Sunstroke

By Kaplan Inc. and Kaplan Test Prep

Book Overview

The blazingly original novel from the most exciting new voice in crime fiction today-a brilliantly crafted modern noir filled with secrets, heartbreak, and mordant humor. Gloria Mendez is single and thirty-six, and secretly and somewhat hopelessly in love with her oblivious boss. He is both single and solitary, and far too old for her, but she has worked for him, side by side, for ten oddly companionable years. But when he disappears on his annual trip to Mexico-the one aspect of his life to which she's never been privy-Gloria's sudden and impulsive search for him reveals the wreckage of a hidden past. Carl Perreira was not who Gloria thought he was-nor was he anything she could have imagined. As Gloria travels this twisted road into Carl's backstory, she realizes she might not have known him at all. Her investigation discloses as much about her own life as it does about her mysterious boss -and leaves her fighting for her life. Sunstrokeis everything a thriller should be: circuitous, thought provoking, and brimming with edge-of-the-seat suspense-and the start of a brilliant career.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399153306
• ISBN13: 9780399153303
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Awesome!

Jesse Kellerman delivers a debut as close to flawless as I've seen in a long time -- perhaps not since the first Lisa Scottoline, Everywhere that Mary Went. Three-dimensional characters. Plot twists that actually take you by surprise but that seem logical and connected. Clues for the reader as well as the characters (he plays fair). Scenes vividly described . No loose ends left hanging Smooth writing that keeps pages turning...

Sunstroke is a master stroke, a triple threat!

Whenever an offspring of a popular author gets published I approach with a great deal of caution, nepotism being what it is and knowing from personal experience how extremely difficult it is to get an agent, find a publisher or even get a manuscript read in the money oriented publishing industry that thrives mainly on "commercial value" over artistic works of literary merit, where "mid-list" is a death knell. "Sunstroke" is...

Unique enticing style

Jesse Kellerman stands on his own feet. This book is written with a turn of phrase that makes each next sentence something to look forward to. And if that were not enough, his characters are real, rich and well-conveyed so that one feels like one has a stake in their journey. And if that were not enough, he weaves a story that keeps the reader wondering as to its eventual resolution. This is the start of a great career.

An impressive and memorable debut

It is a blessing and a curse to be the offspring of famous parents. Accordingly, let's get the issue out of the way right now: yes indeed, Jesse Kellerman is the son of Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. Jesse already has made his own mark, being better known at this point as a playwright than as an author. That may change, however, given the strength of his debut novel. SUNSTROKE is one of those books that defies proper characterization...

delightful character driven who-done-it

Thirty-six years old Los Angeles secretary Gloria Mendez has been in love with her boss, novelty import business mogul, Carl Perreira, for years though she accepts it is unrequited so she hides her deep regard from him as he has not shown any sexual interest in her. Carl goes on vacation in Mexico. Following a relatively minor earthquake, Gloria listens to a strange jumbled message that Carl left on her answering machine...