Editorial Content for Sun Damage
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
While I very much enjoyed SUN DAMAGE, the title doesn't provide even a hint as to what is really going on in Sabine Durrant’s exciting, tension-filled novel. I think a better title would be a phrase used in the book: "Risky Games." Those, after all, are exactly what Ali is engaged in for much of the story.
We meet Ali in the south of France as she and her partner, Sean, decide to con a tourist on the beach. Lulu appears to be ripe for the picking, and the scam seems to be going well. The first person narration helps us understand Ali's motives and her background. We learn how she has ended up in a modest hotel on this beach, running cons on people, fleecing them, and escaping to another exotic location before anyone is the wiser.
"...[an] exciting, tension-filled novel... You definitely will look at the world a bit differently after you’ve read this eye-opening thriller."
However, this scam ends in a devastating manner, and Ali needs to find a way to disappear. She ends up posing as a chef for a family that has rented a summer home in France. Durrant's descriptions are delightful; we can smell the slightly musty rooms in the large house and feel the intense summer sun burning down on the swimming pool and our shoulders. The family Ali ends up working for is an interesting mix. While pretending to be someone she is not, she comes to realize that everyone in the house --- including friends who are visiting --- are also hiding a multitude of veritable sins.
At the same time, Ali is worried that Sean is searching for her, and she is constantly looking over her shoulder. It is too worrisome for her to even consider what might happen if she is found. We feel the tension building, and we keep turning the pages, reading on to find out if she gets away with her audacious plan or if her deceit is discovered.
I especially appreciated when Ali explains that cons exist virtually wherever you look: a mobile number you don't recognize, an email with a rebate offer if you click on the link. She says, "They're everywhere, we're everywhere, though you don't need me to tell you that."
MRS. PLANSKY’S REVENGE, a fine novel by Spencer Quinn, revolves around scams from the opposite point of view --- the victim's. These two novels would be interesting choices for a book club to discuss, perhaps together. You definitely will look at the world a bit differently after you’ve read this eye-opening thriller.
Teaser
In a tiny village in Provence, nine guests arrive at a luxury holiday home. The visitors know each other well, or at least they think they do. The only stranger among them is Lulu, the young woman catering their stay. But Lulu is not exactly the woman on the video the guests thought they’d hired. It turns out Lulu has plenty to hide --- and nowhere to run as the heat rises. In this seemingly idyllic getaway, under the scorching sun, loyalties will be tested, secrets exposed, and tensions pushed to the brink.
Promo
In a tiny village in Provence, nine guests arrive at a luxury holiday home. The visitors know each other well, or at least they think they do. The only stranger among them is Lulu, the young woman catering their stay. But Lulu is not exactly the woman on the video the guests thought they’d hired. It turns out Lulu has plenty to hide --- and nowhere to run as the heat rises. In this seemingly idyllic getaway, under the scorching sun, loyalties will be tested, secrets exposed, and tensions pushed to the brink.
About the Book
Reminiscent of the works of Patricia Highsmith and Lucy Foley, a compulsive psychological thriller --- “the perfect poolside reading” (Guardian) --- involving gorgeous grifters on the loose in the south of France who prey on a group of unsuspecting vacationers...and each other.
The heat is intense. The secrets are stifling. And there is no escape.
In a tiny village in Provence, nine guests arrive at a luxury holiday home.
The visitors know each other well, or at least they think they do.
The only stranger among them is Lulu, the young woman catering their stay. But Lulu is not exactly the woman on the video the guests thought they’d hired. It turns out Lulu has plenty to hide --- and nowhere to run as the heat rises.
In this seemingly idyllic getaway, under the scorching sun, loyalties will be tested, secrets exposed, and tensions pushed to the brink.
Dripping in intrigue, SUN DAMAGE is a glamorous, witty and totally riveting story chock full of secrets, lies and...more lies.
Audiobook available, read by Sofia Zervudachi
