Genre Fiction
![Marissa Stapley - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B00IYMGEJM.jpg)
Lucky
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
A thrilling roller-coaster ride about a heist gone terribly wrong, with a plucky protagonist who will win readers' hearts.
What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn't cash it in?
Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She's ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity-when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she's learned the art of the scam.
When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means she'll be arrested for her crimes. She'll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune.
As Lucky tries to avoid capture and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she was just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved-whose dark past is catching up with her, too.
This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, multilayered character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest...before her luck runs out.
A thrilling roller-coaster ride about a heist gone terribly wrong, with a plucky protagonist who will win readers' hearts.
What if you had the winning ticket that would change your life forever, but you couldn't cash it in?
Lucky Armstrong is a tough, talented grifter who has just pulled off a million-dollar heist with her boyfriend, Cary. She's ready to start a brand-new life, with a new identity-when things go sideways. Lucky finds herself alone for the first time, navigating the world without the help of either her father or her boyfriend, the two figures from whom she's learned the art of the scam.
When she discovers that a lottery ticket she bought on a whim is worth millions, her elation is tempered by one big problem: cashing in the winning ticket means she'll be arrested for her crimes. She'll go to prison, with no chance to redeem her fortune.
As Lucky tries to avoid capture and make a future for herself, she must confront her past by reconciling with her father; finding her mother, who abandoned her when she was just a baby; and coming to terms with the man she thought she loved-whose dark past is catching up with her, too.
This is a novel about truth, personal redemption, and the complexity of being good. It introduces a singularly gifted, multilayered character who must learn what it means to be independent and honest...before her luck runs out.
Editorial Reviews
"An electric story about an unconventional heroine who is on the run from her past with a winning lottery ticket that could change her future forever. But here's the catch . . . she can't cash it in! I loved all the twists and turns of this adventure, not knowing where Lucky was going to end up next."
- REESE WITHERSPOON
"A wild and deeply satisfying rollercoaster ride through the world of a con artist with a heart of gold. Propulsive and affecting, Lucky is the most fun I've had reading a book in quite a while."
- TAYLOR JENKINS REID, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones & the Six
"Stapley's gorgeous writing cuts to the bone, and her grifter heroine, both vulnerable and fierce, is driven by a genius premise. With equally compelling alternate timelines, Stapley takes readers on a gripping, heart-wrenching journey of resilience, hope, and redemption. A stunning read!"
- SAMANTHA M. BAILEY, #1 bestselling author of Woman on the Edge
"A fun page-turner."
- Toronto Star
"Meet Lucky Armstrong, an unconventional heroine who is on the run from her past with a winning lottery ticket that could change her future. A story of survival, redemption, and forgiveness, Lucky explores the power of second chances. A riveting caper full of heart, I loved this book!"
- KARMA BROWN, bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife
"Who can you trust when everything you've ever known is a lie? That's the fundamental question in Stapley's fourth book, a Bonnie-and-Clyde meets Gone Girl tale of family and the search for stability."
- Booklist
"A criminal with a winning lottery ticket scrambles to elude arrest in this thrilling adventure. . . . Stapley raises the stakes through Lucky's increasingly desperate moves while adding depth via flashbacks to Lucky's childhood, which was full of scams and disappointments, and through Lucky's gradual reckoning with the truth. This page-turner packs in more than its share of heart."
- Publishers Weekly
"A grifter on the run who wins the lottery is only the opening gambit of this high-fueled twisty tale through the life of Lucky, daughter of a con artist who seemed doomed to make her father's mistakes. Will the money save her and provide her with redemption or lead her down darker paths? You'll want to put this on your to-read list immediately."
- CATHERINE McKENZIE, USA Today bestselling author of I'll Never Tell
"With an original premise, a gutsy-yet-vulnerable heroine, dodgy villai...
- REESE WITHERSPOON
"A wild and deeply satisfying rollercoaster ride through the world of a con artist with a heart of gold. Propulsive and affecting, Lucky is the most fun I've had reading a book in quite a while."
- TAYLOR JENKINS REID, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones & the Six
"Stapley's gorgeous writing cuts to the bone, and her grifter heroine, both vulnerable and fierce, is driven by a genius premise. With equally compelling alternate timelines, Stapley takes readers on a gripping, heart-wrenching journey of resilience, hope, and redemption. A stunning read!"
- SAMANTHA M. BAILEY, #1 bestselling author of Woman on the Edge
"A fun page-turner."
- Toronto Star
"Meet Lucky Armstrong, an unconventional heroine who is on the run from her past with a winning lottery ticket that could change her future. A story of survival, redemption, and forgiveness, Lucky explores the power of second chances. A riveting caper full of heart, I loved this book!"
- KARMA BROWN, bestselling author of Recipe for a Perfect Wife
"Who can you trust when everything you've ever known is a lie? That's the fundamental question in Stapley's fourth book, a Bonnie-and-Clyde meets Gone Girl tale of family and the search for stability."
- Booklist
"A criminal with a winning lottery ticket scrambles to elude arrest in this thrilling adventure. . . . Stapley raises the stakes through Lucky's increasingly desperate moves while adding depth via flashbacks to Lucky's childhood, which was full of scams and disappointments, and through Lucky's gradual reckoning with the truth. This page-turner packs in more than its share of heart."
- Publishers Weekly
"A grifter on the run who wins the lottery is only the opening gambit of this high-fueled twisty tale through the life of Lucky, daughter of a con artist who seemed doomed to make her father's mistakes. Will the money save her and provide her with redemption or lead her down darker paths? You'll want to put this on your to-read list immediately."
- CATHERINE McKENZIE, USA Today bestselling author of I'll Never Tell
"With an original premise, a gutsy-yet-vulnerable heroine, dodgy villai...
Readers Top Reviews
OutlawPoetkathleen g
This should not have been my kind of book. There are flashbacks and feels and all sorts of things that tug at heartstrings. There are no monsters eating faces, no edginess, and no things going boom. And I really, really liked it! I felt so much for Lucky. I was dying to know how she would handle all of her troubles and hoped against hope that everything would turn out okay in the end. While I have admit that I really didn’t buy into the ending too much (it’s a little too…easy?), I still liked it and ended up very satisfied with everything. Happy I read this one! *ARC via Publisher
Melissa Parcel
Lucky is an entertaining and enjoyable book about a girl named Luciana "Lucky" Armstrong, a con artist/grifter who buys a winning lottery ticket and has to figure out how to cash it in. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present, showing Lucky's upbringing by her con artist father and the mess she finds herself in currently by trusting the wrong people. I liked her character and was rooting for her success throughout, even though she's not such a good person and does cheat and swindle people for her own profit. Although it's an engaging story, there's also some food for thought here about nature vs. nurture and how Lucky had life stacked against her from the beginning. I felt terrible for her as a child--just as she would create connections or find a bit of stability, her father would ruin things for her and they would have to move. I got angry with him and his selfishness over and over again. Yet when he goes to prison, she unfortunately continues along with the bad people he was connected with because she doesn't feel as if she had another choice. Overall this is a worthwhile read. No real surprises, but an intriguing character study with a few likable ones. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
123456Jenn
I liked the book okay, but it was exhausting to read. I think the author spent too much time on the bad stuff. The constant scamming got hard to read. Finally at the end, we moved on from that and then it got interesting to read again.
William de Rham
I chose “Lucky” because it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book or seen a movie about con artists, something like “The Sting” or “House of Games” or “The Spanish Prisoner,” all of which I’ve enjoyed. It’s a very good novel telling the story of young grifter Lucky Armstrong, alternating between her present-day life and her years growing up. She’s been raised to be a con artist—someone who lies to bilk others to get what she needs. It’s all she’s ever known. But it’s not all she’s ever wanted. Her challenge, her struggle, is to find or create for herself a truthful life. Which is almost impossible since just about everyone she knows, and ever has known, is also a professional liar. But the more impossible Lucky’s quest seems, the more invested we are in it and the more we want her to succeed. I was a little disappointed that "Lucky" really does not go into the nuts and bolts of various specific cons, as in “House of Games” or “The Grifters.” But it does explore the mentality of the grifter—the ability to size up a mark and figure out what lie they need to hear, and the willingness to “sell” that lie to take from the mark and then leave and never look back. Author Marissa Stapley writes well. She has created a compelling character in Lucky and has surrounded her with a supporting cast of miscreants, some charming and some downright dangerous. And although the plot relies a bit on luck and coincidence, there’s nothing so outlandish as to make readers unwilling to suspend their disbelief. In short, I enjoyed “Lucky” and hope to read more of Marissa Stapley’s work.
Margie McG
I love, love, loved Lucky & I think you will too. I highly recommend this book & I read it in one sitting (only a couple of short breaks) because I could not put it down. Give it a shot & I don’t believe you will regret it.
