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Exmoor Trilogy #3
Ni älskar dem inte
Nioårige Pete väntar i bilen på mamma och pappa. När de kommer tillbaka är han borta. På ratten sitter en lapp: »Ni älskar honom inte.«
Under högsommaren faller en mörk skugga över Exmoor. Barn blir bortrövade från bilar. Varje försvinnande markeras bara med ett kort meddelande en brutal anklagelse. Inga förklaringar, ingen begärd lösensumma... inget hopp.
Polisen Jonas Holly står inför en farlig resa in i kidnapparens förvridna psyke, om han alls ska ha en chans att sätta fast honom. Men Holly är ännu skakad av en personlig tragedi är han över huvud taget rätt man för uppgiften?
Åtminstone en person i Exmoor anser att Jonas Holly, när det gäller byns beskydd, är den siste att lita på...
BELINDA BAUER växte upp i England och Sydafrika och bor i dag i Wales. Hennes debutroman Mörk jord belönades 2010 med deckarvärldens mest prestigefyllda pris The Gold Dagger som delas ut av brittiska The Crime Writers Association för årets bästa kriminalroman. Ni älskar dem inte är hennes tredje bok.
»Belinda Bauer har blivit beryktad för att kunna tränga in i sina karaktärers medvetanden med en närmast otänkbar verklighetskänsla. Hennes tredje roman matchar definitivt de föregående, och utsätter bypolisen Jonas Holly för händelser som brittisk deckarfiktion aldrig tidigare erfarit. Den engelska landsbygden har aldrig känts så frånstötande och så makaber.« SUNDAY TIMES
»Ni älskar dem inte har en premiss som både är spirituell och läskig... Det är bokens humor som verkligen strålar. Belinda Bauer infriar sina Gold Dagger-vinnande löften genom att på utsökt sätt hålla fram och snedvrida småstadens vardagliga självbelåtenhet.«
Under högsommaren faller en mörk skugga över Exmoor. Barn blir bortrövade från bilar. Varje försvinnande markeras bara med ett kort meddelande en brutal anklagelse. Inga förklaringar, ingen begärd lösensumma... inget hopp.
Polisen Jonas Holly står inför en farlig resa in i kidnapparens förvridna psyke, om han alls ska ha en chans att sätta fast honom. Men Holly är ännu skakad av en personlig tragedi är han över huvud taget rätt man för uppgiften?
Åtminstone en person i Exmoor anser att Jonas Holly, när det gäller byns beskydd, är den siste att lita på...
BELINDA BAUER växte upp i England och Sydafrika och bor i dag i Wales. Hennes debutroman Mörk jord belönades 2010 med deckarvärldens mest prestigefyllda pris The Gold Dagger som delas ut av brittiska The Crime Writers Association för årets bästa kriminalroman. Ni älskar dem inte är hennes tredje bok.
»Belinda Bauer har blivit beryktad för att kunna tränga in i sina karaktärers medvetanden med en närmast otänkbar verklighetskänsla. Hennes tredje roman matchar definitivt de föregående, och utsätter bypolisen Jonas Holly för händelser som brittisk deckarfiktion aldrig tidigare erfarit. Den engelska landsbygden har aldrig känts så frånstötande och så makaber.« SUNDAY TIMES
»Ni älskar dem inte har en premiss som både är spirituell och läskig... Det är bokens humor som verkligen strålar. Belinda Bauer infriar sina Gold Dagger-vinnande löften genom att på utsökt sätt hålla fram och snedvrida småstadens vardagliga självbelåtenhet.«
406 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
239 people are currently reading
2319 people want to read
About the author
Belinda Bauer
18 books2,112 followersBelinda Bauer grew up in England and South Africa. She has worked as a journalist and screenwriter, and her script THE LOCKER ROOM earned her the Carl Foreman/Bafta Award for Young British Screenwriters, an award that was presented to her by Sidney Poitier. She was a runner-up in the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition for "Mysterious Ways," about a girl stranded on a desert island with 30,000 Bibles. Belinda now lives in Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
May 29, 2013
Can we really believe in the crime and the criminal here? I don't want to spoilerate this review, but the plot is a fairly big Ask, here. Disbelief has to be suspended from big rusty meathooks (hint hint) dangling from the fleshroom of an abbatoir (nudge).
British crime writers have a major problem that Americans don't – a relative lack of horrendousity. In the past decades American horrors have been plentiful but British crims tend to play it low-key. So I was thinking – can a guy get to be as completely insane as the perp is in this book? There are a notable British cases – Harold Shipman, an apparently average family doctor living in Manchester, killed between 200 and 500 of his patients over many years, that was fairly spectacular; Steve Wright killed five prostitutes in six weeks in Ipswich in 2006, that was unique; we had the Dunblane massacre, but that was 16 years ago – so these things are few and far between. And thank the heavens above for that. But the British thriller writer tends to give the ridiculous impression that spectacular crime is happening every other month all over the UK because they have to, it's what their chosen genre does, they don't want to bore us with ordinary crime, that's been done.
So they over-egg the British pudding.
When you watch a good sitcom you see a lot of compressed wit, highly mannered unrealistic dialogue contrived for maximum hilarity. When you watch Watership Down you don't think I bet this is exactly how rabbits are when our backs are turned (I used to think that, of course, but in my late 20s I met a few rabbits and they clued me in.) So all genre fiction – and of course, all normal fiction – compresses and thus distorts; we would hope in the name of greater truth, or greater entertainment. Thrillers do this a LOT whilst at the same time poncing about pretending to be grittily realistic. Liars! I generally don't care for them for that reason. I like the tedious grinding of police procedurals as written by Richard Price.
This is a brutal and frankly nutty story which teeters between the usual thrillerish silliness and reasonable believability. I think the book editor let three or four Grotesquely Cliched Expressions through the net, and you can put money on Belinda never winning the Nobel Prize for Pretty Good Writing, but she can crank up the fear and the adrenalin, and she has an excellent command of tone which is where you get the jokes in the right places not the wrong places.
In the denoument you get the cops realising The Truth at the same time as the perp has decided he must perp up a Violent Transformative End to the whole thing, so it's like every thriller since The Perils of Pauline (1914) – are they gonna make it In Time? Gag! Ah, time, where are you when we need you.
But hell - I read this book in about 2 days. Cavils aside, it was a blast. If you like gruesome crime stuff, Belinda Bauer will make you cower.
British crime writers have a major problem that Americans don't – a relative lack of horrendousity. In the past decades American horrors have been plentiful but British crims tend to play it low-key. So I was thinking – can a guy get to be as completely insane as the perp is in this book? There are a notable British cases – Harold Shipman, an apparently average family doctor living in Manchester, killed between 200 and 500 of his patients over many years, that was fairly spectacular; Steve Wright killed five prostitutes in six weeks in Ipswich in 2006, that was unique; we had the Dunblane massacre, but that was 16 years ago – so these things are few and far between. And thank the heavens above for that. But the British thriller writer tends to give the ridiculous impression that spectacular crime is happening every other month all over the UK because they have to, it's what their chosen genre does, they don't want to bore us with ordinary crime, that's been done.
So they over-egg the British pudding.
When you watch a good sitcom you see a lot of compressed wit, highly mannered unrealistic dialogue contrived for maximum hilarity. When you watch Watership Down you don't think I bet this is exactly how rabbits are when our backs are turned (I used to think that, of course, but in my late 20s I met a few rabbits and they clued me in.) So all genre fiction – and of course, all normal fiction – compresses and thus distorts; we would hope in the name of greater truth, or greater entertainment. Thrillers do this a LOT whilst at the same time poncing about pretending to be grittily realistic. Liars! I generally don't care for them for that reason. I like the tedious grinding of police procedurals as written by Richard Price.
This is a brutal and frankly nutty story which teeters between the usual thrillerish silliness and reasonable believability. I think the book editor let three or four Grotesquely Cliched Expressions through the net, and you can put money on Belinda never winning the Nobel Prize for Pretty Good Writing, but she can crank up the fear and the adrenalin, and she has an excellent command of tone which is where you get the jokes in the right places not the wrong places.
In the denoument you get the cops realising The Truth at the same time as the perp has decided he must perp up a Violent Transformative End to the whole thing, so it's like every thriller since The Perils of Pauline (1914) – are they gonna make it In Time? Gag! Ah, time, where are you when we need you.
But hell - I read this book in about 2 days. Cavils aside, it was a blast. If you like gruesome crime stuff, Belinda Bauer will make you cower.
February 12, 2017
Children are going missing in the village of Shipcott in Exmoor. Being snatched and told in 'post it' form that they are not loved. DI Reynolds along with DS Rice are tasked with solving the case as they revisit old ground from the previous case.
Jonas is slowly recovering from the loss of his wife and Stephen has found love. All brilliant strands that weave beautifully together as Ms Bauer takes us for the last time to Exmoor to wrap up this brilliant trilogy. Reading this so soon after Darkside kept characters fresh and I wish now that I had read the three books in fairly quick succession. Reading so much crime fiction I find sometimes characters can get lost in my head as I go from book to book.
Again we're treated to a brilliant storyline that had me gripped once I became immersed. The characters, settings sucking me in without even realising it. I couldn't put it down once I had picked it up again after being unwell for a while. It was just the thing to get me out of a reading slump and give me my mojo back.
I cannot recommend Ms Bauer's books enough and this trilogy, in my humble opinion, is an absolute 'must read' for absorbing storylines and characters whose lives you begin to feel a part of.
Highly recommend.
Jonas is slowly recovering from the loss of his wife and Stephen has found love. All brilliant strands that weave beautifully together as Ms Bauer takes us for the last time to Exmoor to wrap up this brilliant trilogy. Reading this so soon after Darkside kept characters fresh and I wish now that I had read the three books in fairly quick succession. Reading so much crime fiction I find sometimes characters can get lost in my head as I go from book to book.
Again we're treated to a brilliant storyline that had me gripped once I became immersed. The characters, settings sucking me in without even realising it. I couldn't put it down once I had picked it up again after being unwell for a while. It was just the thing to get me out of a reading slump and give me my mojo back.
I cannot recommend Ms Bauer's books enough and this trilogy, in my humble opinion, is an absolute 'must read' for absorbing storylines and characters whose lives you begin to feel a part of.
Highly recommend.
May 4, 2017
How long does it take for a child to go missing? The time it takes to go inside the quick-mart to get some milk? The time it takes to turn your back in a busy shopping mall? It's not because you don't love them that you are careless is it? In the county I live in, it is against the law to leave a dog alone in a car. It is not against the law to leave a child in a car alone.
This is a chilling novel created by Belinda Bauer, published 2017, about a small town in England where there is an outbreak of kidnappings. My copy was an audio book which in my opinion, increases the dramatic tension.
In Englad, before fox hunting was banned, a person called The Huntsman, was responsible for caring for the fox hounds. When the hunting stopped, he lost his job and had to dispose of the hounds whom he considered his children. He was not happy.
The kidnapped children simply vanished. For weeks, there was not a clue. However, a couple of enterprising teens decide they will capture the kidnapper simply by playing alone and collect the reward money. Let's just say nothing went according to plan. One thing did happen; one of the boys escaped, but his friend end older brother were captured. Now there was an eye witness.
An excellent read, but please don't read it alone.
This is a chilling novel created by Belinda Bauer, published 2017, about a small town in England where there is an outbreak of kidnappings. My copy was an audio book which in my opinion, increases the dramatic tension.
In Englad, before fox hunting was banned, a person called The Huntsman, was responsible for caring for the fox hounds. When the hunting stopped, he lost his job and had to dispose of the hounds whom he considered his children. He was not happy.
The kidnapped children simply vanished. For weeks, there was not a clue. However, a couple of enterprising teens decide they will capture the kidnapper simply by playing alone and collect the reward money. Let's just say nothing went according to plan. One thing did happen; one of the boys escaped, but his friend end older brother were captured. Now there was an eye witness.
An excellent read, but please don't read it alone.
June 23, 2021
Bauer does it again , sheer genius. Firstly let me say that if you read her books or plan to, whilst not advertised as a trilogy, it would be best to read her first book Blacklands and then Darkside first, Bauer incorporates characters in this book from the previous two and if you read this one first it would have spoilers for the others.
This book started slower than her others I have read but super glad I hung on because from the halfway mark I could not put it down. Bauer has the knack of incorporating grisly themes that make you slightly shocked, horrified but desperate for more, I was cheering on characters in this book, like yelling at the TV thinking they could hear me.
Amazing book that has impact, I don't know where Bauer gets her imagination from but she has get some left of centre ideas that I love. These are crime books with a difference, there is not an author out there like her at the moment and I am a huge fan.
The concept of this book once you realise what is going on is excellently bizarre and creepy. I liked that characters from other books were in this book, others don't I see from reviews.
Just read it, in fact read all her books.
This book started slower than her others I have read but super glad I hung on because from the halfway mark I could not put it down. Bauer has the knack of incorporating grisly themes that make you slightly shocked, horrified but desperate for more, I was cheering on characters in this book, like yelling at the TV thinking they could hear me.
Amazing book that has impact, I don't know where Bauer gets her imagination from but she has get some left of centre ideas that I love. These are crime books with a difference, there is not an author out there like her at the moment and I am a huge fan.
The concept of this book once you realise what is going on is excellently bizarre and creepy. I liked that characters from other books were in this book, others don't I see from reviews.
Just read it, in fact read all her books.
July 15, 2020
I enjoyed the descriptive language of this novel. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"The ebb and flow of the air itself against his ear, a coded whisper in breathy morse."
"The answer stayed in the shadows like a wolf skirting a camp fire."
"Through the doorway he could see an obelisk of yellow brown moorland dotted with gorse and heather and topped with wedgewood blue sky."
The story was a bit hard to swallow and I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the previous two entries in this series. Good narration by John Sackville.
"The ebb and flow of the air itself against his ear, a coded whisper in breathy morse."
"The answer stayed in the shadows like a wolf skirting a camp fire."
"Through the doorway he could see an obelisk of yellow brown moorland dotted with gorse and heather and topped with wedgewood blue sky."
The story was a bit hard to swallow and I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the previous two entries in this series. Good narration by John Sackville.
June 17, 2012
"This fresh, brilliant scenery brought with it little pricks of guilt, like pins left in a new shirt.'
Children on Exmoor are disappearing from parked vehicles and, 'as if by slick, sick magic' being replaced by a note on the steering wheel. "You don't love him." The town of Shipcott is ill equipped to cope. Not two years previously, a brutal killer killed a number of the residents and was never caught. Now, as the summer burns on, Shipcott starts to feel like a town cursed.
Of all the new crime writers to emerge in recent years, Belinda Bauer has attracted the lion's share of attention. Hardly surprising given her startlingly original plots, her flawless prose, dark humour and enviable gift for characterisation. This is the third book in what could be described as a loosely connected series. It works well as a stand-alone, but to fully appreciate the intricacy of the plotting and characterisation, you should probably read Darkside first.
In fact, start with Blacklands and read them all. She is an exceptional writer.
Children on Exmoor are disappearing from parked vehicles and, 'as if by slick, sick magic' being replaced by a note on the steering wheel. "You don't love him." The town of Shipcott is ill equipped to cope. Not two years previously, a brutal killer killed a number of the residents and was never caught. Now, as the summer burns on, Shipcott starts to feel like a town cursed.
Of all the new crime writers to emerge in recent years, Belinda Bauer has attracted the lion's share of attention. Hardly surprising given her startlingly original plots, her flawless prose, dark humour and enviable gift for characterisation. This is the third book in what could be described as a loosely connected series. It works well as a stand-alone, but to fully appreciate the intricacy of the plotting and characterisation, you should probably read Darkside first.
In fact, start with Blacklands and read them all. She is an exceptional writer.
June 26, 2015
With the benefit of reading the previous two books, Blacklands and Darkside, I welcomed their history's impact on this third in the Exmoor trilogy. Individuals "damaged" as children experience life as adults with a bias. They see things through a filter that is not always true or realistic. With Stevie's experiences in the previous books, he believes Jonas to be a murderer. I was unprepared for this, as I liked both Stevie and Jonas. Even as Stevie's beliefs wavered, mine became more sure. I believe Jonas acted based on his own childhood and out of grief and love for his late wife. Now that Stevie has found love, perhaps he will understand Jonas a little more. I think he may find himself in the same position as Jonas some day.
One difficult part of this trilogy is the involvement of cruelty against children. In this book, it continues, but with the addition of cruelty to dogs and other animals. While not graphic, all it takes is imagination to make it so.
One difficult part of this trilogy is the involvement of cruelty against children. In this book, it continues, but with the addition of cruelty to dogs and other animals. While not graphic, all it takes is imagination to make it so.
August 22, 2021
FINDERS KEEPERS is the one book that Belinda Bauer should not have written. It was created from leftover pieces of her first two novels, “Blacklands” and “Darkside”, fragments that should have been appended to the endings of these earlier novels — plus the addition of a novella length horror story of a madman.
It appears that Bauer wanted to explore the main protagonists of her first two novels, Steven Lamb and Jonas Holly, in more depth. But all she generated was a boring coda about 17-year-old Steven, and an incomprehensible ending to the Jonas Holly story.
The details of Steven’s teenage life, and that of his little brother, Davey, were among the most boring scenes I have ever come across in a Bauer novel. The personalities of these two brothers changed slightly during the course of the novel, but not enough to justify the amount of space used to describe their activities. The description of Jonas Holly’s behaviour during the course of the novel didn’t form a comprehensive whole and still didn’t tie up the questions left unanswered about him by the strange ending of “Darkside”.
I have given FINDERS KEEPERS three stars because the horror story of a madman was worth five stars, but it only formed approximately half the book — a novella length story. Neither Steven nor Jonas needed to be included among kidnapped children and, in fact, were distracting when they were. If this had been a novella, it would have been great. The attempt to insert Steven and Jonas into the story, and so make it a longer novel, weakened the more interesting sections, portions of which formed a truly gruesome horror story.
It appears that Bauer wanted to explore the main protagonists of her first two novels, Steven Lamb and Jonas Holly, in more depth. But all she generated was a boring coda about 17-year-old Steven, and an incomprehensible ending to the Jonas Holly story.
The details of Steven’s teenage life, and that of his little brother, Davey, were among the most boring scenes I have ever come across in a Bauer novel. The personalities of these two brothers changed slightly during the course of the novel, but not enough to justify the amount of space used to describe their activities. The description of Jonas Holly’s behaviour during the course of the novel didn’t form a comprehensive whole and still didn’t tie up the questions left unanswered about him by the strange ending of “Darkside”.
I have given FINDERS KEEPERS three stars because the horror story of a madman was worth five stars, but it only formed approximately half the book — a novella length story. Neither Steven nor Jonas needed to be included among kidnapped children and, in fact, were distracting when they were. If this had been a novella, it would have been great. The attempt to insert Steven and Jonas into the story, and so make it a longer novel, weakened the more interesting sections, portions of which formed a truly gruesome horror story.
April 23, 2019
8/10
Brilliant. A genuine thriller, scary and exciting. At times funny, at times moving, and at all times very readable. Steven Lamb returns, a little older and a little wiser than the 12yo he was in 'Blacklands', and finds himself having to deal with another killer. This rounds out the Exmoor trilogy, the books that made Belinda Bauer's name. I absolutely loved them, and her! Can't wait for her next book
Brilliant. A genuine thriller, scary and exciting. At times funny, at times moving, and at all times very readable. Steven Lamb returns, a little older and a little wiser than the 12yo he was in 'Blacklands', and finds himself having to deal with another killer. This rounds out the Exmoor trilogy, the books that made Belinda Bauer's name. I absolutely loved them, and her! Can't wait for her next book
August 29, 2018
I have recently become a big fan of Belinda Bauer’s highly praised and popular psychological thrillers. I have read Snap (on the long list of 13 novels chosen for the Man Booker award) and the first two books in the Exmoor trilogy.
Finders Keepers is the third book in the Exmoor series and in my opinion the weakest. This is the third time a serial killer has targeted the tiny village. Some of the major characters from the two previous books are featured. Without reading those you miss some of the nuances of their personalities and growth.
It seems preposterous that several psychopathic killers have been carrying out their evil work in this tiny settlement, that one young person has been seized twice, and that all the villagers have not moved elsewhere in fright and despair.
Although the characters are so well developed that we feel we know them, I felt there were aspects of Jonas, the village policeman, which were unknown or that I failed to grasp. Steven has grown from a boy into an interesting young man. I enjoyed revisiting his family. Reynolds is struggling as newly head of the murder investigations. He worries about failure in his ability to identify the perpetrator and his hair is still a major concern to him. The supporting cast are very well written.
I found the story very dark and with some gruesome scenes. It started out slowly with the disappearance of a number of children. Notes were left for their parents accusing them of not loving their children enough. The plot reached a harrowing, pulse pounding conclusion. It is time to leave Exmoor and its nasty and far fetched events and to read some of Bauer’s highly rated stand alone novels.
Finders Keepers is the third book in the Exmoor series and in my opinion the weakest. This is the third time a serial killer has targeted the tiny village. Some of the major characters from the two previous books are featured. Without reading those you miss some of the nuances of their personalities and growth.
It seems preposterous that several psychopathic killers have been carrying out their evil work in this tiny settlement, that one young person has been seized twice, and that all the villagers have not moved elsewhere in fright and despair.
Although the characters are so well developed that we feel we know them, I felt there were aspects of Jonas, the village policeman, which were unknown or that I failed to grasp. Steven has grown from a boy into an interesting young man. I enjoyed revisiting his family. Reynolds is struggling as newly head of the murder investigations. He worries about failure in his ability to identify the perpetrator and his hair is still a major concern to him. The supporting cast are very well written.
I found the story very dark and with some gruesome scenes. It started out slowly with the disappearance of a number of children. Notes were left for their parents accusing them of not loving their children enough. The plot reached a harrowing, pulse pounding conclusion. It is time to leave Exmoor and its nasty and far fetched events and to read some of Bauer’s highly rated stand alone novels.
February 16, 2017
It is difficult to exactly pin-point what it is about Belinda Bauer's crime novels that I particularly enjoy, but particularly enjoy this novel I did. If forced to try and describe the appeal, it would be something to do with the accuracy and realism with which she portrays the inner thoughts of her characters, human and real and funny without ever resorting to the trivially repetitive introspection that some authors seem to resort to so often.
This novel, the third of a series but a good stand-alone read too, returns to the Exmoor setting of 'Blacklands' and 'Darkside', telling the tale of a number of children going missing from vehicles when left alone. It's powerful stuff, so compelling that five hundred pages shot by in double quick reading time. Two of the main characters from the preceding novels are returned to in detail and I thought both the plot and the characterisation were spot on, and the writing was witty and touching without ever feeling too wordy or too simplistic. Excellent.
This novel, the third of a series but a good stand-alone read too, returns to the Exmoor setting of 'Blacklands' and 'Darkside', telling the tale of a number of children going missing from vehicles when left alone. It's powerful stuff, so compelling that five hundred pages shot by in double quick reading time. Two of the main characters from the preceding novels are returned to in detail and I thought both the plot and the characterisation were spot on, and the writing was witty and touching without ever feeling too wordy or too simplistic. Excellent.
April 17, 2023
I’ve been on a mission to read Belinda Bauer’s back catalogue and Finders Keepers is the final book in the incredible Exmoor Trilogy. They say “leave the best till last” and in my opinion, that is exactly what Belinda has done.
Set in the same village as the previous 2 books, Finders Keepers begins one year after the tragic events of Darkside. If you haven’t read the previous books, I would strongly recommend you start with Blacklands now because these books NEED to be read in order to fully understand and appreciate the complex characters living in Shipcott.
If possible, Finders Keepers is the darkest of the 3 books, with a spate of abducted children, the people of Shipcott are terrified with good reason. It’s probably not the luckiest place to live with a history of violence and murder.
I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but Jonas Holly is back, fighting his own demons but determined to find the abducted children. Stephen Lamb, now a young man on the cusp of adulthood, doesn’t want the past to shape his future, gets caught up in the latest crime spree with horrific consequences.
Finders Keepers brings a violent and horrifying conclusion to the trilogy set in this little village and lovers of crime will not be disappointed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Set in the same village as the previous 2 books, Finders Keepers begins one year after the tragic events of Darkside. If you haven’t read the previous books, I would strongly recommend you start with Blacklands now because these books NEED to be read in order to fully understand and appreciate the complex characters living in Shipcott.
If possible, Finders Keepers is the darkest of the 3 books, with a spate of abducted children, the people of Shipcott are terrified with good reason. It’s probably not the luckiest place to live with a history of violence and murder.
I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but Jonas Holly is back, fighting his own demons but determined to find the abducted children. Stephen Lamb, now a young man on the cusp of adulthood, doesn’t want the past to shape his future, gets caught up in the latest crime spree with horrific consequences.
Finders Keepers brings a violent and horrifying conclusion to the trilogy set in this little village and lovers of crime will not be disappointed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
February 1, 2012
Oh dear.
I liked Belinda Bauer’s first two books, but this is not good.
Part of that is down to me and my particular tastes in crime fiction – but not all.
Let me explain.
It starts promisingly: children are disappearing from cars and notes are left in their stead.
“You don’t love her.”
“You don’t love him.”
“You don’t love them.”
The drama, the mystery, the evocation of the countryside and the rural community was working very well.
And I was pleased to see the return of Detectives Reynolds and Rice.
I could have got past the fact that so many horrible crimes were happening in Devonshire countryside
“These kidnaps are only the latest in a series of horrific crimes visited on the moor over the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 1983, serial killer Arnold Avery buried six young victims on Exmoor, and two years ago another murderous spree left eight people dead in the small town of Shipcott. The killer has never been caught. “Exmoor is cursed” said one elderly resident who did not want to be named.”
I probably would have got past it, if only Belinda Bauer hadn’t brought back two characters from earlier books and put them through the mill again. Investigators, criminals, locations can return over and over again, but to have the same lives turned upside-down by crime over and over again is too much.
Stephen Lamb had nearly fallen victim to Arnold Avery and had been horribly affected by the uncaught murderer. He was sure he knew who the killer was, but he couldn’t prove it and he knew he would not be believed if he spoke out. And village policeman Jonas Holly had been bereaved and left horribly traumatised by the same murderer.
Jonas wasn’t in any state to go back to work, let alone be part of a major investigation, and what Stephen and his poor mother have been put through over the course of three books defies belief.
And Davey, Stephen’s little brother, thinks he can catch the kidnapper …
I put my concerns to one side, because the mystery was intriguing.
But then a flashback gave the game away. I knew who the kidnapper was and I had a fair idea of his motivation was.
After that the story followed both victims and investigators to a grand denouement.
It all felt a little excessive to me.
Such a pity because Belinda Bauer does many things rather well.
The Lamb family – their lives their relationships - are drawn wonderfully. Stephen and Davey in particular are wonderful characters, and I love the way their lives are moving forward.
There are small details caught perfectly and big set-pieces handled beautifully.
She clearly knows the countryside, understand how village work.
And she handles mystery and suspense really well.
But too much was sacrificed to the big drama.
The most significant sacrifice was Jonas’s character: it was all over the place and the answers to the questions left unanswered at the end of the last book weren’t really satisfactory.
Others have liked this book more than me, so maybe I’m looking for something different in a crime drama. Something not quite so dark, something driven rather less by plot and rather more by character.
But the consensus seems to be that this isn’t as good as ‘Blacklands’ or ‘Darkside’.
I’m hoping now that this is the end of a trilogy, and that Belinda Bauer will move on to something a little different.
And I tend to think that stand-alone stories, or at least stories more loosely linked, would be a better way for her to go …
I liked Belinda Bauer’s first two books, but this is not good.
Part of that is down to me and my particular tastes in crime fiction – but not all.
Let me explain.
It starts promisingly: children are disappearing from cars and notes are left in their stead.
“You don’t love her.”
“You don’t love him.”
“You don’t love them.”
The drama, the mystery, the evocation of the countryside and the rural community was working very well.
And I was pleased to see the return of Detectives Reynolds and Rice.
I could have got past the fact that so many horrible crimes were happening in Devonshire countryside
“These kidnaps are only the latest in a series of horrific crimes visited on the moor over the past 30 years. Between 1980 and 1983, serial killer Arnold Avery buried six young victims on Exmoor, and two years ago another murderous spree left eight people dead in the small town of Shipcott. The killer has never been caught. “Exmoor is cursed” said one elderly resident who did not want to be named.”
I probably would have got past it, if only Belinda Bauer hadn’t brought back two characters from earlier books and put them through the mill again. Investigators, criminals, locations can return over and over again, but to have the same lives turned upside-down by crime over and over again is too much.
Stephen Lamb had nearly fallen victim to Arnold Avery and had been horribly affected by the uncaught murderer. He was sure he knew who the killer was, but he couldn’t prove it and he knew he would not be believed if he spoke out. And village policeman Jonas Holly had been bereaved and left horribly traumatised by the same murderer.
Jonas wasn’t in any state to go back to work, let alone be part of a major investigation, and what Stephen and his poor mother have been put through over the course of three books defies belief.
And Davey, Stephen’s little brother, thinks he can catch the kidnapper …
I put my concerns to one side, because the mystery was intriguing.
But then a flashback gave the game away. I knew who the kidnapper was and I had a fair idea of his motivation was.
After that the story followed both victims and investigators to a grand denouement.
It all felt a little excessive to me.
Such a pity because Belinda Bauer does many things rather well.
The Lamb family – their lives their relationships - are drawn wonderfully. Stephen and Davey in particular are wonderful characters, and I love the way their lives are moving forward.
There are small details caught perfectly and big set-pieces handled beautifully.
She clearly knows the countryside, understand how village work.
And she handles mystery and suspense really well.
But too much was sacrificed to the big drama.
The most significant sacrifice was Jonas’s character: it was all over the place and the answers to the questions left unanswered at the end of the last book weren’t really satisfactory.
Others have liked this book more than me, so maybe I’m looking for something different in a crime drama. Something not quite so dark, something driven rather less by plot and rather more by character.
But the consensus seems to be that this isn’t as good as ‘Blacklands’ or ‘Darkside’.
I’m hoping now that this is the end of a trilogy, and that Belinda Bauer will move on to something a little different.
And I tend to think that stand-alone stories, or at least stories more loosely linked, would be a better way for her to go …
March 28, 2014
"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 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:
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 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.
June 10, 2014
While it said this was a freestanding novel, the amounts of flasbacks to previous novels made it tiresome and I wished I'd started with them.
Speaking of tiresome, the personalities on the two main cops were as flat as the moor they work on. Most of the female characters served merely as background and a base for the guys' development.
After finishing I mainly feel frustrated, I want to learn more of the truth by reading the other books but the endings are already spoiled.
I read it in swedish and the translations were horrible. Like latenight tv when someone got their teenager to translate it with google translate. At one point a kid wants to get back at his brother, this is also illustrated by destroying something of his. The translation suggest the kid wants to get his brother back as if he had lost him.
Speaking of tiresome, the personalities on the two main cops were as flat as the moor they work on. Most of the female characters served merely as background and a base for the guys' development.
After finishing I mainly feel frustrated, I want to learn more of the truth by reading the other books but the endings are already spoiled.
I read it in swedish and the translations were horrible. Like latenight tv when someone got their teenager to translate it with google translate. At one point a kid wants to get back at his brother, this is also illustrated by destroying something of his. The translation suggest the kid wants to get his brother back as if he had lost him.
April 30, 2016
Riveting conclusion to the Exmoor Trilogy. For whatever reason this third book hasn't been published in the U.S. I read a UK paperback from a college library through inter-library loan. Worth the effort for this thriller.....thank you DCL.
September 12, 2015
The 3rd book in this series by Belinda Bauer. What an excellent series full of really strong characters that come to life through the outstanding narrative. I hope there is more to come from these characters as I have enjoyed these 3 books so much. I plan to read more of her work.
December 13, 2015
Another excellent read from Bauer, this is book 3 in the trilogy, I wish had read book 2 first.
It can be read as a stand alone book. I did enjoy the twists, turns and suspense.
It can be read as a stand alone book. I did enjoy the twists, turns and suspense.
February 13, 2025
I nearly gave up on this several times. Definitely not Ms Bauer's finest work.
February 19, 2023
Надо было все же читать сразу после первых двух, подзабыла я болотные подробности. Но в целом все хорошо, не хуже прежних (насколько я помню). Маньяки, болото, пропавшие дети.
May 20, 2017
Rating 1.4*. Listened to in Swedish. This isn't the worst book I have read this year and it's not terribly written. I just hated it, from start to finish. There are no interesting characters, the perpetrator is revealed somewhere in the middle and the motive for the crimes is tenuous at best.
Children are being abducted. A note is left where they were saying "you don't love them". And that's all I can think about saying in regards to the plot. I've read some decent books by this author, but I'm starting to lose faith now.
Children are being abducted. A note is left where they were saying "you don't love them". And that's all I can think about saying in regards to the plot. I've read some decent books by this author, but I'm starting to lose faith now.
January 23, 2021
4.25*
The final part of the Exmoor trilogy.
I have read them in order, but it had been awhile since I read the last book. The book is good at filling you in on the backstory.
BB’s books aren’t fast paced, but I don’t usually notice due to the charisma of the characters.
This book I did notice the first half of the book is a slow start.
I really engaged with Stephen and Davey.
A book of 3 parts . The first half 3.75.
The second quarter 4.5* the pace and tension Ramps up.
The end 4.75* what an ending. Very emotional.
The final part of the Exmoor trilogy.
I have read them in order, but it had been awhile since I read the last book. The book is good at filling you in on the backstory.
BB’s books aren’t fast paced, but I don’t usually notice due to the charisma of the characters.
This book I did notice the first half of the book is a slow start.
I really engaged with Stephen and Davey.
A book of 3 parts . The first half 3.75.
The second quarter 4.5* the pace and tension Ramps up.
The end 4.75* what an ending. Very emotional.
April 22, 2019
Finders Keepers is the third book in a trilogy set in a rural area in England close to Exmoor National Park. Really enjoyed the first two books, but when I hit the 2/3 mark of Finders Keepers the story went in a direction that does not work for me. The two star is a personal enjoyment ranking, not a reflection of Belinda Bauer's writing. I'll continue to seek out books by her.
August 21, 2023
Probably not a 4 star but it’s been a while since I’ve read a book that is not ‘very average’ or below. It was a good read. Great characters, well written. Some quirky bits that added to the story.
May 21, 2018
This book irritated me beyond belief but this irritation is aimed squarely at the publisher, not the author. This is the third book in a trilogy but no-where on the jacket is this mentioned and the book does not read well as a stand alone - there are too many references to what has gone before and to things the author believes the reader knows about.
Publishers, seriously, tell me when a book is part of a series no matter how loosely connected and I'll more than likely buy every one, trick me like this and all you'll do is lose any future sales for the author.
About the actual book:
The plot itself is pretty good, most of the characters are well written with clear voices.
The pacing is excellent and the prose flows nicely.
The setting is an integral part of the story but not really described in that much detail - the author either assumes you know Exmoor or the description happened in the previous books which the author assumes you've read.
The ending is terrible - a last minute ride to the rescue? I actually cringed when I saw this unfolding.
Throughout the book I was constantly reminded that there were histories and nuances of the characters I wasn't aware of and this spoiled it for me.
Publishers, seriously, tell me when a book is part of a series no matter how loosely connected and I'll more than likely buy every one, trick me like this and all you'll do is lose any future sales for the author.
About the actual book:
The plot itself is pretty good, most of the characters are well written with clear voices.
The pacing is excellent and the prose flows nicely.
The setting is an integral part of the story but not really described in that much detail - the author either assumes you know Exmoor or the description happened in the previous books which the author assumes you've read.
The ending is terrible - a last minute ride to the rescue? I actually cringed when I saw this unfolding.
Throughout the book I was constantly reminded that there were histories and nuances of the characters I wasn't aware of and this spoiled it for me.
April 1, 2013
Finders Keepers is a suspense about children being taken from parked cars and notes are left in their place. These abductions take place in the small village of Exmoor.
There are no explanations, no ransom demands and no hope of getting the children back safely. Policeman Jonas Holly feels he must catch the person taking the children since it is happening in his village. But he is still reeling from the loss of his wife and may not be ready for this task.
I didn't connect with the characters in the story. Actually, I didn't find there was enough description of them for me to really feel I knew them. That could be due to the fact that I did not read the first two books in this series and therefore did not get to know them before reading this book.
It was not very believable, in my opinion, for this crime to happen in this village when there was a mass murder in the same village a few years back.
After reading Finders Keepers, I do not plan on reading anything else by Belinda Bauer.
There are no explanations, no ransom demands and no hope of getting the children back safely. Policeman Jonas Holly feels he must catch the person taking the children since it is happening in his village. But he is still reeling from the loss of his wife and may not be ready for this task.
I didn't connect with the characters in the story. Actually, I didn't find there was enough description of them for me to really feel I knew them. That could be due to the fact that I did not read the first two books in this series and therefore did not get to know them before reading this book.
It was not very believable, in my opinion, for this crime to happen in this village when there was a mass murder in the same village a few years back.
After reading Finders Keepers, I do not plan on reading anything else by Belinda Bauer.
July 23, 2020
Completing the Exmoor Trilogy made me realise Belinda Bauer's books are a bit like a Chinese takeaway - they are fine at the time but they don't leave a lasting impression and by and large I have forgotten what happened in the first two books. Still this one is entertaining enough, I miss Marvel but Reynolds is a fair enough replacement. I felt this time around Stephen's family was better drawn than in the previous two books and the use of location remains consistently strong. Realistically, given the outcome is known by then, the last 100 pages or so drag a bit.
March 28, 2012
It's impossible to say much about Bauer's books because doing so would give something away, but suffice to say that this is another solid thriller from one of my new favourite crime writers. Be warned: Bauer doesn't shy away from disturbing or sickening her readers, and I wouldn't read this unless I had read DARKSIDE, her previous release, first. (Because DARKSIDE is one of my favourite crime novels ever, and some details in FINDERS KEEPERS give its game away.)
May 25, 2016
Detta är alltså tredje boken i serien om den lilla byn på Exmoorheden och det är också den tredje boken jag läser av Belinda Bauer. Jag har tyckt lite olika om de tidigare två, där förra delen inte riktigt övertygade mig. Förväntningarna på denna var alltså ganska låga. Läs mer på min blogg
January 14, 2014
Thoroughly enjoyed it but realised very quickly that it was the 3rd book and should have read the others first! Will go back to the start...
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