Sunburn by Laura Lippman

A mysterious woman with a past and a detective hired to track her, these two threads of the story lead to a riveting tale to uncover the secrets of the past.  Polly has appeared at a roadside diner and Adam appears shortly thereafter.  They both get a job at the diner, one as a waitress, and one as a cook and their love interest simmers through the summer.  Adam finds he can’t keep away from Polly, but what is her true story?  Is she a murderer or a victim?

I enjoyed how the story unraveled over time and kept me guessing until the end.  There were many threads to this story and I really enjoyed how they were all revealed over time.  I liked the setting, although it did take me a bit to realize it was set twenty years in the past. I’ll admit, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’ve enjoyed previous Laura Lippman books.  I had a hard time getting into it and I had a hard time caring about Polly.  The characters were well developed, but she was so much of an enigma, I found myself not caring for her much.  And at the end of the book I was left thinking, what the heck just happened?

Favorite Quotes:

“No one chases a waterfall.  You go for a swim and next thing you know, the current catches you and throws you right over.”

“June leaves her parents in the den, watching Murder She Wrote.  She worries a little about the watching crime shows, but it was always their favorite program.  Maybe it’s a good sign that they still want to visit Cabot Cove and follow J.B. Fletcher on her various trips.  Murder in J.B. Fletcher’s world is almost gentle, bloodless.  And there’s no follow-up, no future visits from J.B. Fletcher in which the bereaved are staring into space, indifferent to food, conversation, or even a possible Baltimore oriole sighing.”

“He’s not a bad man, he’s a good man who made some bad decisions.  It’s an important distinction.”

“Nothing makes you feel more alive than almost dying.”

Overall, Sunburn is an intriguing tale that kept me guessing, but I felt the ending was a bit flat.

Book Source:  Review Copy from William Morrow – Thanks!