Audrey finds herself traveling to a Caribbean island to help her ex boyfriend find out who is blackmailing him. In the years since they broke up, he has become paranoid, and it doesn't help that a secret from their past is on the verge of being exposed. Audrey is just starting to figure out who might be responsible for the blackmail when Tyson dies on a dive. Trapped on a boat with a killer, she must find the culprit.

This one was really engaging. I thought Wood did a great job laying breadcrumbs and building suspense and intrigue. I was a bit surprised that the death happened relatively late in the book (for this type of book - maybe about halfway through), but I didn't mind it because I was so intrigued! I did think the "big twist" regarding whodunnit was not very surprising, but then there is another slight twist to complicate it. If you're looking for a good suspenseful mystery, this definitely is a book to read!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

As summer reaches a fever pitch, it's the perfect time to vacation on the luxurious island of Str. Barth's. "Sunburned" by Katherine Wood will transport you there amongst the beautiful people partying on yachts and in nightclubs and imbibing at fancy chef-curated dinners. But wealth and privilege won't keep you safe when money and power are on the line so you best sleep with one eye open...

"Sunburned" finds Audrey Collet being summoned to her rich tech titan's mansion on the island, tasked with helping the paranoid billionaire get to the bottom of who in his entourage is blackmailing him. Which is RICH coming from Tyson who is basically doing the same thing to Audrey, threatening her with their shared destruction over secrets from their past. But before Audrey can uncover the truth, extortion escalates to murder and no one is safe. Surrounded by sharks, Audrey now has to peel back the lies to save her own life.

I thoroughly enjoy a story that connects the past to the present, takes you to an interesting location, has a bucket of lies, and where the stakes are life or death—this one has it all. And as the novel progresses, it becomes a locked-room murder mystery making everyone a suspect. Dun dun dun! The twists and turns will give you whiplash so hold on to your hat!

A summer standout ripe for a vacay read but don't forget your sunscreen. You don't want to get "Sunburned." Or worse...

Thank you to Katherine Wood, Bantam, & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my authentic review.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine for the book #Sunburned by #KatherineWood. This book was filled with secrets and murder. Audrey had been more or less summoned to an island for a birthday party for an ex, Tyson, who she hasn’t seen in over a decade. He wants her to find out who is blackmailing him, and he has seven suspects, which includes his current wife. Did I mention this is on a yacht?

I loved The Lion’s Den so I was thrilled to see Sunburned as a new release from Katherine. This was a sumptuous summer thriller that I couldn’t put down! I loved Audrey and the romance plot point with Laurent. I tend to enjoy when that is incorporated into a suspenseful story. I’ve already ordered a physical copy of this book so I can give it to a friend. The affluent setting of St. Barts was perfect for this summer beach read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed the St. Barts setting and rich people behaving badly but I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters. Audrey was also an unlikable narrator for me especially. I would have preferred multiple POVs rather than the dual timelines.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

A solid mystery! I enjoyed the back and forth of the timelines, and the pacing was well done. It kept me on my toes and resolved neatly.

Super solid locked room mystery, I enjoyed this one even if the twists I saw coming a mile away, this one was heavy on dialogue but a solid summer thriller

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I read Katherine Wood's debut thriller "Ladykiller" last year & loved it so I excited to be able to read her newest book, "Sunburned".
"Sunburned" didn't disappoint.
It was well written & highly addictive.
There were several plot twists that kept the suspense high throughout the story. The connection between the past & present timelines had me engrossed, making it difficult to put the book down.
I can't wait to read what she decides to write next.

This is the second thriller by Katherine Wood and her writing is both well-crafted and skillfully executed. She also includes strong female characters in her work.
Sunburned includes several plot twists that keep the suspense high throughout the story. The connection between the past and present timelines had me engrossed, making it difficult to put the book down. I highly recommend this book, as well as her debut, Ladykiller.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to read this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Like Ladykiller, Katherine Wood’s Sunburned is a perfect summer read. Set on the glamorous island of St. Barth’s, the book is narrated by the main character Audrey Collet, a computer systems expert who works as a discovery agent gathering intelligence surreptitiously. She is summoned to the island by her ex-boyfriend, Tyson Dale, who is now a paranoid tech billionaire obsessed with finding out who is blackmailing him. Audrey reluctantly accepts the challenge — which also implicates her — and soon learns that everyone in Tyson’s orbit has secrets they would do anything to protect. The story quickly moves from a blackmail investigation to a murder mystery, when a routine dive during a yacht birthday party turns deadly. It is clear that someone on the yacht is a killer and every person, including Aubrey, has a motive for murder.

The novel is well-written and well-paced, with many twists and turns, and Wood does a good job moving the plot forward using a dual timeline of Audrey and Tyson ten years’ prior and then in the present. The book also has deeper themes concerning our responsibility for the consequences of the choices we make. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. Highly recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam/Random House for an advance complimentary copy of this book.

A fantastic murder mystery set in St. Barth's among a tech billionaire's friend group. It's what all summer beach reads should be! Audrey Collet gets a phone call from her high school sweetheart, Tyson, out of the blue. He wants her to come down to St. Barth's and see which of his friends is disloyal. A foot has washed ashore in Florida that Audrey and Tyson have a shared connection to (well, the foot and its deceased owner). But, who knows of this shared past and is now extorting Tyson? Is it Audrey? Is it one of his business partners or friends?

This was my first book by Katherine Wood. While the writing was smooth, I struggled to keep track of all the characters with the dual timeline. It wasn’t one I wanted to continue reading into all hours of the night, but picked up here and there which took me longer to finish. I absolutely loved the setting and this is a great read for summer and the beach especially if you are a mood reader and enjoy murder mysteries! Overall, a little predictable with some twists I didn’t care for, and Tyson was such an arrogant character (for plot reasons), but still disliked his dialogue.

Katherine Wood (St. John) definitely has a lock on writing novels about the rich behaving badly. Only the locations seem to change. This one was good, but felt like her other books.

Thank you to Katherine Wood, Random House Publishing-Ballantine, and Netgalley for the ARC. My review is voluntary and all opinions are mine.

This book was well written. The author took care to guide us through the central characters background. In doing so kept building interest in the plot. I will say this book is one that kept me reading until I finished it. I will definitely look for more of Katherine's novels. Super interesting story!

🌱| Paradise. Blackmail. Rotting secrets. And deadly games.
Rich people behaving badly. Who would kill to keep the secrets buried?

➜Luxury Locked-Room Mystery
➜Suspense
➜Murder in Paradise

I love a book about rich people being rich with a side of mystery and suspense. Great job gorgeous setting.

Sun Drenched Suspense. From South Florida to a luxury island near St Maarten (itself, I can personally testify, an extravagance that needs to be experienced), this is one of those books that will transport you to its location quite well... but is it a Hotel California situation? ;)

Featuring a female IT specialist as our lead - not an overly common occurrence, even with literal decades of focus in specifically trying to recruit exactly this demographic into both college Computer Science programs and professional level jobs (even long before anyone had ever heard the acronym "DEI") - this is a book that blends different forms of exotic with all-too-common petty jealousies and rivalries into a mashup that looks fresh and yet is also as old as time - well older, if you're a computer geek and know well "when time began". ;)

The overall story here is well done, but in a dual timeline model that many will enjoy but some will not. This one isn't going to move the needle either direction for most readers as far as the dual timeline concept goes, but it *is* executed solidly here, with clear jumps and with the earlier timeline having clear and direct impact on the current timeline.

Overall a well done tale that fans of Woods' previous book (as Woods), Ladykiller - one of my BookAnon.com Top 24 Books of 2024 - will enjoy, and fans new to this form of Woods' writing will get a solid view of how she now approaches stories and storytelling. I was excited to see where Woods would go coming out of Ladykiller, and I'm excited to see where she will go next after this book as well.

Very much recommended.

Katherine Wood has done it again with another twisty thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. Told via a dual timeline, this book centers around main character Tyson, his jaded past and his successful and over the top present day. There’s a gorgeous and fancy setting, murder, family drama and more. 5 stars!

This was fast-paced summer thrills set in a beautiful location. The secrets are deeper than the ocean surrounding Audrey as she sets out for St. Barth’s to help an old friend, Tyson, figure out who’s extorting him. But things get bigger and messier as they try to figure out the blackmailer. This was a fun summer read.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy.

This was fun. I can say honestly that if you are paying attention at all, you can put this one together. The pieces are there.

but I still enjoyed getting there. I enjoyed the setting and the background that was provided for the main plot. It is a lot of back and forth from previous timeline to current. But it is separated well. I did not remember thinking that it slowed the plot down.

This was not remarkable-- though the writing is well done-- but if you have read a lot of thrillers, you will be able to piece this one together.