu is not really Lulu of course, this is just a persona Ali has claimed as her own after she reached a point of desperation in her own life. When Ailsa and Tom Tilson buy the property next door, Verity watches the house being transformed, over a thirteen month period, into a show home. When the Tilsons finally move in with their three children, Verity gets to meet the family that she already knew lots about. Verity is living in her house, where she has done for basically her whole life, she was a career to her mother before she died and her younger sister left home. However, she becomes obsessed with her neighbours.
Anyway returning to what lies between the covers, I enjoyed this and the ending is fantastic. However, I thought it was missing something throughout and everything felt a bit obvious which was disappointing. Parts of the ending were obvious and others were not but I thought it was the perfect ending for the book hence why I said it was fantastic. The rest of the book did need an injection of something and I wish it had a slightly faster pace. We get to know most of them intimately (not kidding—there's one masturbation scene) in this disquieting tale of obsession, grief, and found family.Claustrophobic and suspenseful, with an engaging narrator and a satisfying twist: perfect poolside reading ‘ GUARDIAN Verity recounts (each chapter an entry with an item and word definition as header) how she met and befriended new neighbor Ailsa, who is under house arrest—in Verity's home—while awaiting trial for killing her husband, Tom. Ailsa and Tom's three children are off residing with Ailsa's mother-in-law, Cecily Tilson (which had me do a double-take. Not Cicely Tyson).
Sensuously atmospheric, Sun Damage is a twisty thriller with the added delight of acute social comedy. Without doubt Sabine Durrant's best novel yet' GILL HORNBY
Featured Reviews
The person who flees assumes the role of a live-in chef for a family who is staying at a remote villa in the south of France. But with family and friends coming to stay too, can their identity be kept hidden, especially when one of the guests seems to know them, and will their accomplice find them? Sun Damage has, unusually, got the attachment of an Epilogue, and it is a really good and unexpected extra to wind up such a fascinating read. The author, Sabine Durrant, has written five previous thriller stories, but this is the first one of hers that I have read, and I will seek out her books in the hope and expectation that they will all be as good as this one. I love Sabine Durrant. I think she is such a talented writer, her books are dark and delicious and her style of writing is such that you’re drawn in immediately. This one was no exception - in fact the first part of the book was my favourite. I loved hearing about Sean and Ali’s escapades, Sean was a real piece of work and actually I’d like to have learnt more about him. Saying that though, I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing how Ali managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the guests at the villa. My heart was in my mouth on several occasions wondering if she’d be found out. There's a death at the centre of this story. The reader knows who is dead, and who is accused of it, but it takes some time for us to realise what happened, we are kept on our toes, always wondering and I changed my mind many times throughout the novel. 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.
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