NOTE: This review "arguably" has spoilers, but nothing obviously a spoiler."

Sun Damage is a well constructed summer read about Ali, Lulu, Sean and being a global con artist with Ali suddenly developing unexpected values about how much is too much when harming people. What is the line she does not want to cross? Ali and Sean have been partners for quite a while. They are not in a romantic relationship. He's "mentored" her and taught her all he knows about "the game." He is middle aged. She is young and beautiful. When they meet Lulu, a dead ringer for Ali, Sean seems distracted and off his game. He acts in uncharacteristic ways, does not plan meticulously, makes rash decisions and moves. Ultimately, Ali has to decide whether to stay with him. This is not new, but it is unclear where she can go, knowing that leaving Sean could be deadly. She makes a plan that he will find hard to ascertain, Of course, being Sean, nothing is impossible.

And the story takes us to a family and their houseguests in a lovely French rental with a pool. Ali, being Ali, quickly figures out that each person, from teenager to adults who should know better, has a very problematic secret, a blackmail worthy secret. There are opportunities and she is conflicted. These folks are nice to her in her assumed identity and while she is not likely to change completely, she thinks more about the consequences of the choices she makes, the people she cons. Along the way, she finds more of her identity, never clearly developed through years of foster placements and chaos. And she likes that person, still a mix of con artist but with clarity about who she is and what she does. This is a coming of age story, a mystery, a character study and a dash of imagining time in a wonderful French rental near a village with all the necessities. Very enjoyable. Quick read.

(I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

This is a solid summer thriller brimming with tension and intrigue. Narrator Ali is a con artist, uneasy partner to her mentor Sean. They’ve been working together for three years, but Sean’s increasingly heavy-handed plotting, and a growing willingness to take risks—especially with her life—have Ali thinking it might be time to part ways. Right now they’re working the French Riviera and scamming Lulu, a young Englishwoman who’s on holiday before going to work as a private chef for a family vacationing in the hills of Provence.
When Lulu is accidentally killed, Ali is certain that Sean is going to frame her for the death. She runs, taking Lulu’s suitcases and cash and hatches a desperate plan: She’ll go to Provence and become Lulu, at least for the length of that chef job. As long as she’s careful, she’ll be safely hidden from the authorities, and get some time to come up with the next step.
Pulling off her new role won’t be easy. She’s anything but a chef, she has to remember picky details like Lulu’s gluten allegy, and at least one of the guests seems suspicious already. Then she learns that someone has been asking around, looking for a woman who looks like her.
“The secret of a good con is working out what someone wants and delivering that desire”: or so Sean used to tell her. Living as Lulu, Ali’s managed to find something like a normal life. Could it possibly become real, or is it just an illusion, another con ready to fall apart with a single misstep?

A clever con game by a couple in southern France.
A good twist but not the ending I was hoping for.
Definitely an entertaining read.

If you love a good Crime movie with cons and lies, filled with secrets, be sure to check this one out!

This was a quick fun read that would make a great movie especially with the South of France villa setting.

Recommended!

Want something salacious, titillating, fun, and just engrossing enough to keep you engaged without you letting your mai tai become watered-down mush, miss the time when your sunscreen needs to be re-applied, or making sure your little ones (fur or not) haven’t wandered out of sight? I honestly think Sun Damage is a great book for that. If I had to pick a book that fits my definition of a “beach read” this would be it (disclaimer: I read this in bed because my ankle is still broken, so it is what it is).

This is a really entertaining book, even if it’s not a masterpiece. It’s just fun. For start, they’re hitting me in my soft spot: grifters. I love a good grift. I love a good con. I love fictional people who lie for a living. Who lie to live. I guess you could even say I love just thieves in general, of which grifters are a particular type of. Grifters, however, are more than thieves: they’re actors, psychologists, cultural anthropologists, human geographers, linguists, sociologists, demographers, philosophers, and jacks of all trades. They have to be able to pick up just about anything on the fly and learn it to competency in a very compact time frame. You have to be quick, smart, and able to turn on a dime. That’s what makes books about grifting so dang fun.

I get the feeling this book was supposed to be evenly character-driven and plot-driven, but I felt it was a combination of plot-driven and atmosphere-driven, if that makes sense. I didn’t really get a solid feel for any of the people staying at the house our FMC takes refuge at under the auspices of LuLu under the pretense of being their holiday chef. I feel like I was supposed to, but I really didn’t end up caring about any of them except Rob, the author. I was, however, living for the constant feeling of weight: the oppressive heat and humidity weighing everyone down, the sun beating on everyone’s heads, the guilt weighing our protagonist down, the secrets like stones in her pockets, the sweat soaking her clothing, the constant suspense of whether or not she was going to be caught or found suffocating her more and more with every day that passes…

Like I said: It’s a good read. Something you’d read once and really enjoy on a lovely vacation and then tell a friend they really should get a copy to take with them to the beach. Or you can just lay under your ceiling fan with a cold drink and imagine you’re at the beach. That’ll work too.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, ideas, and views expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Beach Read/Crime Fiction/General Fiction/Psychological Fiction/Suspense Thriller

Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant ☀️

They are con artists. When they try to scam a woman in France, their con goes wrong and she must escape. I don’t want to give anything else away; I think it is best to go in blind like I did.

This was my first book by this author and I really liked it. It is a suspenseful story with an exciting plot and some unexpected twists that kept me enthralled and guessing right to the very end. The characters are flawed and very dysfunctional.

What I loved the most about the book was the setting. It’s set in a beautiful house in the South of France and now I just want to pack my suitcase and spend the rest of the summer there.

The audiobook was narrated by Sofia Zervudachi who did a great job!

Thank you @NetGalley @harperperennial and @harperaudio for my copy of Sun Damage.

I have to confess, the tile and cover alone, made me want this book.

I am a beach bunny through and through. If it involves sun and sand, just count me in. So when I come across a book cover as magnificent as this, I know without a doubt I have to have it.

Sabine Durrant, slayed!

Secrets, Lies, Deceit.... this book has it all.

I am usually not a slow burn kind of book lover. I want to be thrown right into the chaos. However, it worked for this book. Sun Damage is perfectly paced and really executes when it comes to the build up.

This is a Summer must read!

Check out this teaser :

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. 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.

"People like others to be the same , for their lives to mirror theirs, and I was good at that."

𝙎𝙪𝙣 𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘿𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄
Ali and Sean are grifters staking their prey meticulously and swindling unsuspecting people out of their money. Setting their sights on Lulu thinking she was an easy target. There was something different and Ali could feel it, after the unthinkable happens to Lulu, Ali flees taking on a new identity, Lulu's identity. Ali knows that Sean will eventually track her down but when he does she doesn't expect the surprise he has for her.

This is a really slow burn suspense novel (found myself putting the book down more in the first half), with an unsuspecting plot twist. The story line was interesting, enjoyed Ali's character, the more she tried to portray herself as Lulu the more her character grew on me.

Rating
⭐⭐/5

A perfectly paced thriller to add to your end of summer beach bag. A young woman escapes the foster care system to become a grifter and travel the world. Her current pairing with an older con man goes south, and she makes a split second decision to run and hide while assuming the identity of one of their former targets while she decides what to do next. Indulge your dreams of escaping to a vacation home in the French countryside. A delicious and twisty ride.

Please note that I was provided with an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down. I was in suspense the whole time - would this grifter/imposter be found out? Would her past catch up to her? The writing is incredibly descriptive and I ended up really caring about what happened to her. There are great plot twists that really pan out. I loved this book so much that I will be reading it again and I also have on my list the author's other books as well. I don't want to say too much out of fear of giving away too many spoilers so just read it! This is one of the best books I have read all year. I highly recommend this read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.

WOOF. I was rooting for Ali the whole time and I AM SO GLAD I DID. Lulu and Sean be damned! The twist at the end had me putting this book down for a hot minute to fully process exactly what the hell was going on. What a serious twist, would highly recommend for anyone who loves a long game winner takes all kinda story!

Ali comes from a troubled childhood and when she is literally down and out and happens to be found by Sean Wheeler who teaches her the tools of the trade to be a successful grifter. They find themselves on a French beach where they have found their latest victim. Things are building up to the payoff they are looking for when circumstances take a turn for the worst and Ali finds herself on the run. This were the majority of the story settles and takes place and Ali works hard to hide her identity while she reviews her life. The story builds up to some major twist at the end. This was a good read that will hold your attention up to the end.

This is a fun story about con artists. It’s give you the right amount of escapism a reader could want. I’ll admit I wanted more surprises along the way. Good ending though.

This is a languidly-paced book, but since it's set in the summer in Provence, I couldn't really complain. It's a story that reminded me of a classic Patricia Highsmith novel, of grifting vacationers trying to con and evade one another.

Yes, it takes a bit of time to get going, but it's an enjoyable read that pays off in the end!

I went into this with no expectations really and with the beginning and the building of these characters and the set up for what was going to occur, I was really intrigued! Then as the story progressed, in my opinion, things began to feel mundane and that the main character was experiencing a lot of the same thing. While I completely understand why this was the case, my reading pace became slower and I ultimately lost that initial intrigue from the beginning. Things did pick up in the end though, and I’m glad I read this book!

Con artists stories are always a must read for me and this was an interesting one. There were a few good twists in this one that surprised me. I am loving all the books set at European chateaus this summer - I think this is the third one I have read. There were a few loose ends that weren’t wrapped up which is a pet peeve of mine but ultimately this was very enjoyable. This is the perfect book to read on the beach!

This is the first book I've read of Sabine Durrant and I really, really enjoyed it. It was entertaining and engaging. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. The chase was so well written and I was never confused about settings or details - very well laid out. The beginning a was little bit slow but the ending was everything I was hoping for.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial for allowing me to review this book.

SUN DAMAGE is a deliciously juicy and entertaining thriller where everyone has a secret. Durrant’s writing propels the tale forward at a fast pace. All the while still adding just the right amount of moments to take stock of everything happening.

What makes this book so good is Lulu, or at least the Lulu that shows up as the caterer. Her constant struggle with who she was, who she is now, and who she wants to be allows the reader to identify with her. There are such wonderful scenes where she is candid and introspective. But, let’s be honest, when she is grifting, this character shines. The interactions of these nine guests are pure gold.

The author has created a thriller showcasing characters busting with secrets, lies, and questionable actions. Their presence adds to the tension and the pure fun of reading this novel. So, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant. Thanks to @harperbooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nine guests arrive for a luxury vacation but there is a stranger among them with secrets.

I loved the beginning of this story and I loved the end of the story. Everything in between was slow paced and not as exciting as the rest of the book. I’m surprised that I made it through the middle. If the pacing had stayed the same throughout, this would have been a great read for me.

“It’s not true you can’t con an hornet person, but it’s easier emotionally when they’re not.”

Sun Damage comes out 8/1.

What happens when the con-woman becomes the mark? Durrant’s latest gives you a taste while taking you on a merry chase. There’s a twist at the end that will make you smile, so it is definitely worth the read.