The Lucky One: A Novel by Lori Rader-Day

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

“This might well be my favorite Rader-Day so far: a brilliant premise intriguingly developed, totally believable characters and a climax that took my breath away.”  — Ann Cleeves, New York Times bestselling author of The Shetland and Vera Series  

From the author of the Edgar Award®-nominated Under A Dark Sky comes an unforgettable, chilling novel about a young woman who recognizes the man who kidnapped her as a child, setting off a search for justice, and into danger.

Most people who go missing are never found. But Alice was the lucky one…

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.

Twisting and compulsively readable, The Lucky One explores the lies we tell ourselves to feel safe.

my thoughts:

The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day is a book that I should have loved. It has mystery, thrills, and so many little twists and turns. Its about Alice, a woman who was kidnapped as a kid and now spends her time on a website devoted to Unidentified Missing People. One day she finds a photo of her kidnapper and suddenly, she is on the hunt to uncover the truth about what happened to her.  Along the way, she meets Merrily, a young woman who is also looking for the same man. Except, Merrily is looking for  her pseudo-stepfather, not a kidnapper. The two women decide to join forces and search for this illusive man who has impacted both of their lives in such huge and different ways. Talk about a riveting premise, right? Well, its not. Or at least it wasn't for me.

I started the book with high hopes and quickly found myself disappointed. Yep, I DNFed The Lucky One. I had to. The book just didn't captivate me enough to keep me interested. I found Alice to be rather annoying and pathetic, while Merrily was cliche with a capital C. Both characters were underdeveloped and just didn't provide any emotional depth.  I just didn't care to find out about them, so I gave up reading their story. The writing was solid, but it just didn't propel me to want to keep reading. Of course, I didn't finish the whole story, so I can't really advise you not to read it.  All I can share is that it was not my cup of tea. I would suggest reading the rest of the reviews on the TLC Book Tour to find out what everyone else thinks - you never know, maybe they fell in LOVE with The Lucky One and are urging people to read it ASAP. I just know that it wasn't for me.

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Lucky One

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!