I've read thrillers about an author's manuscripts being passed off as another author's work before, Natalie Barelli's brilliant Until I Met Her and R.F. Kuang's Yellowface to name two.

Finders Keepers takes it to a whole new level, with a troubled teenager's diary being found on a lost laptop and published to great success by first-time author Emily Walker.

Rose was that troubled teen, and she'll stop at nothing in her desperation to recover that laptop and the secrets it contains.

You might think you can see where this is going but you really have no idea.

This book has everything, fantastic character writing, deep back story, and the hooks?

Hooks from the very first page, hooks like meat hooks leaving you hanging on every page, every chapter. The plot is multilayered and intricate, with twists you'll never see coming, and threat and tension that just keeps on ramping up.

When there are changes in timeline I was groaning, aching to know what happens next in the timeline that I’d just been reading.

I love Natalie Barelli's writing, fast paced, easy flowing, plenty of dry, often dark humour.

A definite book of the year contender and just maybe Natalie Barelli's best book yet.

This book is perfect, pure thrills and freakin' twisted.

Read it as soon as you can!

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press

I didn’t find finders keepers until I saw it browsing on NetGalley , was very intrigued. I read the first couple chapters and IT WAS SO HARD TO PUT DOWN. I have a toddler so my main reading time is at night, and I stayed up way too late trying to finish this because I couldn’t put it down

This psychological thriller is engaging and fast-paced with a perfect balance of suspense. The plot is entertaining and the characters are entirely unlikable which just adds to the story. The main character, Rose, certainly takes the spotlight with her lies and manipulation. Her antics kept me engaged and made me laugh out loud several times. I highly recommend this book!
I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing a complimentary advanced copy. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Reading this was like watching a game show where they were looking for the craziest person. Good god, what a rollercoaster! I loved the twists and the writing, I'm going to keep reading Natalie Barelli.

Natalie Barelli has a gift for pulling readers into the minds of characters you’re not sure you should trust and in Finders Keepers, she takes that talent to terrifying new depths.

From the very first chilling line:

“Dear Diary. Today I’m going to kill her. Love, Rose.”

The stage is set for a psychological cat-and-mouse game where the truth is slippery and the stakes are deadly. When Rose discovers her darkest secrets immortalized in a “fictional” bestseller, the walls around her carefully rebuilt life begin to crumble. But instead of retreating, she does the unthinkable: she gets closer. She inserts herself into the author’s world, playing the perfect assistant, all while digging for answers that could destroy them both.

What makes this story so unsettling is its slow-burn unraveling of memory and identity. Barelli forces you to question what’s real, what’s fabricated, and how trauma warps both. Rose isn’t just a character, you feel her paranoia, her hunger for control, and her desperate need to rewrite her own history. As the past claws its way to the surface, the narrative tightens like a noose, leaving you second-guessing every interaction, every diary entry, every smile that feels just a little too sharp.

At its core, Finders Keepers asks a chilling question: how far would you go to protect the version of yourself you’ve built, especially when the truth threatens to rip it apart? The answer, in Rose’s case, is as shocking as it is inevitable.

This isn’t just a thriller you consume, it’s one that consumes you. Barelli drags you into the shadows of memory, obsession, and betrayal, and when you finally claw your way out, you’re left shaken, questioning not only Rose’s reality, but your own.

This is the first book I've read by this writer and it is an absolute home-run! Twisted, dark, manipulative, and ultimately a page-turning psychological thriller. I could see this being adapted into a limited series or a movie. This is one of the best books in the suspense genre that I've ever read. Darkness, unreliable/unlikeable/likable characters.
I don't want to disclose too much more because this is definitely a book that needs to be read and experienced. This has the potential to be as big as "The Silent Patient." A mixture of Alice Feeney and Gillian Flynn.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone published your diary? This happened to Rose when she lost her laptop. Reading Rose's story was intriguing and sometimes embarrassing. The twists and turns kept your attention throughout the book. I did not expect it to end the way it did! Finders Keepers by Natalie Barelli keeps you on your toes throughout the whole story.

Best psychological mystery I’ve read lately. Once I began reading Finders Keepers by Natalie Barelli I had a difficult time putting it down. Great character development and well developed, suspenseful plot. The ending was quite a surprise!

This was a real page turner of a book for me and I had trouble actually putting it down at times so read it very quickly indeed. The story is interesting - Rose is guilty of murder but got away with it, and has dropped out and cut off from her family because of that but suddenly everything comes back to haunt her when she reads a book that is her story. The narrator is a little bit crazy so you are never quite sure how reliable she is and the others in the story shift character as the story unfolds. It's twisty and turny all the way until you have to follow very carefully to see what really happened. I liked it, the character of Rose, first person narrator for much of it, is a good one and the reader gets a clear sense of her confusion and teenage emotions which are so hung up on the past when she was at high school.