I've suspected for a while now that noir-ish domestic thrillers just aren't my thing, but I decided to give this one a try, since it's been getting buzz. And while I can fully acknowledge that it's well-written and kept my interest, ultimately it just ended up confirming that suspicion.

Czuć ten upał i zmęczenie ciał. Czuć próby wciągnięcia nas w klimaty neo-noir. Miłe. Polska okładka to brzydki żart

A delicious, slow-burn noir. Polly and Adam are strangers who meet in a dead-end nothing town. One is on the run, the other is on a job. Lust and love were not supposed to get in the way. When you play the long game, someone is bound to get burned. I believe this was my first Lippman and oh, it was so good. I adored the packaging of this novel, from its perfect cover to the glorious neon yellow end papers. I loved that I was kept guessing at the end game and the depth of the characters, told in dual POV between Polly and Adam and in vignette chapters from various others, was remarkable. You can really sink your teeth into this one. I also loved its timelessness. It took me a bit to figure out the time setting (early 90s) and once I did I loved it even more. Also, this book is very sensual but not in a graphic way. Trigger warning for sexual violence and domestic violence.

I am a fan of the later Laura Lippman novels, and went on a binge during the pandemic, reading Sunburn, Lady In The Lake, and After I’m Gone in quick succession. I was an avid reader of the Tess Monaghan series when it was first published. During pandemic, I also went back to reread those books, but they felt pretty thin the second time around, especially after reading these standalone novels.

What to say first about this book? Ah! Lippman came into my life, way back when I was a new blogger, when I ended up with the 11th book in her Tess Monaghan series for review. I remember being a little worried that I wouldn't be able to pick things up so late in the story line, but there was Lippman's exceptional writing picking me up and taking me on a journey anyway. I ended up loving that book, and I've been a fan of Lippman ever since! So imagine my excitement when I was asked to be on the tour for Sunburn. It's been long enough since I read one of her books that I was eager to see if her writing was what I remembered from before. Oh, it was. You'd best prepare for some gushing. It's so impressive to me when a book can completely command your attention from the first few sentences, and Sunburn accomplishes that easily. Polly's story, while you don't know who she is just yet, pulls you into its web. I found myself utterly invested in this woman, and unable to look away as everything she'd planned slowly fell into place. I know that I'm being vague, and you can understand that it's a purposeful vagueness. There are just too many things that I can't give away, without ruining your enjoyment of this spiderweb of a book. Just trust me when I say that Polly's story is extremely layered, and totally worth taking the time to uncover. Plus, while the whole plot thread is just deliciously mysterious, it's really the characters themselves who steal the show. Polly is the perfect unreliable narrator. She's easy to love and hate in equal measures, depending on what is newly being revealed to the reader about her. She's shrouded in doubt, yet with enough humanness to make her likable. Adam, on the other hand, is this rock in shifting sands. He's strong, reliable, and yet slowly being eroded by our dear Polly. As the book reaches a climax, and Adam's real plight comes to light, I'm sure you'll find yourself just as stunned as I was. There's a lot to love about how well laid out this book really is. So why the four star rating, rather than five? I can easily pin that on the fact that the ending, while completely plausible, didn't really suit my tastes. That doesn't mean that it won't be perfect for most readers. That doesn't mean it isn't an excellent ending overall. That's just me, being my nitpicky reader self, being completely transparent with you. I didn't love the ending of this. Still, it's a totally solid and enjoyable read. The twists and turns are wonderful, and I'm still impressed. Lippman hasn't lost her edge, and I hope she never does.

Well, I wasn't exactly expecting that ending! It felt nice to be surprise throughout the story, it helped to lift up the book and make it more exciting. Although it was a slow burn and I'm more found of quick and suspense stories when it comes to mysteries. Despite that, I adored Polly. She has been through a lot and yet manged to keep her head up and her goals in mind at all times. Getting to know her story was amazing and one of the reasons why I kept reading. Even though, the book develops around a romantic relationship I appreciated a lot that romance wasn't a focal point. You know, no one-page-long sex scenes, nor extravagant displays of affection, nor drama. The book is just one big mystery. Yes, you learn little by little what is going on, who is Polly? What is she doing in that small town? Where does she come from? And slowly you start to build the puzzle that is Polly. But nothing is exactly set in stone when it comes to her. You can never say for sure what you know because you don't know if what you know is the truth, you know? Only when you reach the end everything will be explained and by then there is no reason why not to believe.