A Book A Week

"Maybe everybody lies, all the time."

Who is Polly? She's turned up in the small town of Bellville outside of Baltimore with only a suitcase and shoulders still freshly charred from the sun. She is staying in a dilapidated motel across from the equally ramshackle Hi-Ho bar. Naturally, the citizens of the small town are curious about who she is. Polly sits at the bar and announces to the man next to her, another out of towner, that Bellville is her new home. But why is she here and what has she left behind?

Adam knows what Polly, Pauline as he knows her, is running from. He watched as she spent a final day on the beach with her husband and three-year-old daughter. His client tasked him with cozying up to the husband and getting to know the family. The goal was to uncover the money that Polly illicitly gained from his client. Things did not go as planned. Polly fled in the night leaving her family behind. Now as Adam sits next to her at this dive bar in the middle of nowhere, he has more questions than answers about the woman he is supposed to investigate.

I've been a fan of Laura Lippman for years. Specifically, I've always admired her ability to craft stand-alone thrillers that draw me in and have unique characters. Even better, no two Lippman novels follow the same formula. In her latest novel Sunburn, Lippman presents a story that is so different from her others that I almost forgot which author I was reading. Even if my final reaction to the book was mixed, I have to applaud her effort in presenting something so unique.

Set in the early 1990's Sunburn is a mystery in all aspects. We are left in the dark about Polly and her motivations for most of the novel. Lippman strategically reveals details about Polly's past with just enough regularity to keep the reader invested in the story and the suspense rolling. Setting the story at the end of the last century gives the novel a retro vibe that also helps to explain how Polly is able to conceal her history so well. Without prevalent smartphones, social media, and computers, it is not easy for Adam and his client to learn about their enigmatic target. My only real complaint about Sunburn is that the ending was a bit too abrupt and tidy for the events that preceded it. Still, Sunburn is the perfect start to my early spring/summer reading and a solid reminder of Laura Lippman's writing prowess.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
This review is part of a TLC Book Tour. Click here for the entire tour schedule!

(2018, 10)