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Just My Luck

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Just My Luck

By: Adele Parks
Narrated by: Louise Brealey, Kristin Atherton
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THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER!

What if winning means losing everything?

‘A gripping story of greed, lies and dark family secrets’ Lisa Jewell

‘Utterly engrossing and brilliant’ Lucy Foley

‘Addictive, provocative… brilliantly crafted’ T.M. Logan

It’s the stuff dreams are made of – a lottery win so big, it changes everything.

For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.

But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.

Sunday Times Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping take on friendship, money and betrayal, and good luck gone bad…

Praise for Just My Luck:

‘Adele Parks never takes her foot off the gas, every book is tighter, faster, better than the last. Just My Luck is a gripping story of greed, lies and dark family secrets. I read it in a two-day frenzy’ Lisa Jewell

‘Utterly engrossing and brilliant’ Lucy Foley

‘A compelling take on one of those “what if” scenarios that we’ve all wondered about. Addictive, provocative and thoroughly relatable – a brilliantly crafted reminder to be careful what you wish for’ T.M. Logan

‘An absolute joy: gripping, shocking and surprising. A cautionary tale about what one couple’s sudden wealth can do to old friendships’ Jane Fallon

‘Fabulous… her best yet’ Daily Mail

‘Stupendous! I read this totally compelling modern-day morality tale over a weekend – I couldn’t put it down. As ever, Adele Parks does not disappoint – you’ll love it’ Ruth Jones

‘Like a deft magician, this book reveals its twists only at the very end, I was completely astonished’ Rosamund Lupton

Contemporary Crime Crime Fiction Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Money Exciting Feel-Good Suspense

Critic Reviews

Praise for Just My Luck:

‘Adele Parks never takes her foot off the gas, every book is tighter, faster, better than the last. Just My Luck is a gripping story of greed, lies and dark family secrets. I read it in a two-day frenzy’ Lisa Jewell

‘Utterly engrossing and brilliant’ Lucy Foley

‘A compelling take on one of those “what if” scenarios that we’ve all wondered about. Addictive, provocative and thoroughly relatable – a brilliantly crafted reminder to be careful what you wish for’ TM Logan

‘An absolute joy: gripping, shocking and surprising. A cautionary tale about what one couple’s sudden wealth can do to old friendships’ Jane Fallon

‘Fabulous… her best yet’ Daily Mail

‘A dark, gripping thriller’ Woman’s Weekly

‘Stupendous! I read this totally compelling modern-day morality tale over a weekend – I couldn’t put it down. As ever, Adele Parks does not disappoint – you’ll love it’ Ruth Jones

‘Like a deft magician, this book reveals its twists only at the very end, I was completely astonished’ Rosamund Lupton

‘This tale of betrayal, envy and wealth is so packed with drama, you won’t be able to put it down’ Heat

‘Something special… Adele has hit another home run – pacy, gripping and full of suspense, this is a novel you’ll still be thinking about for days afterwards’ My Weekly

‘A modern-day tale of (dis)loyalty and toxic friendships as a dream come true turns into a nightmare. Utterly gripping and fiendishly twisty. You'll never do the lottery again' Veronica Henry

‘A brilliant page-turner about the dark side of dreams coming true. The perfect summer read’ Tasmina Perry

‘Dark, devious and twisty, with extraordinarily clever plotting, this is compulsive reading at its best’ Nicola Moriarty

‘Addictive page-turner’ Good Housekeeping

‘A perfect summer read’ Cosmopolitan

‘Turns the phrase “be careful what you wish for” into a brilliantly compelling yet cautionary tale… I loved it!’ Amanda Jennings
All stars
Most relevant
Winning millions is not what it’s probably cracked up to be and for this group of friends it created a nightmare. It brought out the worst in them all, it proved to be. Made me appreciate what I have ...

A lesson to us all

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We have all thought about it, whether you play or whether you don't - we all imagine what it would be like to win a life changing amount of money elevating you to the realm of never worrying about money again, nor having to work for a living...

Friends in a longstanding syndicate have a disagreement the week before a life changing lotto win and all of them want to be part of it, whether they are entitled to a share of the winnings or not. The story is told mainly from Lexie and Emily's points of view, Lexie being the one to purchase the winning ticket, married to Jake and Emily is their daughter, sister to Logan their younger son.

I really liked this book and binged it a bit, although it did drag on a bit towards the end. Lexie is a simpering, whinging main character but serves her purpose as the 'voice of conscience and reasonableness'. Emily is annoying, typically teenage and I did feel a bit sorry for her - her struggles to fit in and be accepted were totally recognisable as traights of her cohort.

The focus of the plot is not so much about the division of the money, but they way in which it corrupts. It is cleverly woven and while a little bit predicable in parts, it will surprise you in other parts too. Definitely enough twists and turns to keep things interesting all the way to the satisfying finish.

Just imagine winning lotto - and then you do!

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First of all, there was something wrong with the audio of the person who read Lexi's part, it sounded somewhat 'Siri-like' for most of the book! Then, I had to speed up her part to 1.05 then slow down the other narrator's parts, which was quite frustrating! There were also several repeated lines that weren't cut out in post-production.

The actual story was good in some parts but annoying for the most of it. I skipped several lengthy monologues and felt very annoyed with the protagonist! There really was no character worth liking in the book, in my opinion. Yes, there are twists, but I was only surprised the last one as the rest were quite easy to see coming.

So-so...

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What happens when you win the lottery big? I thought the book was very good. But the main character was a sanctimonious misery guts, so I found her quite annoying at times. But there were enough mysteries and twists to keep my interest. Well done.

Worth a read

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It was clear from the start that the author set out to prove that winning millions would cause more troubles than solve troubles. Although it was quite engaging it really spoilt the whole story for me and seemed to be more and more far fetched as the story unfolded. It really came down hard on human nature. There are probably far better reads than this for me.

Went too far to prove a point

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