Title: Just My Luck by Adele Parks
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Domestic Mystery
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
It was supposed to be the lottery win they’d always dreamed of…
For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends. Over drinks, dinner parties and summer barbecues, the three couples have discussed the important stuff—kids, marriages, careers—and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything.
But then the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone is caught in a lie. And soon after, six numbers come up that change everything forever.
Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth millions. And their friends are determined to claim a share.
#1 Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping tale of friendship, money, betrayal and good luck gone bad…
Review:
Just My Luck by Adele Parks is a wickedly clever domestic mystery.
For fifteen years, best friends Lexi and Jake Greenwood, Jennifer and Fred Heathcote, and Carla and Patrick Pearson get together on weekends for dinner. They also chip in every week to purchase a lottery ticket. They sometimes win small sums but they have never hit the jackpot. One weekend, one the of the men bash the lottery and declares he is finished playing. Another couple chimes in and agrees him. Lexi still purchases the ticket using the same numbers she always selects.
The following weekend, Lexi gets the feeling they are being brushed off by their friends. Saturday evening, she runs an errand and she arrives home to discover that she holds the winning ticket for that week’s nearly eighteen million pound jackpot. Since the other couples opted out, Lexi and Jake tell their two children, Logan and Emily, to keep quiet about their win. But once word leaks out, the Heathcote’s and Pearson’s demand their share. The situation begins to spiral out of control as the Greenwoods refuse to divvy up the winnings.
Lexi and Jake make much less money than their friends so the lottery win is a very welcome windfall. Lexi is the family’s main breadwinner since Jake frequently changes jobs. She continues working and she wants to donate money to charity. Lexi is absolutely shocked at Jake’s reaction to the having so much money. He allows their kids, fifteen-year-old Emily and thirteen-year-old Logan, to buy whatever they want. At first, Emily eagerly shops both in person and online but this is just a panacea for the loss of her boyfriend, Ridley Heathcote and her best friend, Megan Pearson.
As Lexi begins to wonder if she knows her husband at all, the situation between their former friends worsen. All of the publicity has a negative impact on her job and she is dismayed at the fallout. Lexi is threatened by people demanding money which plays into Jake’s hands. She manages to keep her objections to herself as he and Emily throw themselves into their latest (extravagant) project. Lexi’s worries are soon proven to be true when a loved one finds themselves in an increasingly dangerous situation.
Just My Luck is a riveting mystery that is a shocking portrayal of greed. The storyline is well-written with unexpected plot twists. The characters are a mix of likable and downright disagreeable. With plenty of secrets, hidden agendas, and avarice, Adele Parks brings this mesmerizing domestic mystery to a stunning conclusion. Absolutely loved and highly recommend!
