Finders Keepers

Finders Keepers concludes Belinda Bauer’s suspenseful Exmoor Trilogy and manages to be even darker than the previous entry, Darkside. In these books people hurt children and the damage they do carries on for generations. Sometimes the children continue the cycle and sometimes they escape and they recover and survive. As in the earlier two books, this has enough dark humor and absurdity in it to soften what would've otherwise been a horrific situation, not to mention a villain too over the top to be taken seriously. This series is addictively creepy from beginning to end.

"No one in their right mind would choose to go on holiday to Exmoor after reading Belinda Bauer. Six children were buried on the moor in her award-winning debut novel, Blacklands. Eight vulnerable victims met their ends in its follow-up, Darkside. But the curse isn't over yet for the residents of Shipcott, the Somerset village where the author sets her thrillers: now their children are being stolen, taken from cars and replaced with a note: "You don't love her", or him, or them."

From one of my newest fav authors Finders Keepers is the third of the Exmoor based crime series, it can be read as a stand alone but please read the previous as the experience will be so much more rewarding.

Central to all the stories are the characters of Steven show more Lamb and Jonas Holly and they do require some background as to how their lives become intertwined which you get in the first two books.

Seventeen year old Steven has grown before this reader into a fine young man, decent and likeable, despite or in spite of his horrific experiences at the hands of the author Ms Bauer. In the previous books Steven has acted as bait for a serial child-killer and seen Jonas' wife Lucy die in circumstances which have haunted Steven since.

I love the pastoral crime noirness of the bleakness of the moors and the claustrophobic, gothic feel to the very unlucky town of Shipcott.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, every now and then humour breaks through Since the abductions garden shed thefts in the village soars (doubled in fact!) as the police concentrate on more important matters... "prompting one police control-room officer to sigh without irony, 'It's all gone Chicago out there'"

Finders Keepers is everything I want from a crime novel; brilliant characterisation, right down to the most fleeting appearances, taut stories and descriptions like the following:

Under a sky that was already pale Wedgwood, Exmoor had burst into life. Heather that had made the hills look scorched and black through the winter had magically revived and mottled them green. Grass that had been muddy just a month before had become like straw, while the yellow sprays of gorse and broom hid countless birds, betrayed only by their summer songs.
Foals tripped along behind sleek mares, and lambs that imagined themselves lost bleated plaintively – a sound that carried for miles on a still day. Buzzards and kestrels looked down on it all – poised to bring sudden death without disturbing the peace.

show less

Finders Keepers by Belinda Bauer was an excellent thriller. It was unusual, worrying, nicely written, and had one of the most crazed villains I've met in a lifetime of crime novels. There were times when I literarly felt my stomach churn with nausea because of the horrors of the plot, and that is definitely a first.

I liked Bauer's writing. She has some of the most creative metaphors and similes that I've encountered in novel writing.

The story: children are disappearing across Exmoor. Small girls, a mentally-challenged teen, a police officer, others. They seem to have vanished into thin air, and searchers on foot, and in a helicopter can find no trace of them. Notes saying "you don't love them" are left at the scene of each show more disappearance. And so it goes. There are the usual subplots, which didn't entirely make sense to me. This is because, unbeknownst to me, the book is the third of The Exmoor Trilogy. I'd like to read the first two books of the trilogy.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers or crime novels. Caveat: vegan readers may wish to avoid this novel. show less

The third in a series of books about the folk of Shipcott living on the edge of Exmoor. Each works well as a stand alone novel but wonderfully unite in a clever trilogy of books focusing on the lives of Steven Lamb and PC Jonas Holly. Belinda Bauer should be rightly proud of this series of work that gently picks at and then feverishly unravels the very fabric of society as seen in the lives of this gentle village community.
Here is a story of child abduction with a unique twist that reflects the breakdown of countryside activities and questions what we care about amid changes in society and our striving for progress. The story is fractured with uncertainty as the reader's knowledge of past events is examined and the mystery unfolds.
I show more enjoy the way Belinda Bauer writes, she draws out genuine, believable characters who question themselves and their motives as much as they look for faults in others; she has a good ear for dialogue, especially from a child's perspective and she writes with insightful description and refreshing humour.
The real art of storytelling is demonstrated here by way of what is alluded to as much as by what is declared. The reader is taken along at a engaging pace that quickens into a thrilling conclusion where there is enlightenment, closure and a residue of unknowing a reflection perhaps of life itself. Shipcott is populated by people we can identify with; its characters are complex but true to life; heroic at times but never comic book super heroes above all interesting and with the ability to surprise.
These books have been a joy to read although they cover some dark subjects and while I always recommend reading a writer's work in chronological order there is some merit for doing so in this case. Above I would unreservedly recommend any and all of these books and suggest you look out for future works from this stunning author. show less

Finders Keepers is the third book in a loose trilogy set in the village of Shipcott, Exmoor. It features Steven Lamb, who was the main character in Blacklands, and Jonas Holly, who was the policeman and main character in Darkside. Whilst Finders Keepers can be read as a standalone novel I wouldn't recommend it. I read it straight after Darkside and there are things that are referred to in it that directly relate to what was in Darkside.

In this book, children are being taken from cars and a note left behind saying "you don't love him/her". Jonas and the wider police force have to search for the kidnapper.

Belinda Bauer is becoming a real favourite of mine. I've found all of her books to be absolute page turners. They are quite dark in show more nature and cleverly plotted with a great cast of characters. I find myself riveted by the storylines and their many twists and turns. Although the big reveal comes half way through this story, I would never have guessed whodunnit and I think that is a measure of good writing. Can't wait for her next book! show less

Listened to this on audio, it kept my on the edge of my seat!
I didn't find it predictable, which is always pleasant in a mystery/thriller novel. I felt deeply for all the characters who experienced such true anguish in this house of horrors. It was a bit graphic but I don't mind a little gore! I found it to be realistic and the plot believable, as kids are abducted ALL the time by mentally unhealthy people for such bizarre reasons.

Wow - I stayed up far too late to finish this book. It grabs hold and doesn't let go. I wasn't sure how the situation from the 2nd book would be resolved but it is. Bauer has a seriously morbid and twisted imagination, yet it isn't unbelievable. Recommended but read the whole series in order for the full effect.