The Lucky Ones

I've yet to read a Mark Edwards book I didn't like. This one was no different, though it was a little different than what I'm used to reading from him. It was more of your typical crime thriller, but its twists and turns were enough to keep me turning pages and wondering who the killer was, until the very end. Just when I thought I had it figured out, he throws another curveball my way!

As usual, great writing and the story moves quickly. Short chapters also helped and kept me reading up until the late hours of the night, at times.

Story is told in third person in alternating viewpoints from our MMC and FMC, as well as a supporting character. Killer's POV is told in first person. I felt connected to the characters, felt their fear and show more happiness. Plot was interesting and I liked the unique motive of the killer.

Recommended if you're a fan of crime thrillers or Mark Edwards in general. Will be reading more of his works! show less

The Lucky Ones is an intriguing and complex serial killer thriller by Mark Edwards who continues to perfect his writing style so that each time you read him you get a little more addicted to his clever, fast paced, and unpredictable novels. This particular novel shows his attention to detail, realistic dialogue and adept hand at character development.

Edwards has created some interesting characters amidst beautiful scene work, particularly DI Imogen Evans who is easy to care about as she’s trying to navigate this new life in a small town. Very few can make settings that include dead bodies seem so intrinsically peaceful and lovely. This clever plot read perfectly as it began quickly then took you towards a conclusion that will keep show more your fingers glued to the pages through the attention grabbing twists and turns.

There are few authors you can truly depend on anymore to keep their writing fresh, interesting and worth the time spent reading their work but Edwards has yet to let me down. If you Google “quality” Mark Edwards will surely be used as an example in the definition. show less

Mark Edwards is one of my favorite authors. His stories are always well told and his characters always make you comfortable in their presence. They aren’t all good people…some are bad and some are down right evil. If you already love Edwards' work, you're definitely going to love this one. If this is your first one…you’ll be searching for all his others. The only small fault that I could see with “The Lucky Ones” was that parts of it was a little long winded and slow getting to the point. The reader will find everything that makes for a good “who-done it”. A sense of mystery and police chase style actions… anxiety you can feel for the character of Ben as he realizes that he's in terrifying danger…anger that is as show more real as it gets as he realizes what he failed to notice in his son, Ollie. Overall…a very realistic psychological thriller that you will want to finish in one sitting. Oh well…who needs to eat or sleep? show less

This is a brilliant thriller, told mainly from two different perspectives. On one hand we have the viewpoint of Ben, a soon to be divorced father trying to put his life back together. On the other hand we have a twisted serial killer with a warped philosophical sense of making people happy forever, by ending their lives when they are at their happiest. If he believes someone is a good person, worthy of happiness, they become a target. He skillfully manipulates their lives and the lives of those around them in order to make them happy. Ben, unfortunately is indeed a good man and the killer finds him deserving of happiness.
I was totally immersed in this fast paced story from page one. The action starts right away and never lets up. The show more suspense was nearly unbearable and made even more so by the fact that I cared about these characters.

I received a complimentary copy for review show less

I read The Devil's Work by Mark Edwards and was blown away. It was such a fabulous story. So, I was curious to see how the next book would turn out. I chose to listen to this book at work and I found that was an excellent choice. The narrator Simon Mattacks was great!

There are three parallel POVs in the book. We get to follow single dad Ben Hofland as he tries to bring his life back on track after his wife left him for another man. And old friend of his as it seems which not makes Ben bitter at all. We also got Detective Imogen Evans POV as she tries to catch a killer. And, of course, we have the killers POV. All this makes this book pretty thrilling to read. Trying to figure out who the killer is, while at the same time having a bad show more feeling for poor Ben and his son Ollie. I mean it's good that life is getting better for Ben. But, in this book is a great life not always a good thing...

I liked how we get to know the next potential victim, I mean Ben, get to follow him and his son Ollie, while a crazed murderer is watching him. What is the killers motive, will Imogen Even figure it out or is Ben doomed? This book is a stand-alone, but I wouldn't mind reading more books with Imogen Evans. She's a tough cop and I quite liked her structured, but lonely life (although there is a hint of a romance in her life towards the end of the book). At the same time, I quite enjoyed getting to know Ben, an ordinary man, who just had the misfortune of getting the attention of a murderer.

This book was great and I'm looking forward to reading more books by Mark Edwards! show less

4 1/2 stars for this new (to me) author.

I thought this was a pretty unusual story. Trying to guess the killer was hard, and there are a few red herrings along the way. The ending was a surprise, but was fairly satisfying. It has the feel of the beginning of a series in some ways, but nothing important was left hanging.

The killer was pretty crazy, and we get a lot of chapters from his point of view. He is pretty violent, but somehow thinks of himself as doing good and making his victims happy - at least some of them. Unfortunately, there is a bit of collateral damage, but that doesn't seem to bother him much.

Here we have a villain who punishes people if they've been good and also if they've been bad too - there's just no pleasing some people! The killer ensures people are at their most happiest, then they die and Imogen Evans has to work fast to ensure no one else suffers the same fate, so there is much toing and froing across the lovely county of Shropshire. Definitely a thriller, a thriller with lots of suspense to keep everyone gripped. Every time I thought I knew whodunnit, it turns out I didn't. Loved the story and twist at the end. Not a book for a work commute as you might just forget to get off so make sure you have plenty of time because once started, you will want to finish it, with as few interruptions as possible!