Finders Keepers [Kindle Edition]

This is the third crime novel that Belinda Bauer has set on Exmoor. I'd already read and enjoyed Blacklands the first in the series, although I haven't yet read the second one, Darkside which also features the same characters. Although I enjoyed this book, I wish, with hindsight that I'd read Darkside first since a lot has clearly happened since the end of Blacklands. Having said that, you can pick up enough of the back story to read this as a stand-alone novel if you wish. Like the best detective stories, this one has a really good sense of place as well as character, and the author evokes the Exmoor landscape extremely well. The plot concerns the disappearance of children, with strange notes left by the person who takes them. It isn't a "whodunnit" in the strictest sense of the word, as the author reveals the perpetrator to the reader about half way through. The suspense is achieved by our observation of the police enquiry and wondering if they will be able to solve the mystery. The characters are well-drawn, although ultimately I found the plot rather bizarre. Nevertheless, a good read, and I'll be reading Darkside fairly soon as well as looking out for Belinda Bauer's next novel.

I read Bauer's first book and thought it was OK. Quite promising in fact although a little artificial. I didn't read the second but saw that it had lots of rave reviews of Amazon so assumed that she had improved. And now this one.

I almost don't know what to say about it. Like a previous reviewer has said, its not that there aren't good bits, a few pages at a time where any reader can get caught up with thinking that this is a well written crime novel. The problem is that the author, on a regular basis, gives her characters preposterous things to do and say and what makes it worse is that now we are on book 3 of a series of crimes all taking place in a small area of Exmoor, there is also the slightly farcical sense that absolutely everybody in these books is either a criminal, a victim or just about to become one.

But it is the constant absurd behaviour of the characters that jars. A small example. We have a serious kidnapping case investigated by a none too bright male detective and his side-kick female. They are getting nowhere. They have no clues as too the perpetrator. Up pops the local bobby who spots the reason why cars in the vicinity of the kidnappings have had theirs windows smashed. What do the lead detectives do ? They pour scorn on what is obviously a worthwhile theory and shoo the PC away. Its nonsense. The police just aren't that stupid. And this is just one of dozens and dozens of examples of behaviour that under the circumstance is just inexplicable. People don't behave this way.

To me this feels like the first draft of a novel that the author has ripped through in a few weeks and then without any input from an editor or any further re-writes has simply been published. Perhaps that's how thing get done these days. Which is a pity because somewhere in here is a writer who could do a lot better.

Belinda Bauer is my new favourite writer of terrifyingly original psychological crime novels. This is the third of a trilogy that started with Blacklands and is every bit as dark, unusual and compelling, as well as being fantastically well-written.

Some of the twists throughout the series have made the hairs on my neck stand on end, because not everything is always as it seems regarding the character of Jonas Holly, and at times I found myself scared to switch off the light after reading!

Original, horrific and brilliant.