Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant

First published in the UK in 2022; published by Harper Paperbacks on August 1, 2023

A moderately interesting protagonist in Sun Damage never quite overcomes the mediocrity of the plot. The novel sets up a promising thriller but falls short of delivering the promised thrills.

The story is narrated by a young woman named Ali. She has been grifting in a partnership with Sean Wheeler. They had a perfunctory sexual encounter but Sean has those with many women. He’s protective of her and is skilled at the art of the con. Ali stays with him because she wants to learn his tricks and craves his approval.

Before the story starts, Ali and Sean ran cons in Marrakesh and India. Now they’re in France, where they befriend Lulu Davies. Sean introduces Ali as his sister. Lulu is enjoying the Sainte-Cécile beaches before she begins a gig as a private chef for a family that has rented a house in Provence. Lulu has money and is rather improbably taking the chef gig to have something to do, although the house has a pool and the work is far from demanding. She prepared meals for a different family in the same house the year before.

After scamming a meal at Lulu’s expense, Sean decides to make a bigger score. He steals a speedboat so that he and Ali can spend a fun afternoon with Lulu. Sean casually mentions a plan to rent a boat for a trip to Corsica. Lulu wants to join them but Sean vetoes the idea because the boat he is renting would be too small. Lulu naturally offers to contribute to the cost of a bigger boat, opening the door for Sean to steal her money.

Before Sean can implement his scheme, Lulu tumbles to the fact that Ali is not his sister. They scuffle and Lulu hits her head but isn’t quite dead. To Ali’s dismay, Sean suffocates her to prevent her from ratting them out to the police. He tells Ali to go back to their hotel while he finds a good spot to throw her body overboard.

Ali grabs Lulu’s purse and returns to the hotel. Coincidentally, Ali has stolen their stash of cash from under Sean's nose. How she thought she would get away with the theft is unclear, but her indiscretion turns out to be prophetic. Horrified to discover that Sean is a killer, she takes the money and runs.

Since Ali has a strong resemblance to Lulu, she assumes Lulu’s identity. Knowing that Sean will come looking for her, she takes a bus to Provence and presents herself as Lulu the chef. With that setup, the anticipated thrills relate to Ali’s efforts to evade Sean and stay alive.

That Ali looks like Lulu is one coincidence too many. That Ali can pass herself off as a chef by buying and disguising TV dinners is hard to swallow. In any event, Ali spends a week hiding out with the family, learning about their mundane family drama (one of the kids fears she’s pregnant) and meeting their tedious guests.

The home renters work in the publishing industry and have invited an author to stay with them. Naturally, Ali instantly falls for the author, contributing predictable scenes that would be at home in a cheesy romance novel.

It is inevitable that Sean will eventually appear. Durrant does too little to create believable tension before that moment arrives. Most of the story consists of Ali fretting about her problems, some of which stem from a difficult childhood — the kind of childhood that is common to thriller protagonists who have followed a scofflaw's path.

While Ali is a passably interesting character, the supporting cast is assembled from stereotypes. The novel’s atmosphere focuses on tourist destinations. Location details read like they were gleaned from travel websites.

The plot benefits from a careful structure but the final act is underwhelming. Ali cleverly resolves her Sean problem with surprising ease. Will she be able to keep the author as her lover? I won’t tell but I really don’t need to. Most readers will predict the ending.

Sun Damage held my interest and generated occasional moments of mild dramatic tension. Those moments encouraged me to hope the plot might lead to a strong ending, but the novel is ultimately less than the sum of its parts.

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