Sunburn by Laura Lippman

Sunburn by Laura Lippman
Published by William Morrow ISBN 9780062389923
Hardcover, $26.99, 292 pages

Suspense writer Laura Lippman is best known for her crime novels set in the city of Baltimore. The city is as much of a character in her novels as the people she writes about. Her newest novel, Sunburn, leaves Baltimore for  the small beach town of Belleville, Delaware, a tourist town that booms during the summer months, and reverts to its small town ways the rest of the year. A town Polly describes as "put together from other town's leftovers."

While passing through town Polly stops into the High-Ho tavern and decides to get a job there as a waitress. Polly has just abandoned her husband and three-year-old daughter while on a beach vacation. What kind of woman does that?

Adam wanders into the High-Ho and gets a job as a cook in the kitchen. He has a reason for being there too- he is watching Polly for a client. Who is the client? Is it Polly's abandoned husband?

Slowly we get more information about Polly. She has a past, and many secrets to hide. She is adept at manipulating people to do what she wants, without them even knowing that they are doing it, and being grateful to help her.

Trouble begins for Adam when he falls in love with Polly. He struggles with his secrets, with his sense of responsibility to his client. Even with what he knows about Polly, he stiil loves her.

Polly has fallen in love with Adam too. Their casual affair becomes serious and then deadly when a death occurs in the town. Was it an accident or murder?

Lippman is at the top of her game with Sunburn. Her inspiration for Sunburn is the work of fellow Baltimore native James M. Cain, whose classic novels include Mildred Pierce, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Double Indemity. Lippman includes elements from all three novels in her story- an insurance man, illicit lovers, manipulative women, even the restaurant angle- and are all brilliantly woven together in this spellbinding novel.

Sunburn is the perfect book to take on vacation; I read it on a three-hour flight from Florida to New York, and never looked up once until we landed and I had finished the book. The ending is a stunner!

Polly is a fascinating character, as she "fixes her gaze on the goal and never loses sight of it". The big question is what exactly is Polly's goal? Crime noir is frequently the purview of male protagonists, so it is intriguing to have a femme fatale running the show.

Sunburn is easily one of the best novels I have read in recent memory, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries and good fiction.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Laura Lippman's tour. The rest of her tour stops are here:

Instagram Stops

Tuesday, February 20th: Instagram: @jackiereadsbooks

Wednesday, February 21st: Instagram: @Jessicamap

Thursday, February 22nd: Instagram: @hippiechickreads

Friday, February 23rd: Instagram: @hollyslittlebookreviews

Monday, February 26th: Instagram: @writersdream

Wednesday, February 28th: Instagram: @ACaffeinatedBibliophile

Thursday, March 1st: Instagram: @acouplereads

Review Stops

Tuesday, February 20th: Ms. Nose in a Book

Wednesday, February 21st: The Book Diva’s Reads

Thursday, February 22nd: Into the Hall of Books

Friday, February 23rd: bookchickdi

Monday, February 26th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Tuesday, February 27th: Tina Says…

Wednesday, February 28th: Novel Gossip

Tuesday, March 6th: A Book a Week

Wednesday, March 7th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Monday, March 12th: Staircase Wit

Tuesday, March 13th: Clues & Reviews

Wednesday, March 14th: Julie’s Bookshelf

Thursday, March 15th: Thoughts On This ‘n That