Sunburned by Katherine Wood involves an island paradise, murder, and blackmail. This fast paced thriller was a great summer read. There were several unexpected twists that I enjoyed. I enjoy Katherine Wood’s writing and will definitely read her next book!

Audrey is a successful discovery agent with twin boys when she's summoned to St. Barth's by her ex, Tyson, after a dismembered foot turns up in the Everglades. She wants nothing to do with him, but he's now an extremely paranoid billionaire who is being blackmailed for past crimes that also implicate her. Upon arriving at the posh island home, Audrey quickly realizes that everyone staying there - his brother, his brother's girlfriend, his business partner, his wife, and his wife's friend - hates Tyson in their own way, making everyone a suspect. When a diving trip on Tyson's yacht turns deadly, Audrey has to turn up the heat on her investigation into the blackmailer before she winds up dead too. The story alternates between the present and eleven years prior, when Audrey, Tyson, and his brother Cody were in their early 20s. Sunburned is a fast-paced beachy read about luxury, lies, and how thoroughly haunted you can be by the past. The only, let's call it a low point, for me was how completely untouched Audrey is by consequences because she is far from innocent.

Sunburned
No Spoilers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pairs perfectly with a summer rose

➡️ locked room thriller
➡️ twisty
➡️ duel timelines
➡️ the perfect island vacation setting

I’ve been a die-hard fan of Woods (formerly St Johns’) work and will continue to read anything she publishes! I was so grateful to receive an advanced copy of her work - Thank you NetGalley and XXXX Publishers

Overall, I devoured this story! The writing I’ve come to know and love was ever present and the duel timelines meshed perfectly. I loved the setting of St Bart’s and think this will be an ideal story for pool and beach readers.

A couple of critiques are I did feel like after Part 1, the storyline felt overall a little rushed. I love an Agatha Christie style mystery but at times it felt like we were being force-fed options for who the assailant was vs. them being hidden under the placemat for us to find on our own. The back half of the story felt a little clunky with so much information ping ponging us back and forth…

That with the addition of characters late in the story it was hard not to see some of the “twists” coming, even though we were being told to look in so many directions. I appreciated this fun thriller though it wasn’t a favorite I will still be an avid reader of her books always!!

Katherine Wood does it again. It has been a very long time since I've finished a book in less than 2 days. And I did it with this one. I love her writing so much. The twist in this one blew my mind - like WHAT?!?! You think you know but you don't. :). I also loved that there was a small little romance sub plot going on as well and was rooting so hard for the FMC! Huge 5 stars all around!!

When Audrey's billionaire ex-boyfriend Tyson contacts her to help him figure out who is blackmailing him, she wishes she could blow him off. But they're connected by some big secrets that are problematic for her, too. Audrey reluctantly agrees to meet Tyson at his estate on the swanky Caribbean island of St. Barth’s. She soon realizes that everyone in his entourage has enough reason to wish him harm. Tyson’s birthday dive turns deadly, and she realizes one of the seven people trapped on his yacht with her is not just a blackmailer, but a murderer. If Audrey can’t catch the killer in time, she might become the next victim.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for this digital e-arc.*

At the end of my review for Ladykiller, I wrote that I’d be looking forward to Katherine Wood’s next book and boy-oh-boy, Sunburned absolutely did not disappoint. Where Ladykiller was a little slow to start, setting the scene and getting the reader acquainted with the characters and the setting, Sunburned was compelling straight out of the gate. Audrey is a discovery agent - a fancy title for someone resembling a private investigator - who has just received a strongly worded request from her ex, Tyson, who is now a paranoid tech billionaire and someone she hasn’t seen in over a decade, to come to St. Barth’s to help him figure out who is blackmailing him, threatening to expose her own secrets if she doesn’t help him. When he ends up dead during a dive to celebrate his birthday, Audrey realizes that his paranoid might not have been without merit. Racing to figure out not just who was threatening him with blackmail, which would have also revealed her own secrets, but who could have been behind his death, her own freedom and reputation is on the line. Told in alternating timelines - Audrey in the present and past, including her long and complicated relationship with Tyson, the tension continues to build and build until the end and readers are still left in disbelief. I found it immediately addicting, and so compelling that I raced through the rest of the book within the next day. This is a great sexy, sultry thriller perfect for summer, especially if sexy tropical island settings and questionable characters are your jam! I find myself again very much looking forward to Katherine Wood’s next book.

I love Katherine Wood's novels! They are the perfect summer read with a mix of terrible people, a strong protagoinist, and thrills. This one is no exception. Audrey gets a call to assist her ex she hasn't seen in ten years. Since then, she has made her living researching and helping companies investigate. Wood uses flashbacks to propel the story along and it concides with the climax. Though I figured some of the reveals out, Wood does an excellent job with the twists and turns. Highly recommend adding this to your beach or pool bag this summer!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

In Katherine Wood’s last thriller, “Ladykiller,” we were treated to the sumptuous landscape of the Grecian Islands. This time she’s transported us to another rich man’s paradise’s, St. Barth’s in the Caribbean. The protagonist is Audrey, mom of 10 year old twins and successful owner of a “discovery” business — a detective agency that analyzes and uncovers hidden paperwork rather than catching cheating spouses. She’s been offered big bucks — especially since she was very reluctant to join her ex from a decade ago.

Since splitting up with Audrey after college, Tyson has become a billionaire bro and has transformed into an occult-sampling, easily-angered, maliciously-entitled adult bully with multiple ex-wives, soon-to-be exes, and business rivals, including his brother/corporate partner Cody. Tyson admits everyone hates him, but an anonymous hater has sent him a reminder of his dark past (it involves a human foot recently recovered from a Florida swamp). The people he’s collected on the island and private super yacht — his current wife and her devoted BFF, his brother and brother’s girlfriend, and his female business partner, plus a hunky manservant — are apparently his main suspects and he wants Audrey to identify the blackmailer. With so many people actively despising Tyler, Audrey wonders why he’s settled on this small group. Working remotely with her business partner, Rosa, Audrey starts to unravel Tyson’s very ugly world.

Author Wood has created a great relatable main protagonist — Audrey is hard-working and honest, but still vulnerable to Tyson’s blackmail about their shared past. Her last book had two main characters, a real person and the written, maybe not reliable, diary of an absent character. A single main character suits and strengthens Wood’s storyline much better, and we find ourselves rooting for Audrey. It was a clever mystery that kept me entranced until the end. If Audrey becomes a character in a future thriller, I’ll be there. 4.5 stars!


Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO But a lot of a green sludgy drink consumed by Tyson.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO As on many islands, there’s an arid side and a tropical side, so it’s not all palm trees — a few cacti are present, too.

Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Oh la la! Another hit for Katherine Wood! I just adored the murder, money and blackmail theme. This one hit all the right spots for me haha. I really enjoyed reading about the glamorous lives of the rich and famous in St. Barths. The story really kept me guessing the entire time. I didnt love all the characters, my gosh they sure are flawed. But arent we all? Overall it was a fun read, especially for summer with the tropical setting.

Audrey Collett is being summoned to her ex Tyson's private Island on St Barth's. Despite not having seen each other for 10 plus years, Audrey seems to be the only one who can help Tyson find out who amongst his inner circle is blackmailing him. As Audrey starts to poke around the other guests, a diving trip goes terribly awry, elevating everyone from blackmail suspect to potential murderer. On a luxury yacht surrounded by people who all have motive, can Audrey figure out the truth before the target shifts to her?

So while this book does start off slow, it quickly ramps up the tension and suspense, just go with the flow. You don't know who you can trust which adds to that paranoia and mystery. Sunburned is definitely a whodunit in absolute paradise with the atmospheric setting a major highlight. Another strong point is the character development. Audrey as our female main character is relatable, resourceful, and believable while Tyson is more unpredictable but with that magnetic personality and charm that people are drawn to. Overall I would definitely recommend Sunburned to fans of tense, and twisty "rich people behaving badly" drama/thrillers with locked room vibes!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Wood, and Random House Publishing/Ballantine for this ARC! Publication date is July 1st 2025.

Audrey Collett receives a call from her long ago ex, Tyson, who is now a multi-billionaire. He needs her help finding out who is blackmailing him, so he invites her on a trip to St. Barth's along with some of his friends and family to celebrate his birthday. As Audrey gets to know the others on the island, she starts to build a profile on each guest and what their potential motivation to blackmail Tyson could be.

But when Tyson's birthday dive trip turns deadly, the stakes in the hunt for the blackmailer are even higher, and no one is exempt from being a suspect. No one is safe, including Audrey herself, and while she is trying to find who is behind not just the blackmail but now potential murder, her sketchy past with Tyson may just come to light as well.

Katherine Wood is a fantastic writer. I always look forward to her summer thrillers. They are almost always based on a wealthy island or yacht with badly behaved wealthy people, and the salacious and sordid characters make for such a great story!

Full of mystery and interesting characters. I kept questioning everything and everyone. I was glued to the story and couldn't put it down. I loved Audrey. Actually there are a couple of characters I'd love too see more of. I wasn't ready for this one to end but what an ending it was.

“It’s hard to comprehend the sprawl of the decisions we make, our choices colliding with those of others to create an impossibly tangled web that can come undone with the pull of a single thread.” Wood, author of Ladykiller, delivers another excellent mystery with Sunburned. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of St. Bart’s, she weaves a slow burning, detailed plot that builds toward an explosive conclusion.
Wood’s characters are vivid and varied, the storyline has just the right number of knots to keep things tense, and the setting adds to an exotic literary escape. Everything you need for a brilliant, compelling mystery that keeps you turning the pages.

Katherine is a fantastic author of thrillers with rich people behaving badly in beautiful settings. Sunburned is an excellent summer thriller that you definitely will want to have in your beach bag this year!

When Tyson, a tech billionaire is being blackmailed, he enlists the help of Audrey, his ex-girlfriend to figure out who is behind everything. Audrey is reluctant to help since their breakup was messy, but when he threatens to expose the skeletons in her closet, she has no choice but to join him and his guest at his mansion in St. Barts. Once she arrives, she learns that everyone there has a reason to want Tyson dead and the idyllic vacation they were promised will turn deadly.

I loved the way everything unfolded in this one. It was mysterious, with a number of twists along the way, and also felt like a soap opera with the behind the scenes drama that was happening from some of the characters. I liked the flashback chapters that told the story of Audrey and Tyson's relationship when they were younger, what caused it to end, and the backstory of Tyson's brother Cody, their friend Ian, and his girlfriend Andi that helped to play into what was happening in the present day. I listened to the audiobook and I was fully engrossed in the story thanks to the excellent narration by Samantha Németh-Parker.

A perfect summer beach thriller! I loved the setting both in St. Barth's and aboard the luxury yacht. The twists and turns in this one kept me guessing throughout and I really enjoyed the main part III twist - even if I did predict it beforehand. The flashback chapters dragged a little for me even though they were necessary to tell the full story. Overall, I flew through this one and really enjoyed it!

4 stars. Good mystery, lots of twists and turns, a variety of characters that you can't tell whether they're good or bad. Lots of potential motive for the present-day murder as well as one that happened in the past. Most of the characters aren't very likeable but...that's the point.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Katherine Wood keeps her crown as an absolute queen of summery, beachy thrillers with this one. I love her glimpses into elite worlds of the super wealthy and their bad behavior, but this one also has a level of "realness" to it with a main character who isn't living that life. Juicy, gossipy, dramatic, and a lot of fun to read.

4/5 stars
Sunburned is a sun-soaked, slow-burn thriller packed with scandal, secrets, and some truly unlikable characters—in the best way. Set against the glittering backdrop of St. Barth’s, this locked-room-style mystery follows Audrey Collet, a sharp fixer reluctantly pulled back into the life of her billionaire ex, Tyson, who’s being blackmailed. Audrey’s task? Fly to his private island, figure out which of his rich, shady inner circle is behind it, and try not to get burned in the process.

The luxurious setting—a yacht, a secluded estate, beach parties—makes for a lush, cinematic read, and the tension bubbles just under the surface. Everyone has secrets, no one is trustworthy, and as past betrayals resurface, things spiral quickly from a whodunit to a fight for survival.

Audrey is a compelling protagonist—flawed, driven, and far more capable than she gives herself credit for. The supporting cast is deliciously messy, with enough twists and red herrings to keep you guessing. While the dialogue can be a little much at times and there are a few too many emotional repetitions, the story’s pace and intrigue more than make up for it.

If you enjoy thrillers about wealth, deception, and complicated relationships—served with a side of sun and suspense—Sunburned is worth the trip.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love Katherine Wood’s writing style. I instantly feel immersed in the setting and characters. This had everything you need for a great summer read: island setting, mystery, tension, secrets, the inability to trust anyone, and so much money I can’t wrap my head around this lifestyle.

Audrey is summoned to an island birthday party by her ex she hasn’t seen/spoken to in over 10 years. He needs her investigative skills to find out which person close to him is blackmailing him. As Audrey gets to know the other guests tragedy strikes while on a mega yacht diving trip, causing everyone to go from potential blackmailer to full on murder suspect. Even Audrey starts to look suspicious to the police.

This all takes place through Audrey’s POV in present and past (11years earlier) timelines. I enjoyed the pacing of “Sunburned” and the reference to the title used as a code word throughout the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Jul 01 2025

A killer vacation read to say the least. With secrets, lies, and betrayal around every corner, this one is sure to keep you guessing. Everyone has a motive and in a locked room type mystery, everyone had the opportunity. I really enjoyed the FMC and the whole crew of characters. The flashbacks give you just enough detail to keep you hanging on for more, as the present day story unravels. Overall very well written and a great thriller to keep you company on the beach this summer.