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.
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.
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“Narrator Susan Bennett takes Lippman’s irresistible setup and puts us in a flickering black-and-white world…With Lippman’s strong, spare prose and suspenseful plot—including film noir references sprinkled throughout—and Bennett’s solid delivery, this is noir listening at its finest. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“A masterful mix from a total pro.”
— People“Cool and twisty.”
— New York Times Book Review“The ingenious plot evolves into myriad twists that are as believable as they are surprising…Sunburn delivers one of the year’s most intriguing mysteries.”
— Associated Press“Lippman’s tribute to the classic noir thrillers of James M. Cain is brilliantly read by Bennett, who adopts a world-weary and been-there, done-that delivery that perfectly matches the author’s prose style…The book reads like it could have been set many decades ago, and—thanks to Bennett—it sounds like it, too.”
— Booklist (starred audio review)“You can tell how much fun the author had updating the classic noir tropes, and it’s contagious. Plotty, page-turning pleasure.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Laura Lippman is a New York Times bestselling novelist who has won more than twenty awards for her fiction, including the Edgar Award—and been nominated for thirty more. Since her debut in 1997, she has published almost two dozen novels, a novella, a children’s book, and a collection of short stories. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Laura lives in Baltimore with her husband, David Simon, and their daughter.
Susan Bennett, Earphones Award-winning narrator, has enjoyed an extensive career as a vocal artist. She has worked with major agencies on such accounts as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, AT&T, Blue Cross, Goodyear, and Club Med. She also dabbles in the music industry as the singer and keyboardist for The Interactive! Band. Along with her guitarist husband, Rick Hinkle, she is the co-owner of Audiocam Music, a full-service recording studio.