Review: The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day

Title: The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

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.

Review:

The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day is an intriguing mystery with an interesting premise.

Alice Fine works for her father’s construction company and spends her spare time on The Doe Pages website.  Having been kidnapped and returned to her family within a few hours when she was a toddler, she would like to make a difference with other families who are missing loved ones.  As she is scrolling through the Doe Pages, Alice is shocked when she recognizes her kidnapper who is now listed as a missing person.

Deciding to find him, Alice teams up with Doe Pages volunteers Juby and Lillian. Although a little reluctant to meet up with them in real life, Alice knows she does not have the skill set to track down her suspected kidnapper Richard Miller.  During their quest for the truth, Alice, Juju and Lillian cross paths with Merrily Cruz whose mother dated Richard. Merrily remains in contact with him and she is alarmed by a birthday message from him.  Her fears seem well-founded when the police pay her a visit in hopes of discovering his whereabouts.

Having lived a pampered life as the apple of her father’s eye, Alice is overly passive and does not take her job seriously.  Despite their troubled relationship, she did nurse her mother through the last years of her life. Although she wants to locate Richard, Alice is antagonistic toward Juby, Lillian and Merrily. With whiplash inducing frequency, she veers between reluctantly  asking them for help and angrily pushing them away.

Merrily is just as frustrating as Alice but she is a bit more likable. She dislikes her job and feels somewhat indifferent toward her roommate. Merrily and her mother share a relatively close relationship but she quickly grows frustrated when her mom refuses to answer her questions about Richard. Ignoring her mother’s plea to leave well enough alone, Merrily soon pieces together a confusing but troubling portrait of Richard’s life after he left them. Although she learns valuable details on her own, she needs help from Alice, Juby and  Lillian in order to fill in the gaps. Merrily is also ambivalent about working with the trio and her relationship with them is uneasy.

Neither Merrily nor Alice are particularly likable characters. Their relationships with people around them are superficial and they hold everyone at arms’ length.  Alice is determined to stand on her own two feet yet she finds it impossible to follow through with many of her decisions. Alice  storms full speed ahead without giving much thought to the consequences of her actions. The push/pull between the women, the over the top anger and wildly ricocheting emotions soon become wearisome.

The Lucky One is a complex mystery with a unique storyline. Unfortunately, the pacing is slow and the plot becomes increasingly convoluted. Lori Rader-Day brings the novel to a twist-filled conclusion. A bit of a dark read that has promise, but ultimately might leave readers dissatisfied since vital plot points are not fully explained.

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