Polly Hansen seems to have been running for most of her
life. A victim of domestic abuse, she goes to prison for
killing her first husband. Then, on a fluke, her sentence is
commuted to time served and she goes free. Once she is out,
she makes a mistake and gets pregnant. Polly decides to
marry Gregg and try for a normal life. Again, things just do
not work out the way Polly hopes. That is what makes her
pack up and leave both Gregg and Jani, her little girl.
Ending up in a small town in Delaware, she manages to carve
a niche for herself as a bartender/server in the town's bar
and restaurant. Adam Bosk says he is also just passing
through but they both end up staying when Adam is hired as
the cook at the High-Ho. A sexy and feisty redhead who has
trouble written all over her, Polly just might want to spend
some time with the handsome Adam. The pull of these two is
stronger than any magnet. Before they realize it, they have
fallen in love with each other.
This is somewhat of a problem, though. Adam and Polly both
have some pretty dark secrets that they are keeping. Will
these secrets, once revealed, lead down a path to
fulfillment or tragedy?
Rather than hit the ground running right out of the gate,
SUNBURN lures you in slowly at first, while picking up speed
as you go along. Polly is not exactly a very likeable person
at first and is certainly not a candidate for Mother of the
Year. As more of her back story is revealed, however, it is
clear that Polly has had a difficult life and is finally on
the road to that normal life that she craves. She has a
plan. The biggest thing stopping her is that she has learned
some hard lessons in life that have brought her some pretty
serious trust issues.
Adam has some issues himself that keep him from committing
to just one woman. Something about Polly has taken hold of
his heart, however. He was not looking for love and did not
really want it. Polly seems to throw all of his rules out of
the window. There is a flame that burns white hot between
them. At first, he wants her. Now, he has to admit that love
could have come to him.
Hot, lazy days and even hotter nights are what you will find
in this tiny spot on the map. If you happen to love a
romance that will cause you more than a little bit of heat
as well, SUNBURN is exactly what you need. Laura Lippman has
delivered a novel that will turn up the heat for you even on
the coldest of days. It seems that love has come to two
people who were certainly not looking for it, and Ms.
Lippman's readers get to be a part of this journey.
Filled with characters that jump right off the page for you,
this small town is one that many will recognize. There are
also plenty of surprises around every corner. Just when I
thought I knew what was going on with a character, I would
be thrown a curve ball. That caused me to try to figure out
each player and what part they were actually playing in the
unfolding events.
SUNBURN is a novel filled with mystery and white hot
romance. Laura Lippman has created her own small town and
she invites you into it. Just understand that once you have
entered it, you will never be the same.
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 that begin to accumulate as autumn
approaches, feeding the growing doubts they
conceal.
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.