Excerpt from Sunburn by Laura Lippman, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

He says, "How long you staying over?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Every man in town, I'm guessing."

So predictable. And not even true. She has a version of herself that catches men's eyes, but she's turned that off for now, maybe forever. The only thing it ever got her was trouble.

"I'm Adam Bosk," he says. "Like the pear, only with a 'k' instead of a 'c.' "

"I'm the Pink Lady," she says. "Like the apple."

"Think we can still be friends, me a pear, you an apple?"

"I thought it was apples and oranges that can't be compared."

She walks past him and into her room.


She doesn't come out again until the sun goes down, which means it's almost 8:30 before she emerges. Maybe some people would go crazy, sitting in a motel room, nothing to eat but a pack of peanut butter and cheese crackers she found in her purse. Mom food. Gregg is going to have to learn tricks like that now. Jani's an easy kid unless she gets hungry, then all bets are off. She enjoys the silence, the novelty of no one needing her, no voices calling, nothing to be cleaned or cooked or washed. She doesn't even put the television on, just lies back on the bed, steeping herself in silence.

When she crosses the street, the sun huge and red as it sinks over the cornfields, she has a hunch he'll be there, Mr. Pear. He is. She makes sure there's a stool between them.

"What are you having?" he asks.

"How much money do you have?"

He laughs. They always think she's joking. Gregg did, that's for sure. She wishes she could say, Pay attention. I haven't even told you my name yet, but I'm telling you who I am, what I care about.

As if privy to her thoughts, he asks, "What's your name, Pink Lady? Not that you'll be pink for long. There's a nice shade of brown under that burn. I didn't know redheads could tan like that."

What is her name? Which one should she use?

"Polly Costello," she says.

Excerpted from Sunburn by Laura Lippman. Copyright © 2018 by Laura Lippman. Excerpted by permission of William Morrow. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.