📖 Book Review ~ The Lucky Winners by K L Slater

Michael Joseph
14 August 2025

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book

 

When Merri and Dev buy a ticket on the last day of a national draw to win the house of their dreams, they never, in a million years, expect to win.

Less than a week later, they’re receiving the keys to their new Lake District mansion.

For Dev, it’s a dream come true – no more stressful rent negotiations, or waiting for the landlord to finally fix the damp. Of course he’s delighted to be interviewed about their good luck.

But Merri feels a little uneasy. Dev doesn’t realise there’s a reason she’s never wanted to put down roots, always trying to run away from the memories of what happened the day her little sister died.

At first it’s easy to think she’s imagining the shadowy figures in the lakefront garden. It’s silly to think that someone is watching her through the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

And then a body is found in the lake. And Merri’s new perfect life is about to come crashing down..

📖 My Review..

We’ve seen the adverts on television enticing us to purchase a ticket for the chance to win a dream house in an idyllic landscape. When Dev purchases such a ticket as an anniversary gift for his wife he does so with no thought of actually winning but fate has a fickle way of interfering in lives and to their surprise Dev and Merri do win the dream house in the Lake District however, as they discover, to their cost, that all is not as it seems in this dream paradise.

The author has done a great job of exploring the pitfalls of moving into a property which doesn’t feel remotely like home and with a local community who are both resentful and suspicious of Ben and Merri’s good fortune. All credit to Dev and Merri they really do try to settle in but with secrets from Merri’s past threatening to spill into her new life there is a deep sense of unease which gains momentum as this complex story moves forward. The author has done a great job of building up the tension and introducing characters who are intent on their own agenda. I enjoyed the sections which explained Merri’s backstory which added a different dynamic to what is an effective psychological thriller.

About the Author

Kim is the number one bestselling author of sixteen psychological crime thrillers. She has sold over two million copies of her books worldwide. She has also written four Carnegie-nominated Young Adult novels as Kim Slater for Macmillan Children’s Books. Kim has an MA in Creative Writing and lives with her husband in a small Nottinghamshire village.

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