The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Leiknes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2009

Lucy Burns wants a normal life: friends, love, and a family of her own. And she could have it all if only she could break free from the job she hates.

That job? Facilitator to hell.

And her boss is a real devil.

At the age of eleven, to save her sister's life, Lucy writes a desperate letter to "To Whom It May Concern", but when He writes back, Lucy is bound for life. There are perks: sure she's ageless, she's beautiful, and she can eat as much chocolate as she wants and never get fat, but there are also consequences.

She can never see her family again.

She can never have a boyfriend.

She must spend her life leading sinners to their demise.

After nineteen years of doing the Devil s dirty work, Lucy wants out, but it all seems hopeless until Teddy Nightingale, her easy listening music idol, gives her the answer: a little-known loophole.

If she succeeds, Lucy gets love, happiness, and everything she ever really wanted. But the consequences? They're considerably worse than death. To make it through, Lucy must decide what is evil and what is good, what is right and what is wrong, and if, in the end, there's ever any way to truly know.

Smart, sassy, fun, and wickedly funny, "The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns" is a fast and stunning read perfect for any occasion. Elizabeth Leiknes's fresh writing and comic wit will stick with you long after you've put the book down.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A fun, light read. --Debra Hamel, Book-Blog.com

A wonderful book from an extremely talented, clever, and funny writer. It was really fun to be let into her world, her mind, and her thoughts. --Libby Malin, author, Loves Me, Loves Me Not and Fire Me!

With a great premise and a main character who s devilish and likeable, this novel is quirky and fun, plus a quick and easy read. I enthusiastically recommend it. --Jane Green, author of such international bestsellers as Straight Talking, To Have and to Hold, and Jemima J., and often regarded as one of chick-lit s pioneers

A fun, light read. --Debra Hamel, Book-Blog.com

A wonderful book from an extremely talented, clever, and funny writer. It was really fun to be let into her world, her mind, and her thoughts. --Libby Malin, author, Loves Me, Loves Me Not and Fire Me!

About the Author

Elizabeth Leiknes grew up in rural Iowa and can make 37 different dishes featuring corn. She attended the University of Iowa as an undergrad, and the University of Nevada, Reno for her Masters. Her most recent accomplishments include publishing an article titled "Writing Spaces: Expanding the One Story House" in "The Quarterly" and completing two other novels, "Black-Eyed Susan" and "The Understory".

Lucy Burns was born somewhere between a third and fourth helping of Captain Crunch in Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy with her first child, but the majority of Lucy's story was written during her maternity leave, sometime between debilitating bouts of new-mother panic attacks and squirting milk in various inappropriate locations about town.

Elizabeth has a love/hate relationship with great white sharks and a slight penchant for speaking in hyperbole, which she says she never does. She now lives and teaches English near Lake Tahoe with her husband, two young sons, and mentally ill cat.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 167 pages
• Publisher: Bancroft Press; First Edition edition (June 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890862622
• ISBN-13: 978-1890862626
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,792,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breezy fun read, May 21, 2009

By 

Ashley Lee (DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns (Hardcover)

I'm the first person to shy away from chick lit with a supernatural plotline, so I was initially hesitant to read this. Once I saw it enthusiastically recommended by Jane Green, I decided to suck it up and give it a go. All I can say is that if this book is any indication of what I've missed out on, it is completely my loss and I need to rectify that immediately.
Lucy is an immensely likable character, which is surprising given her job as a facilitator to Hell. Yep, she brings bad people home and sends them to Hell. She made a deal with To Whom It May Concern as an eleven year old when her sister was badly hurt and the doctors didn't think she'd make it through the night. To Whom It May Concern heard her plea and granted her the health of her sister. She gets called upon several years later to keep up her end of the bargain. When she refuses, he shows her exactly what will happen if she reneges. Seeing the cost of her refusal, Lucy acquiesces and takes on the job. It has it's perks; she's granted a wish every birthday and is consequently a stunning, perpetually twenty nine year old woman who can eat all the chocolate she wants and never gain an ounce.
But it's not all it's cracked up to be. She can't see her family, can't have a boyfriend, can't get too involved in friendships because she can't let people know about her career. The distancing of people and the fact that she can't have a child she desperately wants is taking it's toll on her, so when someone she grew up with tells of her a loophole that may just give her back her life, she jumps on the chance to do so.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some problems, but infernally fun, March 2, 2009

By 

Debra Hamel (North Haven, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns (Hardcover)

When she was 11 years old, Lucy Burns swore she'd do anything if her sister recovered from a coma. Thirty-one years later Lucy is 29 and she's doing it, the "anything" that was her part of the bargain she'd struck. It turns out that her prayers were answered by a party other than the one she'd expected. Now she's a "facilitator," guiding deserving souls to their afterlives in the fiery depths of...her basement. Well, not quite, but the door to her cellar is a portal to hell. Lucy anesthetizes her prey with mind control techniques that are a perk of her position--as are her ineffable beauty and agelessness.

The Sinful Life is a fun, light read, but not as tightly constructed as it might be. For example, the recurring references in the book to two movies dueling for attention in the novel--one about Hitler, the other Jesus Christ--don't seem to have a purpose (other than the good vs. evil parallel). Likewise, the Snow White car wash Lucy frequents doesn't seem to fit well in the story; nor do the snippets from a story being written by Lucy's love interest. Stepping back from the novel, then, one has reservations about its coherence, but the book is by no means a chore to get through, and Lucy turns out to be a more nuanced character than one supposes going into the story.

-- Debra Hamel

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful!, March 31, 2011

By 

Wendy L. Hines "MindingSpot" (Warsaw, IN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns (Paperback)

When Lucy was eight years old, her older sister Ellen was hit by a truck. Ellen was in a coma and Lucy was devastated. So, she wrote a letter to whomever it concerned that she would do anything if Ellen got better and placed it in their play mailbox outside. When Ellen miraculously woke up the next day, Ellen was overjoyed. But when she went to retrieve her letter from the mailbox, she was surprised with a new note addressed to herself wishing her a happy birthday.

Every year Lucy receives a phone call asking her for her birthday wish, and every year she receives it. When she graduates from college though, its time to pay her debt. She is to become the new faciliator for Hell and if she doesn't do her job well, then Ellen will go back to being rightfully dead. So Lucy leaves her family and sets out on her own.

Over time, Lucy has beauty, brains, wealth, and a dog named Pluto that guards the basement door; a portal to hell. But Lucy is lonely and wishes she had a family, a boyfriend or a child. But every time Lucy gets close to a guy she ends up throwing up. The boss figures a boyfriend would distract Lucy from her job, hence the nausea.

But when Lucy's neighbor gifts her with a surprise with concert tickets to her favorite singer, Lucy is thrilled. When Teddy Nightengale beckons Lucy to backstage, she finds out there is a loophole for Lucy to quit her job, but it comes with a very high price, one Lucy may not be able to pay.

THE SINFUL LIFE OF LUCY BURNS blazes onto the paranormal romance scene. A character who sparkles against the good old fight of good and evil is sure to leave you bursting for more. Chick-lit with a supernatural twist, a solid lead character whose antics will have you howling and an ending that will leave you highly satisfied and entertained. Absolutely wonderful!