Sabine Durrant

What a thoroughly tangled story this is, so benign on the surface but with so much bubbling away beneath.

We have a fabulously unreliable narrator in Verity Ann Baxter (as she introduces herself to her new neighbours). Every single thing that happens is seen from her viewpoint and I honestly didn't know whether I could trust her or not. Ailsa and Tom Tilson are the new neighbours, along with their three children. From the off Verity both simmers and simpers under Ailsa's gaze, craving her show more friendship and yet there's a sense of independence from Verity that doesn't seem to match this desire for approval and appreciation.

I suppose you might call Verity a bit odd. It's hard to say if she's a nuisance or a help. She's gathering knowledge about the family, insinuating her way in, but of course it's her story and she doesn't see it like that. Verity is an amazing creation, the kind of character that stays with the reader, one I wanted to know better whilst all the while metaphorically backing away.

There's a major event around which the story revolves, but the whole thing is really about Verity's life, both past and present, before the Tilsons and with them. It is absolutely compelling reading with a slightly sinister undertone to it.

I've read Sabine Durrant's books before and know she excels at twisty stories and unreliable narrators. Finders, Keepers is a masterclass in clever plotting, keeping the reader on their toes and drip-feeding nuggets of information. I loved how each chapter started with an item (the reason for which becomes clear as the book progresses), and a word and its meaning (Verity works for the Oxford English Dictionary rewriting the existing entries). There is so much that is cunning and inventive about this book and Durrant is a fantastic writer. This book is exactly my idea of psychological fiction, where the mind and all its deepest, darkest corners, is the focus. It's such a great read. show less

Dead Heat is narrated by Matt Grimshaw. Down on his luck after both his relationship and his work as a journalist ended, he goes to Greece to stay with his best friend, Adam Murphy and his wife Celia. Adam is everything Matt is not. He’s a successful TV presenter, he is charming and congenial, a generous host and a fun person to be around, but tensions rise when somebody else arrives in the area who threatens to derail the summer and seriously muddy the waters.

To say anymore about the show more story itself would be to risk spoilers and I think it’s better to just let it all unfold, just as it would have done for Matt. I read Dead Heat fairly slowly because I wanted to savour every detail, every exchange between Matt and the other characters, and every move he made, all expertly set up by the author so that she could draw all the strands together for the finale.

For me, this is a masterclass in plotting and everything I want in a literary thriller. There is a languid build up, the edgy feel of a hot, claustrophobic summer full of resentment and covetousness, an unreliable narrator, and then the conclusion where it all converges to great effect. I thought several times throughout that I knew what had happened and that I’d guessed a twist, but I was wrong.

The writing is absolutely spellbinding, the story is quietly menacing and the characters are unstable and/or untrustworthy. Put together, Dead Heat is quite simply superb. show less

I've enjoyed Sabine Durrant's other psychological thrillers but Lie With Me is really in a league of its own. It is narrated by Paul Morris which surprised me as I had assumed from the blurb it was going to be a female protagonist. He's a semi-unlikable character, who tells lies and eventually finds that he tells one or two lies too many.

This is a thoroughly engrossing story and I found Paul to be an interesting and honest narrator, even if his life was built on lies. In fact, each character show more is fascinating and mostly unpleasant and I loved how the tension built as the story progressed.

I found that I didn't want to rush this book at all, savouring every word and I almost want to go back to the beginning and read it again now I know what I know. An absolutely stonking and gripping read which I loved from start to finish. show less

4.25 Stars — I think the blurb for SUN DAMAGE is purposely vague, so I’m not going to say much about the plot. It’s set in the south of France, my favorite new thriller setting. Two con artists are working the beach resorts there, until things get a bit out of hand. And then…

Is summer gothic suspense a thing? Because that’s how I would describe this book. It’s an absorbing slow-burner with just the right amount of tension. I was really taken in by the rich descriptions of this show more place, like the yummy food, gorgeous scenery, and the stifling heat. The big twists at the end were brilliant. show less