Title: The Lucky Ones
Author: Mark Edwards
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Thriller
Age Group: Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
It was the happiest day of her life. Little did she know it was also the last.
When a woman’s body is found in the grounds of a ruined priory, Detective Imogen Evans realises she is dealing with a serial killer—a killer whose victims appear to die in a state of bliss, eyes open, smiles forever frozen on their faces.
A few miles away, single dad Ben Hofland believes his fortunes are changing at last. Forced to move back to the sleepy village where he grew up following the breakdown of his marriage, Ben finally finds work. What’s more, the bullies who have been terrorising his son, Ollie, disappear. For the first time in months, Ben feels lucky.
But he is unaware that someone is watching him and Ollie. Someone who wants nothing but happiness for Ben.
Happiness…and death.
The Lucky Ones is the terrifying new thriller from the #1 bestselling author of Follow You Home.
The Lucky Ones is the latest thriller by Mark Edwards, and this book pleasantly surprised me. It’s not my first review of a book by this particular author. In the past, I reviewed Follow You Home, the book that turned the author into a #1 bestselling author, and “only” rated it 3 stars. I remember enjoying the book but that it wasn’t suspenseful enough. Then I read The Devil’s Work and rated it 4 stars, because I really enjoyed it, although my number one complaint was the plot was slightly unrealistic and too much was happening.
I’m giving The Lucky Ones 4 stars. The mystery intrigued me, and the writing was excellent. The author has really mastered the art of writing compelling books. The descriptions of the scenes are very realistic and I loved that it’s set in a small town. I liked the characters, in particular Ben Hofland and Imogen Evans, our detective in charge of the case.
What I didn’t like was that for the reader, the major plot point (the killer murders victims on their happiest day) is giving away almost right from the beginning to the reader, while it takes the detectives ages to figure this out. I wish it wouldn’t be so easy to decipher for the reader so we could be kept guessing for a while too. I also thought the ending wrapped up things a little too fast, with the “sudden twist” that seemed to come out of nowhere. I suspected this character from the moment we met him, so that wasn’t a real surprise, but how it was all connected was slightly far-fetched. However, I still liked the book enough that I would recommend it to fans of thrillers and mystery novels, because everything else but the two things mentioned here, I liked.
The crime procedural element was excellent too, and Mark Edwards obviously understand how police officers work and how a case is investigated. The characters were realistic and flawed, and as I said, the writing was excellent. This is an intriguing murder mystery / thriller that fans of the genre (and in particular, fans of Mark Edwars) will love.
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