This is my first Lori Rader-Day book and it won't be my last. The Lucky One started as a slow burn but quickly heated up to a complex mystery that surprised me at every turn. The author's characters were flawed but sympathetic, cowardly yet brave, cruel and at times conflicted. Towards the end of the story, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I highly recommend this book for mystery/suspense lovers!

4-5 stars, because it was fast paced, well written, and kept me enraged throughout, but somewhere towards the end it didn’t completely blow my mind!  It definitely provided lots of twists and turns, and a few decent shocks.  I loved how the characters were connected, but in order to find out you had to turn the pages.  Recommend to my fellow thriller lovers!  
Will make sure to buzz it up on different platforms!

I loved all the twists and turns in this book, of trying to unravel how all these people might be related. The Lucky One is like a complex maze where all the turns finally lead to one path.

We are THE LUCKY ONEs because we get a sneak preview of a book that will be hot enough to melt the February snow when it is released.  One that keeps you guessing right up until the conclusion!  A good choice for those who like a good mystery!

Oh my goodness, I feel like one lucky reader having read this novel. Layer by layer peeled back with every step of the journey, exposing the lies and the truths. I was intrigued with the style of writing, each chapter building toward a magnificent ending.

Alice and Merrily are both standout characters. Each struggling with lives that feel incomplete. One facing an impossible choice, the other feeling the effects of never really getting to choose. All of the characters in this The Lucky One are meticulously developed. They came to life on the pages. I felt I was a part of the book and could envision the goings on. Felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand as the mystery boiled over. Felt the anger, frustration and the shame. What a thrilling ride. This story was so much more than I expected.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author but I will be devouring her backlist very soon. Highly recommend.

Interesting but overused storyline. I wouldn’t mind that if the characters were stronger and developed. The pace was slow and I wish there was more punch to the storyline.

Looking at this from a standpoint of pure enjoyment I liked it and would rate it 3 stars. 

The story felt a bit convoluted and I felt myself really confused about some of the plot points. Especially since it would go back and forth between Merrilly and Alice.

This novel featured a convoluted plot.  It was a mystery involving a young woman who was kidnapped as a toddler.  She senses that things were "off" with her family and is led to investigate.

Alice was abducted as a child but returned home.  She joins an online group that tries to find what happened to missing children and there is a face there that she recognizes.
I had trouble connecting with this book and never did connect with the characters.   The plot was slow moving and at times confusing.  I would give this book 2 1/2 stars.
Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout its entirety. I wanted to see where it was going. The ending was not what I was expecting. Overall I did enjoy the writing and the pacing. 

Arc provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alice is told from the time she was really young age that she was the victim of an abduction..  She was told that she was recovered quickly and this became part of her narrative.  When she discovers a group that seeks to find out what has happened to missing people, she feels right at home..  One day on the board, she discovers that she recognizes a familiar face as the one that was involved in her abduction.  She ends up teaming up with a group of women from the board and finds out that nothing is what it seems and she is not who she thinks she is.  I really liked the overall premise of this book and the way it went back and forth between characters to show different viewpoints of what was going on.  I am definitely recommending this one to others and want to read more from this author.

The Lucky One was so good! Really enjoyed Lori Rader-Day's writing. Engrossing thriller with a great plot!

Okay. I admit that I love dark, scary, unconventional, complex, nerve bending stories! So when I read the blurb I was already volunteered to jump in!

Mystery behind Alice’s kidnapping, her dysfunctional family story, two women’s collaboration to  start a search for bringing out the truth are great materials to enjoy a book wholeheartedly.

 The eerie and disturbing feeling, slow-burn dark theme usually work well for me but at some point slowness turned into too much stalling and BAM, the story’s building slowly collapsed with the help dislikable characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love broken, flawed, problematic characters which make them more realistic but at this book Alice’s attitudes and her passivity makes me pissed off. I wished she could have held on her life more.

I can sense them the author made some decision to build characters and form story progression with unexpected and different way but unfortunately her writing technique didn’t work for me and made me loss my interest easily.

So for darker themes and intriguing blurb, I could only give three stars. I couldn’t find anything from those characters’ stories resonate with me. I really did try but it didn’t fit with my expectations.

Special thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow Paperbacks to share this intriguing ARC Copy with me in exchange my honest review.

The Lucky One stars two female protagonists. Alice Fine was kidnapped as a toddler and now works for her father’s construction firm and spends her free time identifying missing persons on a website called the Doe Pages. Merrily Cruz was raised by a single mother and now works a boring office job and has a lucrative side gig as a cam girl. They’re both connected to a man named Richard, or Rick, and their stories intertwine as they try to find Rick and figure out who he is/was.

Unfortunately I thought the characters in this book were mostly weak and underdeveloped, from Alice and Merrily to the modest cast of side characters that consists of their friends, family, and coworkers. The protagonists had promise, and there were moments when I felt a tenuous connection to one or both of them, but it wasn’t enough to get me fully invested.

The plot, meanwhile, had a slow start, with not much happening for at least the first half of the book. The story was just engaging enough, and the chapters short enough, for me to keep reading, but as with the characters, I was never fully invested. I read on mostly out of habit; I wasn’t even that interested to find out how it ended. At most, I was mildly intrigued. It was at that point that I decided to stop. This is a mystery, after all. If I didn’t care about solving the mystery, why keep reading?

I would be open to reading more of Day’s books, because I think her writing has promise, but only if she upped the suspense and engagement factors.

Alice was kidnapped and rescued by her dad and so the story goes...
Or does it?
What if Alice uncovers a darker more sinister problem and it's not so much the kidnapping but the truths behind her own family.
YIKES!!!
Lori Rader Day has brought it all in this one and she does so with gusto and a force of nature that can't be contained.
I love the flow of this one and the feel as it's a tremble with a steady burn that suddenly ignites.
Wreckage is everywhere but perhaps it can be salvageable.
A great new read!

2 stars--it was OK.

This book created a sense of unease, which I enjoyed, and I thought the ending was good. However, I also thought the book relied too much on characters not talking (most of this book's tension could have been solved with a good conversation), and I greatly disliked Alice, the book's protagonist. She was very passive, letting life slide over her. I realize that was on purpose and she does grow, but it made for dull reading, in my mind.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

Lori Rader-Day is one of my favorite authors and she doesn't disappoint with The Lucky One. Well worth the read!

Oh man...what do I say about this book. I liked it. I hated it. It was slow at times and a little confusing for me in parts. Idk, it definitely wasn't what I thought it would be. It did have some twists which kept me reading but it just wasn't for me. 

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lucky One is a story that unfortunately was not for me. The storyline was promising and intriguing at first However,  the beginning was slow and some characters annoying, and the plot a bit confusing. If you really like mystery, then this may work for you.

The story centers on Alice, a young woman that works in her father's construction company and has lived a very protected life. Her hobby is working with a website that helps match unidentified bodies with missing persons. She meets a couple of people also involved with the website. They delve deeper into a case, complications ensue, the tension ratchets up, and there are some jaw-dropping twists. Highly recommended.