Lori Rader-Day | THE LUCKY ONE

Plot (via Goodreads):

As a child, Alice was stolen from her backyard in a tiny Indiana community, but against the odds, her policeman father tracked her down within twenty-four hours and rescued her from harm. In the aftermath of the crime, her family decided to move to Chicago and close the door on that horrible day.

Yet Alice hasn’t forgotten. She devotes her spare time volunteering for a website called The Doe Pages scrolling through pages upon pages of unidentified people, searching for clues that could help reunite families with their missing loved ones. When a face appears on Alice’s screen that she recognizes, she’s stunned to realize it’s the same man who kidnapped her decades ago. The post is deleted as quickly as it appeared, leaving Alice with more questions than answers.

Embarking on a search for the truth, she enlists the help of friends from The Doe Pages to connect the dots and find her kidnapper before he hurts someone else. Then Alice crosses paths with Merrily Cruz, another woman who’s been hunting for answers of her own. Together, they begin to unravel a dark, painful web of lies that will change what they thought they knew—and could cost them everything.

Review:

The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day is a darker thriller that reads more like a character study with a mystery backdrop. I was really eager to read this one as her plots have always intrigued me and I definitely enjoyed a couple of her previous novels, but this one sounded more complex and darker than her others. I had read on Goodreads that she worked really hard on this one and it definitely shows in the plot and the writing.

This story was unique and honestly really immersive. I found myself gobbling up the pages and coming up with my own theories and enjoying getting to know the characters. I felt that the pacing could have been picked up a little bit more. There was a lot going on with this plot and at around 50%  I found myself a little confused and wanting the pace to slow down so I could get a grasp as to what was going on. As much as I enjoyed the characters and I was getting answers to things, I think this one might have been just a little too complex in its execution. I found myself going in between moments of being really captivated and then moments of feeling like the plot was starting to become a little too drawn out. I will say, the internet posts from the forum were really cool and a unique way to keep the story going.

By the end of the novel, I was glad I got the answers to all of my questions, but I think we could have shaved off a few pages of this one for pacing value and to avoid the desire to skim some of the pages. The ending was worth the moments where I was confused or felt like it was getting too drawn out and I was glad that I had read it in its entirety as this overall is a really enjoyable character study and mystery with some great character dynamics.

Special thanks to Willam Morrow for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3/5