Book Review: Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham
Toxic female friendships are front and centre in this excellent thriller.
This is the third book I’ve read by Stacy Willingham, and I have to say I think this is her best yet.
In Only If You’re Lucky we follow Margot, who has been left bereft following the death of her childhood best friend. They were supposed to go off to college together, so Margot has been going through the motions and barely participating in her academic life the way she had envisaged.
But when she is taken under the wing of the enigmatic Lucy and invited to move into an off-campus house with her and her friends, Margot thinks she might be able to turn a corner.
However, we know things are never going to be that straightforward, particularly since the dual timeline narrative soon reveals someone ends up missing — and someone else is dead.
Only If You’re Lucky has an absolutely wonderful college setting and a pitch-perfect take on the claustrophobic atmosphere that can come about when groups of young people (particularly girls) live in each other’s pockets for long periods of time.
I felt like I really knew these characters and missed them when the story was over — which was all too soon given that I couldn’t put the book down. It was full of twists and turns and so beautifully written that the coastal setting truly came alive as the mystery unfolded.
This was definitely a five-star read for me and I’m looking forward to seeing what Stacy Willingham writes next, as she’s been going from strength to strength so far.
Many thanks to NetGalley UK and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
