Sun Damage by Sabine Durant

 

My favorite kind of thriller! This was so much fun, kind of like a cross between Mr. Ripley and Apples Never Fall. Ali, the heroine, is part of a two-person con artist duo. But when a plan involving a rich British socialite goes terribly wrong, Ali steals her identity and runs away to a French chalet, where she ends up playing chef to a family of expatriates hoping to get away on holiday.

I love a morally grey "unlikable" FMC and I thought Durant did a really good job showing how a con artist could be morally flexible and still guilty, while also rationalizing their crimes. The family was also really interesting and I liked how the story peeled back the fabric of their lives to reveal some of their dark and twisty secrets. 

I will say that the build-up of this one is so slow, which I wasn't expecting because the beginning of this book moves so fast. I never wanted to put the book down because the writing was so good, but pacing did feel like it was an issue. Especially because, ultimately, the family didn't really seem all that relevant to the plot by the end?

Regardless, I really enjoyed SUN DAMAGE and wouldn't be surprised if it ends up becoming a TV mini series. I read it after reading THE CLIFF HOUSE and I think I've realized that my favorite genre of thriller is "fucked up lady goes on vacation and revels in her fucked upedness."

P.S. Thank you for actually having the heroine bang the hot, hairy-chested suspicious guy.

4 out of 5 stars