This book kept me captivated from the very beginning of the book. Discovery agent Audrey Collet is basically blackmailed into investigating threats against her billionaire ex Tyson, who she hadn't seen in ten years. Audrey soon finds that there are many who have reason to hate him. She soon has a tangled web to untangle. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I love a mystery which delves into the characters' lives. This time we see them through Audrey's eyes as she investigates each of them. I found the mystery fascinating, and it kept me guessing until the end. The flashbacks to her past with Tyson add to the story.

Sunburned is what happens when a tropical vacation collides with blackmail and betrayal. Audrey is the kind of heroine you root for. She's sharp, sarcastic, and just messy enough to keep things fun. The island is pure luxury, but beneath the yacht parties and sun-kissed beaches, everyone's hiding something (especially her ex and his new wife). Think 'Knives Out' meets 'I Know What You Did Last Summer! This whole story is twisty, tense, and totally addictive!

In short, if you crave your mystery with sunshine, secrets, and smart sass, Sunburned is your next beach bag essential.

Sunburned releases July 1st

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Another juicy, thrilling and twisty book from Katherine Wood that I absolutely loved.

Katherine knows how to write rich people behaving badly with a little romance and a little murder or two. I highly recommend this and all of her books.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

Private Island. Luxury Yacht. Betrayal and Secrets.
The perfect captivating thriller to read this summer.

Audrey Collet is drawn back into her past life when her billionaire ex-boyfriend calls for her help as he is being blackmailed. Reluctantly she agrees to help and takes off to St. Barth island where he is living. There are secrets in their past that are slowly unraveled as the story goes on. Several very unreliable and deceitful characters keep you guessing at who did what. I loved the alternating dual timeline of past and present that tells the story of what happened between the friends. Perfect summer thriller that gives you an escape to a tropical island, luxury yacht, scuba diving adventures.

Sunburned by Katherine Wood isn’t exactly a thriller, but it kept me interested. It took me a bit to feel like anything was really happening, but once I got into it, it was a nice, easy read—perfect for summer or a vacation. I liked it, but it’s not one that’s going to stick with me for long.

Sunburned by Katherine Wood is a cozy mystery set in the Caribbean.
I am not sure I like the separate timelines - it took a while for the story to get going.
Audrey goes to St. Bart’s at the insistence of a high school ex who wants her to discover who is blackmailing him. He has become extremely wealthy since their split but has lost any charm he had in the past.
Before she can discover who is the blackmailer, a death occurs. She is stuck on a yacht with a killer. With all the secrets, Audrey needs to find the killer so she is not blamed.
The writing flows well and the characters were intriguing. I enjoyed the mystery very much.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

This is the kind of book I take pleasure in guessing before the conclusion. At some point, maybe 30% in, I told my husband about a scene that would play out at the end of the book. And it did. I like when that happens. Sometimes the setup is subtle but I don’t mind when it isn’t, bc it’s fun to figure the puzzle out.

This is a good summer or vacation read. I don’t think it will really stick with me but I enjoyed reading it.

I enjoyed Ladykiller by the same author so was looking forward to a cozy afternoon reading Sunburned. It was just as good!
An exotic setting, gorgeous people with dark secrets and history. This novel had hints of Agatha Christie. A body, many characters who all had motive and one person who could solve the murder if she could keep herself alive to do so.
This was slick, oozing with charm and so many twists I felt dizzy. Another great read from Katherine Wood.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Isolated locales in thrillers completely draw me in, and "Sunburned" delivered this craving spectacularly with its luxury yacht setting in St. Barth's. The shimmering waters provide a deceptively peaceful backdrop for the darkness lurking beneath the surface of Wood's tightly constructed mystery.

The central plot—where protagonist Audrey is blackmailed by her tycoon ex Tyson to investigate who's blackmailing him—creates delicious tension. Audrey's position is precarious from the start; she's simultaneously the investigator and a suspect, which kept me flipping pages well past midnight. I couldn't believe how she allowed herself to be manipulated into this situation, yet her motivations reveal themselves with perfect timing.

Tyson emerges as one of those characters you love to hate—mercurial, controlling, and utterly self-absorbed. His unlikeability actually enhances the story, as I found myself wondering who wouldn't want to blackmail this man. The power dynamic between him and Audrey crackles with complicated history.

Wood's dual timeline structure works brilliantly, connecting past events to present circumstances without ever becoming confusing. These transitions felt natural, each revelation in the past informing Audrey's present-day sleuthing with satisfying clarity.

The pacing maintains momentum throughout, dropping secrets like breadcrumbs at exactly the right moments. I found myself rooting hard for Audrey, admiring her astute mind as she navigated both clearing her name and uncovering the truth. Her intelligence shines without making her unrealistically perfect.

The romance element woven through the suspense adds welcome dimension rather than distraction—because honestly, why not have a little heat with your thriller?

Overall, "Sunburned" delivers a sun-soaked, page-turning exploration of vengeance where paradise becomes the perfect setting for settling old scores.

Special thanks to Bantam Books and NetGalley for providing the free e-book for review, though all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

How can you not like a book that has beautiful beaches, yachts, rich people, and it’s in Saint Barthes? Add in a murder and you have one heck of a book. This book was about relationships with many secrets that spend 11 years.

The story was about AudreyCollet and an old boyfriend Tyson, whom she has not seen in 11 years. They were a big item when they were younger and now that Tyson is a billionaire he calls on Audrey to come to Saint Barths to celebrate his birthday. Why after all these years with Tyson want Audrey to come and celebrate his birthday especially since there is a secret that Audrey is hiding from him. Audrey finds out the real reason Tyson wants her there, and she suddenly finds herself in the mist of a real life mystery. Who’s missing leg washed up on one of the beaches and what does Audrey Tyson and Tyson’s brother have to do with this? How do the rest of the invites fit in to this plan of Tyson’s? What happens when they all go down scuba diving? Should Audrey trust any of these people? Somebody is blackmailing Tyson and there is no way that Audrey wants to reveal her secret until she has no choice. What could that secret be, and who gets murdered during this luxurious birthday celebration?

This is the first book I have ever read by Katherine Wood. she kept this book very very interesting because it was really a mystery with all of these people into twinning in each other’s lives. I caught myself wondering what is going on and why are these people acting the way they are I didn’t want to trust anybody. It was a really good who done it in the middle of a gorgeous island with some supposedly gorgeous people on board.

I like that the characters were complexed. You never knew what would happen next and with who it kept you guessing. I would truly like to read more from Ms. Wood and I give this book 4 stars. Thank you.NetGalley and Storm publishing for the ARC. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery and beautiful places.

Sunburned follows Aubrey as she reconnects with a shady character from her past, Tyson. Tyson blackmails Aubrey about their mutual shady past to get her to figure out who is currently blackmailing him. This happens on a beautiful island and yacht on st. Barts. I enjoyed this book and would recommend.

I loved Katherine Wood’s first book, LadyKiller, and was so excited to read her sophomore book, Sunburned! It is a different sort of mystery, as this one takes lace on St Bart’s but still has the elusive quality of expensive vacations and people who drink champagne for breakfast.

We meet our protagonist Audrey, a single mother of twins who is good at computers and hacking. She is summoned to St Barth’s by her billionaire ex-boyfriend, Tyson, as he is being blackmailed and wants her to investigate... although we don’t really get why since he wasn’t asking her to hack anyone, but he has some dirt on her so I guess he figured that is as good as anything to get her to investigate for him. ANYWAY, she finds herself among Tyson’s inner circle and is growing more and more concerned for everyone involved as Tyson is showing some real paranoid behavior. Each character seems to have something to hide, and we follow Audrey along as she investigates, as well as flashbacks to her time with Tyson.

I liked this book, I didn’t love it, as I found it to have heavy exposition from Audrey and I feel we could have been shown, rather than told, a lot of the details, which ended up getting a little confusing (maybe just for me!) The author also throws in a love interest for Audrey, which is kind of cathartic for the character but sort of unnecessary to the plot line. I liked the setting and the cast of characters but would have loved a little more ‘showing not telling,” but it was overall a fun book and a good beach read.

This slow burn thriller set in exotic Saint Barth’s features a cast of flawed, vulnerable, and morally gray characters.
The suspense and paranoia increase as the novel reaches its climax, and the reader, like the protagonist, is never certain who among the people onboard the luxury yacht is reliable in their account of events. The murder of the rich, reclusive tycoon who has gathered them together has repercussions for each character. The writing is smooth and engaging, and the tension builds nicely until all is revealed. A solid thriller, and a great beach read!

Audrey hasn’t seen Tyson in a decade. Since their breakup, he’s become a billionaire who is as awful as he is rich. When Tyson summons her to St. Barth’s with the promise of $100K, Audrey reluctantly agrees. When she arrives, Tyson is hostile and paranoid and demands Audrey figures out who is blackmailing him. With tensions rising and everyone in his mansion a potential suspect, Audrey has a lot of work to do and only one week to do it.

This was a lot of fun! Despite correctly guessing the blackmailer early on, I remained engaged in the story. The setting was also lovely and the author does a nice job of making each character appear shifty enough to commit any number of crimes. An entertaining summer read!

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Called upon by a high school relationship to investigate who’s extorting him about their shared secrets, what she uncovers within the group, and about the man she once knew, leads to deadly consequences in Sunburned by Katherine Wood.

Traveling to the St. Barth’s home of her former high school boyfriend, with whom she hasn’t had a relationship in a decade, Audrey has reluctantly agreed to help him determine who within his inner circle has issued a threat of blackmail over a news story of a recently resurfaced foot in Florida, extorting him over dangerous secrets long kept from the past he and Audrey share, implicating them both to varying degrees. As Audrey quietly investigates the small group of people in Tyson’s close orbit, who have driven him to paranoia that’s altered his ruthless demeanor, during his birthday celebrations on the island, she notices how each of them has a reason to wish harm upon him. When their scenic dive takes a deadly turn, Audrey is struck with the realization that one of the people she’s among and trapped on a yacht with is not only the blackmailer but a murderer. Audrey needs to figure out which of the party is responsible to prevent herself from becoming the next target, and to protect her secrets from getting out and creating another wave of problems.

Depicting the current narrative with occasional flashbacks from eleven years previous that fleshed out the context of Audrey and Tyson’s relationship and the secrets that tie them together, the story moves forward at a rapid, propulsive pace over a few days in the current narrative thread while moving a bit more slowly in the flashbacks and the settings are vividly described, particularly those of the island variety, which creates an alluring atmosphere. While presented as surprising reveals, some of the information revealed wound up being easy to predict, either through the use of tropes or foreshadowing, such that any shock value was lessened, though the overall story was entertaining to behold as it unfolded. There’s a limited cast of characters that helps to heighten the tension of the whodunit element with each of them harboring their own twisted, or straightforward, motives against Tyson, and many of the characters are presented in an unfavorable or unlikable manner, especially with the level of privilege they have, expect, or exude, leaving Audrey, especially in comparison, a much more sympathetic and relatable character.

Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sunburned was just ok. I feel like I was 60% into the book before anything happened. There was a dueling timeline between the present and 11 years ago, but all the players were the same and there was nothing super exciting.

It takes a lot of effort to make a multimillion dollar “vacation” to St Bart’s unexciting, but Katherine Wood managed it!

I’d consider this a “sleepy vacay read” vs an exciting thriller.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC for review

When Audrey Collet’s ex Tyson calls, threatening to expose the skeletons in her closet unless she helps him figure out who is blackmailing him, she wants nothing more than to refuse. Though their relationship ended over a decade ago, the scars are deep. And since his tech company made him a billionaire, he’s become more than a little eccentric . . . and paranoid.

But a foot has washed ashore in the Everglades—that’s right, an actual human foot, encased in an Air Jordan—and Tyson is quick to remind Audrey that it’s one whose long-dead owner they both have a connection to. A connection that could prove problematic, if it got out.


Audrey relents and goes by herself to see Tyson on St. Barth's for his birthday celebration. She is surrounded by suspects of Tyson. This one had a few twists and turns that I did not expect, which I love in a book. I like to be surprised after reading as many books as I have. Such fun!

I was so excited for the opportunity to read Sunburned because of the St. Barts location and hopeful for lots of descriptive scuba diving action. What a disappointment! Reading this story was a hard slog until the last few chapters. The flashbacks did not help as they just delayed the flow of action. With some fine editing this story could have read so much better. I received an ARC from NetGalley, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Sunburned by Katherine Wood will keep you guessing til the end. It takes place on the beautiful island of St Barth on a luxurious yacht. Audrey Collet is asked by her ex-boyfriend ,Tyson, to find out who is blackmailing him
If secrets, relationships and betrays interest you then this is a read for you. The many twists and turns of the plot will keep you guessing in this book. I almost read through the night to find out the ending

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Sunburned by Katherine Wood. I enjoyed her first book, Ladykiller, and had high hopes for this follow-up—and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint!

Set on the glitzy island of St. Barts (aka “Billionaire Island”), the story follows Audrey Collet, a sharp discovery agent who investigates people on behalf of lawyers. Things get personal when her billionaire ex-boyfriend calls her to the island—he’s being blackmailed over a long-buried secret from their teenage years.

As the mystery unfolds, the tension builds: Who is the blackmailer? What do they want? And just how far are they willing to go for revenge?

With its tropical setting, layered characters, and twisty plot, Sunburned is a fast-paced, addictive read. I couldn’t put it down!