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    Sunburn: A Novel
    Sunburn: A Novel
    Sunburn: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Sunburn: A Novel

    Written by Laura Lippman

    Narrated by Susan Bennett

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman returns with a superb novel of psychological suspense about a pair of lovers with the best intentions and the worst luck: two people locked in a passionate yet uncompromising game of cat and mouse. But instead of rules, this game has dark secrets, forbidden desires, inevitable betrayals—and cold-blooded murder.

    One is playing a long game. But which one?

    They meet at a local tavern in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Polly is set on heading west. Adam says he’s also passing through. Yet she stays and he stays—drawn to this mysterious redhead whose quiet stillness both unnerves and excites him. Over the course of a punishing summer, Polly and Adam abandon themselves to a steamy, inexorable affair. Still, each holds something back from the other—dangerous, even lethal, secrets.

    Then someone dies. Was it an accident, or part of a plan? By now, Adam and Polly are so ensnared in each other’s lives and lies that neither one knows how to get away—or even if they want to. Is their love strong enough to withstand the truth, or will it ultimately destroy them?

    Something—or someone—has to give.

    Which one will it be?

    Inspired by James M. Cain’s masterpieces The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, and Mildred Pierce, Sunburn is a tantalizing modern noir from the incomparable Laura Lippman.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 20, 2018
    ISBN9780062390110
    Sunburn: A Novel
    Author

    Laura Lippman

    Since Laura Lippman’s debut, she has been recognized as a distinctive voice in mystery fiction and named one of the “essential” crime writers of the last 100 years. Stephen King called her “special, even extraordinary,” and Gillian Flynn wrote, “She is simply a brilliant novelist.” Her books have won most of the major awards in her field and been translated into more than twenty-five languages. She lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her teenager.

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    Reviews for Sunburn

    4/5

    454 ratings55 reviews

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    • 5/5
      One of Laura Lippman's best books yet. Full of surprises, twists and turns. It was hard to stop listening. The ending truly surprised me...

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The twists never failed to surprise me, it kept my mind racing!
    • 2/5
      The main character was the most evil conniving woman you’d ever have the misfortune of meeting paired with an “private eye” who was supposed to be investigating her but ends up falling in love and completely unaware to her femme fatale ways is just too unbelievable. If Adam (private eye) was as smart and worldly as described there’s no way he falls for a woman who is a killer and plans to marry her. How was he this great well respected investigator but still so dumb and impressionable and emotional over a woman he just met. Story wasn’t believable.
    • 5/5
      far better than your average twisty psychological thriller. I read it in about 2 days.
    • 3/5
      I only finished it because I was already half way through waiting for the suspense….I’m glad I’m done and just disappointed that it’s wasn’t more twisted.
    • 3/5
      Laura Lippman pays homage to noir fiction in "Sunburn," a story about a woman who is very good at getting what she wants. The novel opens in the sleepy town of Belleville, Delaware, in 1995. Thirty-eight year old Adam Bosk, a handsome PI, is hired to keep an eye on Polly Costello, a seductive redhead who may have pulled off a lucrative scam. Adam's client, Irving Lowenstein, is an insurance broker who has skirted the law himself on more than one occasion. No one would mistake Adam for Albert Einstein; his libido leads him astray, and he ignores obvious warning signs that might have induced him to tread carefully.

      Polly has a grim past. She is determined to start over, but doing so will require stealth, patience, and cunning, all of which she possesses in abundance. Even after she and Adam embark on a passionate affair, Polly keeps her eyes on the prize, and she will allow no one, not even the man she cares for, to stand in her way. Most of Lippman's characters are self-centered, greedy, and mean-spirited. They manipulate others, commit criminal acts, and do whatever is necessary to further their own interests. Adam is a decent guy, and even Polly has positive attributes that are not immediately apparent. However, her ex-husbands, especially the first one, are contemptible, and she has paid a hefty price for her terrible taste in men.

      "Sunburn" is a bleak tale in which references to tragic events and the author's use of foreshadowing create a somber mood. Lippman depicts Belleville as an unappealing place, where no one with ambition would dream of settling down. Although Polly may never have it all, it is clear that she intends to do whatever is necessary to come out on top. The plot has lapses in logic, but Lippman's writing is proficient, involving, and fast-paced enough to hold our interest. Polly--a worthy descendent of the hard-boiled dames of yore--is savvy, opportunistic, and as conniving as those who are determined to bring her down.
    • 3/5
      A modern noir and a great salute to the early authors. The book begins with a man (Adam) and a woman (Polly) meeting in a no place bar in no place Belleville, Delaware. They connect and end up working in the diner for several months. Interspersed with the present are remembered scenes from the past that slowly give us a picture of Polly from childhood on. Adam choreographed their meeting for his own reasons. He's working as a P.I. and she is abandoning a marriage. But it is so much more than that as we explore the thoughts of these two individuals. There are twists and turns along the way and a "I didn't see that coming" ending. A really good read to sink your teeth into.
    • 4/5
      Loved it. Super excited to read more by this author!
    • 2/5
      The story starts strong, but it just has dragged on for me. I’ve lost interest.
    • 4/5
      Twists and turns galore. It had a Hitchcock and Cain theme that kept me guessing.
    • 4/5
      wow... just wow. Though it was a long listen, it was really gripping. Couldn't put it down.
    • 4/5
      A little all over the place at first. But all-in-all it was interesting.
    • 5/5
      Great characters, very engrossing..would definitely read more by this author
    • 4/5
      Nice noir to get lost in. Great characters and place descriptions. I will check out her other work. Not usually my genre, but I liked her writing quite a bit. Plus it feels like time well spent even as a guilty pleasure if that makes sense.
    • 4/5
      A dark lady. A mysterious and violent past. A handsome private eye. Great ingredients for a modern noir.
    • 5/5
      Almost unbearable how much I lived and suffered with the characters, that is how vivid Mrs Lippman is able to describe their inner workings
    • 3/5
      The ending was a let down but maybe a lead in to a 2nd book......probably wouldn't read too predictible.
    • 2/5
      The twists we're good. The ending was horribly disappointing. But the worst part was how completely unlikable the "heroine" is. She is truly awful.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the first three quarters of this well crafted American novel about a woman of mystery and the men she has manipulated. Or killed. One is never quite sure. It’s classic crime genre with a twisty plot and lots of very east coast vibe.However the plot, as many complex plots do, becomes unstuck. Polly is knotting Adam a jumper (sweater) and drops a stitch. Yes really. And it’s at this point that Ms Lippmaan’s story starts to unravel. It does thankfully pick up, and all ends are somehow accounted for.Not the greatest, but an easy read
    • 4/5
      Good writing, gradually building story. New author for me, and fortunately she has a long list.
    • 4/5
      A Pack of Lies

      In a time when lying about anything and everything sometimes makes discerning the truth, even wondering if there is anything like real truth, hard, Laura Lippman comes along with a suspense novel built on a foundation of lies two people tell each other. Who is the real bad person here? Adam Bosk, private eye, hired by an unscrupulous insurance broker to suss out Polly/Pauline Costello/Ditmars/Smith/Hansen? Or Polly, to use one of her names, cunning and apparently on the run from something or someone?

      Adam gets an assignment from Irving Lowenstein to find Polly. He’s sure she has absconded with a big pot of insurance money of which he believes he deserves a share. Adam finds her in a small Delaware ocean town that has seen better days, Belleville, working in a tired bar and fry joint called the High-Lo. She’s fair skinned, a redhead and her sunburn catches his eye. He gets to know her at first to discover where the money is. But she proves too alluring and her allure overpowers his good judgment and experience. In spite of himself, he falls for her. He doesn’t entirely trust her, knowing what he knows, but he can’t help himself. He gets a job as a cook, perfect as he has had previous culinary training, to be near her.

      Polly has a talent for attracting and manipulating men, up to a point. When Adam finds her, she is escaping her current marriage to Gregg Hansen. Previously, she was married to a cop, an arson investigator who raped and brutalized her throughout their marriage, until she could stand it no more. It reveals little to tell you she drove a knife through his heart as he slept. She didn’t, however, escape punishment, at least not entirely. She has plenty of other secrets, too.

      Sunburn combines suspense and romance in an artful way. The film Double Indemnity comes up in the book and in some ways the novel resembles it, as it does concern two scheming people, one of whom really believes he’s in love and the other who might be in love but also might be just a purebred schemer. Lippman unfolds the tale slowly from the various characters’ viewpoints. You follow along snatching the scattered crumbs of information. You might even piece it all together early on. The real attraction here, though, is the developing relationship between Polly and Adam. Can they overcome their suspicions about each other and make their love match work? That you may not guess until the final pages of the novel.
    • 4/5
      Sunburn is like the old black and white movies that the heroine, Polly, likes so much. She's the world-weary woman who leaves her husband and daughter while on a beach vacation to end up in a small town waitressing at the local bar. Adam is the guy whose truck broke down who ends up staying to cook at the same roadhouse. Both have secrets that are gradually revealed, but neither are particularly likable people. Hints from their past lives are rare, dropped at random, as the two become closer. Polly is the heart of the story, a femme fatale who doesn't mean to leave a trail of victims in her wake, but that's just how things work out. It's a good read, a classic noir story that leaves the reader with lots to think about.
    • 4/5
      A creepy thriller. Everything feels wrong and everyone has secrets, but who is the psychopath?Polly runs from her family to start life anew. To start a small-town cash-based life as a waitress, in hiding, waiting for her windfall to come through. But Polly has a past, and the people she is hiding from know how to find her. But who is she really hiding from and why?This story leaves you guessing the whole way through. Is Polly the victim of bad luck, bad people, or her own decisions? Or is she a victim at all?Great narration by Susan Bennett.
    • 5/5
      Wow! Amazing! Kept me up all night. Loved the characters, even the ones you’re not supposed to love. Great ending, although sad, very true to the story. One of the bests from Laura Lippmann!
    • 3/5
      3.5 I'm not sure I would've liked it as much if it hadn't been an audio book. This psychological thriller was effective in the two main voices -- I wanted to keep listening. It's also divided into to main parts: Smoke - the hint of a problem and Fire -- a full-blown issue. There are several clever layers like this to the story which makes it a little fuller than the simple plot line. Polly (aka Pauline with a couple different last names) shows up in a coastal town bar/diner, the Hi-Ho, looking for work. Coincidentally so does Adam Bosk. And their lives and stories entertwine from there. Polly is on the run from a marriage she wants out of and from a more sordid past than she cares to reveal. Without spoiling anything, another family is involved. She has goals and she has a long game and she's tremendously patient. Adam has that in common with her. His reasons for being there are much more self-interested and gratuitous, but he learns about Polly as the reader does and her past is spooled out in little doses that we all have to be content with. Tagged "unnatural" by her latest ex-husband, Polly is definitely calculating, manipulative and secretive. Can love soften that heart? That's the question both the reader and Adam have right up until the shocking end. Compelling and intriguing, this is a great vacation escapist story.
    • 3/5
      A solid 3.5 stars. Enjoyed the pace of this novel.
    • 4/5
      There may be a little bit of Patricia Highsmith in Laura Lippman, a little bit of Ripley in Polly, the central character in Lippman's 2018 novel “Sunburn.”Polly is an attractive young redhead whose exterior obscures what's underneath, sort of like a sunburn. In the opening chapters, she walks away from her husband and daughter, simply leaving them on the beach. She hides in a small town, Belleville, Del., and takes a job as a waitress.Adam, another mysterious stranger, shows up in the same town and takes a job as cook in that same restaurant. He is actually a private detective hired to tail Polly, alias Pauline Ditmars, and find what where she is hiding a substantial life insurance settlement paid to another daughter. Polly stabbed to death her abusive first husband, yet somehow still managed to both get out of prison and hide the insurance money.Before Adam can find the money, he falls in love with Polly, and she with him. So both have secrets, although hers, it turns out, are much more complicated, more sinister than his.Lippman's plot moves along slowly, but she continually adds new elements, new twists, that keep us hooked. She's a terrific writer of novels of this sort, and this one should not be missed.
    • 4/5
      at home with my people. bad cops, waitresses you don't want to mess with, slum lords, and a driven woman who will do whatever she needs to get what she wants... but what does she want? a great bunch of characters and none are predictable.
    • 4/5
      A very atmospheric novel, Sunburn by Laura Lippman is an intriguing mystery that unfolds at a leisurely pace.

      After walking out on her husband, Polly Costello meets Adam Bosk at the High-Ho diner/bar in Belleville, DE. Neither is planning on staying in town for long, but after meeting one another, they each decide to town for the time being. Polly is hired as a waitress at the High-Ho but she only plans on staying until she builds up a nest egg before moving on. Adam is hired temporarily as a cook at the High-Ho and he continues trying to inveigle his way into Polly's life. Neither of them are forthcoming about how or why they ended up in Belleville and in fact, Adam knows more about Polly than he lets on. Over the next several months, Adam and Polly's relationship deepens beyond co-workers but will Polly's very colorful past prevent them from building a future together?

      Polly is charming and sexy but she is also quite reserved and maintains an emotional distance from everyone in her life. She easily walks away from her present life and she does not offer anyone an explanation for her actions. She is somewhat mysterious and less than forthcoming with the new people she meets in Belleville but she is surprisingly popular with the customers at the High-Ho. Polly does not make female friends which makes for a distant but mostly cordial relationship with Cath, who also works at the High-Ho.

      Adam has good reasons for cozying up to Polly and he remains quite vague when anyone asks him personal questions about his life. He is quite fascinated with Polly but he knows he should not become too close to her. Before long, Adam's interest in her has crossed from professional to romantic, but he convinces himself he can maintain his objectivity. But is Adam fooling himself with his assertions that his feelings for her won't interfere with his real reasons for being in Belleville?

      Sunburn is a character-driven, multi-layered novel. Polly definitely has an interesting back story, but she is sometimes hard to like or feel sympathetic towards when the truth about her past comes to light. Adam is an experienced professional but he greatly underestimates how deeply Polly will affect him. Laura Lippman's slow parceling of information about Polly's past culminates with a dramatic confrontation. The novel comes to an unexpected conclusion that is rather poignant. Film buffs will especially appreciate the nod to some classic noir movies from the 40s and 50s.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable writing- light reading.