"Sunburn"

"Sunburn"
Written by Laura Lippman
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia


Gifted to me last Christmas, I had been putting off this book, until I was really ready to begin it. I have had a very productive reading year so far, but I knew I wanted to squeeze this one in.

"Sunburn" by Laura Lippman is an intense, cutthroat, and taut thriller, told in only 310 pages. This book is short but most certainly not sweet. "Sunburn" follows many suspicious characters, especially Adam and Polly, who have been watching each other and hiding many secrets.

In a hot beach town outside of Baltimore, Adam and Polly have begun a sexy and smooth affair, while they dart around each other like cobras. We also meet other mysterious characters who know far too much about our main characters.

There is no predictability surrounding this novel. Every plot point was created so efficiently and effectively, not leaving one scene that could be cut. Every moment, every piece of dialogue, and every look is purposeful and heavily intriguing. The suspense in "Sunburn" is hotter than well, sunburn. When there's the chance for danger, your heart will start beating like a jackhammer.

As much as I enjoyed this novel, I do have to say that there are some parts that feel a little tired. I am one of those readers who will drop the most important tasks, especially ones from my student teaching, to finish a great book. However, sometimes when I picked this up, I was quick to place it back down again. Although some parts of the book were blander than others, I still enjoyed this book greatly. The author's writing style and voice were pitch perfect.

I highly recommend "Sunburn" to those who enjoy reading tense and compact thrillers like "Looker" by Laura Simms", "Mind of Winter" by Laura Kasischke, and "Lullaby" by Leila Slimani. Lots of Lauras on this list, must be a conspiracy.

I recommend this author. I had not enjoyed the first 50 pages of another book of hers, "Lady in the Lake" and swiftly gave up on it. I do not think I'll pick it back up, but I will be looking for other books of hers with more interesting premises. I hope I do find one like "Sunburn".