Sun Damage: The most suspenseful crime thriller of 2023 from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Lie With Me - 'perfect poolside reading' The Guardian

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What a delicious read, I felt myself drawn into Verity Baxter's life. A life lived in the same house for an entire lifetime, a life lived accumulating objects following the death of her mother and the final fracturing of her relationship with her sister. Some might say a lonely life although Verity sees it differently, Verity is absorbed by her job researching words for the Oxford English dictionary. Verity's life has stayed the same until new neighbours move in and she is asked to provide some tutoring for their son Max.

This is a perfect holiday read set in a Villa in the South of France! Sabine Durrant’s characters always have something to hide and those in SUN DAMAGE are no exception to this.” Annette C, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ When the scam goes wrong and Ali is forced to flee, she secures a job under false pretences. Will she be able to keep her identity a secret or will her past catch up with her? Anyway returning to what lies between the covers, I enjoyed this and the ending is fantastic. However, I thought it was missing something throughout and everything felt a bit obvious which was disappointing. Parts of the ending were obvious and others were not but I thought it was the perfect ending for the book hence why I said it was fantastic. The rest of the book did need an injection of something and I wish it had a slightly faster pace. Claustrophobic and suspenseful, with an engaging narrator and a satisfying twist: perfect poolside reading ' GUARDIAN

Featured Reviews

I would like to thank #SabineDurrant, #Netgalley and #HodderAndStoughton for an ARC of #FindersKeepers in exchange for an honest review. This is very much a character-driven story, in that way that Sabine Durrant does so incredibly well. There is such depth to her characters and the reader is allowed plenty of time to try and figure them out. My perceptions and loyalties shifted throughout, until I thought I knew what was going on. Because there is a mystery to solve and a responsible party to reveal but you will have to discover all of that for yourself. The storyline switches between the past and the beginnings of the friendship between Verity and Alicia, and the present where the consequences start to unravel. To me, this is one of those books where you don’t fully realise the extent of how masterfully the plot has been constructed until you reach the part where all the pieces of the puzzle start to come together.

Sensuously atmospheric, Sun Damage is a twisty thriller with the added delight of acute social comedy. Without doubt Sabine Durrant's best novel yet' GILL HORNBY Maybe I might revisit the book at a later date (when I have time) and give it another go...who knows? But at this point, I found the book to be far too slow and confusing to hold my interest. I think the success of Sabine Durrant's writing is the depth of her characters and the way she allows us gradually to get to know them. Your first impression of Verity and the new neighbour Ailsa Tilson alters gradually as words are spoken, deeds are done or not, and the lie of the land shifts just slightly. I loved Sabine Durrant’s creation of character. Throughout I couldn’t decide if I loathed Tom or felt sorry for him as the author manipulated my reader responses so unnervingly. Verity’s voice creeps into the reader’s mind until they are mesmerised, whilst Alisa seems like a chimera not to be entirely trusted. Both Alisa and Verity have a neediness that is utterly convincing but at the same time, each woman has a manipulative strength too so that it is impossible to know who is controlling whom and who can – or cannot – be trusted. The interplay between the people in Finders, Keepers, the conveying of meaning through what is withheld as much as what is said and the dynamics of control, all add layers of creepiness whilst seeming to be perfectly benign. I thought this was excellent. We get to know most of them intimately (not kidding—there's one masturbation scene) in this disquieting tale of obsession, grief, and found family.The remaining two thirds of Sun Damage was unexpectedly placid and low stake, confined to a single location when the narrative was suggesting a whirlwind cat and mouse game across Europe. Still, I found Sabine Durrant's writing to be pleasant and the character work solid, hence I was able to finish till the end without feeling like an unavoidable chore, even though the potential for it to be something more unhinged was constantly missed. But when the Tilsons move in next door, Verity’s world expands. Drawn into their chaotic world, whether she likes it or not, she becomes forced to confront her own idiosyncrasies and the chilling secrets she’s been keeping. As for Ailsa, it isn't clear which persona of hers is the real one... the happy but harried wife, the friendly person who involves herself in every activity or someone entirely different. Sun Damage has, unusually, got the attachment of an Epilogue, and it is a really good and unexpected extra to wind up such a fascinating read. The author, Sabine Durrant, has written five previous thriller stories, but this is the first one of hers that I have read, and I will seek out her books in the hope and expectation that they will all be as good as this one.

This novel explores how our early experiences mold our personalities in adulthood. Our protagonist, 'Lulu' is not a bad person, but she has done very bad things. Lulu is not really Lulu of course, this is just a persona Ali has claimed as her own after she reached a point of desperation in her own life. I was getting rather tired of it, frustrated with it, annoyed enough that I might have quit if I hadn't needed an audiobook so much, but then the last bit turned it around and finally got interesting again. It took too long to get interesting again.Sensuously atmospheric, SUN DAMAGE is a twisty thriller with the added delight of acute social comedy. Without doubt Sabine Durrant's best novel yet" - Gill Hornby Sensuously atmospheric, Sun Damage is a twisty thriller with the added delight of acute social comedy. Without doubt Sabine Durrant’s best novel yet’ GILL HORNBY Claustrophobic and suspenseful, with an engaging narrator and a satisfying twist: perfect poolside reading." - The Guardian Verity has lived in the same house in Trinity Fields, London for her entire life. She cared for her mother before she died, and her sister Faith left years ago. Now, it's just Verity and her dog Maudie who occupy the large, somewhat dilapidated house. Verity works from home, she's a wordsmith; working on new definitions for updated versions of the dictionary. Could not put this down. Brilliant lead characters and such a clever plot. I love this author and this is my favourite so far – sunshine and suspense – a winning combination!” Booklover, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐