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Overview
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
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.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781668002452 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 12/07/2021 |
| Pages: | 256 |
| Sales rank: | 60,950 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.90(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.90(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Chapter One CHAPTER ONE
Luciana Armstrong stood in the bathroom of a gas station in Idaho, close to the Nevada border. She was wearing a white blouse, navy blazer, matching skirt, and low heels. Her hair was tied back in a neat bun. “Goodbye, Alaina,” she said to her reflection—and tried to ignore the sadness. She had been sure Alaina was going to stick around.
She took off her clothes and shoved them in her handbag. Then she pulled out a minidress and a pair of stilettos. She snaked the dress over her body, smoothed down the gold-beaded material, felt a twinge of sadness as her hands passed over her flat stomach, shook out her hair. A stranger was reflected back at her now.
“Hello, Lucky,” she said.
In the gas station convenience store, she roamed the aisles. A man buying cigarettes whistled at her as she tried to decide between cheese puffs or pretzels. She grabbed both and approached the register, skimming the newspaper headlines as she waited: DAY OF RECKONING ON WALL STREET; ANALYSTS PREDICT 2008 MARKET CRASH WILL BE WORST OF ALL TIME. Then a cardboard stand on the counter caught her attention: MULTI MILLIONS LOTTERY, it said. Reading it, she was ten years old again, hurtling down the I-90 to who-knows-where-next with her father. “You’re the luckiest girl in the world,” he had always told her. And he had always bought a lottery ticket when they stopped at a gas station rest stop like this one. “We’ll never win, but we can hope,” he often said. “The lottery is the greatest con of all time, kiddo. Proves our government is just like us, tricking people into thinking any dream can come true.” When he said things like that it made Lucky feel better about who they were, and the things they did.
She reached the cash register. Impulsively, Lucky grabbed a lottery playslip from the stand and filled out her numbers, the same ones she had used just for fun when she was a kid: Eleven, because that was how old she had been when she had thought to have lucky numbers. Eighteen, because that was the age she couldn’t wait to be at the time, thinking adulthood was going to unleash some sort of magic into her life. Forty-two, because that was how old her dad had been when she had come up with the numbers. Ninety-five, because that was the highway they were driving on that day. And seventy-seven, just because.
She handed the paper to the cashier. He printed off her lottery ticket and handed it back. “You should sign your name on that,” he said. “People forget, and then their ticket gets stolen or lost. It’s a big jackpot this time, three hundred and ninety million.”
“I have a higher chance of being struck by lightning, twice, than I do of winning that jackpot,” Lucky said. “It’s just a dream, that’s all.” Then she turned, ducked her head as she walked past the security cameras and out into the parking lot. She put the ticket in her wallet and imagined herself in a beach house in Dominica, taking the ticket out once in a while and remembering her dad—before he had landed in prison.
Outside, her boyfriend, Cary, had finished filling their silver Audi’s gas tank. He saw her, grinned, and mouthed the word Damn. She blew a kiss at him and walked toward the car, letting her hips sway. But a voice made her turn.
“Could you spare any change?”
A woman was sitting with her back against the concrete wall of the station, holding a sign that said UNEMPLOYED, BROKE, ANYTHING HELPS. Lucky took out her wallet. She emptied it of several hundred—then paused and pulled the blouse, skirt, blazer, and shoes from her bag.
“Take these,” Lucky said.
“Where would I ever wear them?”
“Sell them on consignment. Or...” Lucky leaned down. “Use them to pretend to be someone else.”
The woman blinked at her, confused. “What?”
“Never mind. Just... take care, okay?”
Cary was grinning as she walked toward him again. She got in the car and he grabbed her chin, turned her face to his, kissed her mouth. “You’re looking damn hot, Mrs.... what did we register at the hotel as, Anderson? I think it’s great that you went in there looking like an investment banker and came out looking like the girl I used to know. You never dress like this anymore. I like. And now I see why you wanted to go to Vegas so badly.” He let go and she felt something shift between them. “But it’s funny that you’re always thinking you can, I don’t know, redeem yourself or something by giving money out to people like her. Soon you won’t feel that need anymore. Soon you’ll forget all about it.”
She felt suddenly irritated. “People ‘like her’? And I’m not trying to redeem myself. I’m trying to help people who need help.”
“Why?”
Out the window, the woman had her hand lifted in a wave, but Lucky looked away.
“Make up for the money we’ve stolen by acting like Robin Hood?” Cary went on. “Steal from the rich, give to the poor? It’s cute, I guess.” He started the car and pulled out. “But it’s never going to work. We are who we are, Lucky.” He had a way of digging straight down to the painful secret spots in a person’s psyche. And, not for the first time recently, she felt a niggling sense of worry about this. They were moving to a remote island together. It was just going to be the two of them. They would never be able to leave.
Cary merged with the traffic on the highway and turned up the stereo. A thumping techno beat filled the car. He glanced at her and smiled, and she smiled back.
“This is going to be fun,” she said to him, hoping to convince them both.
“Sure. It is. We need some fun. Blaze of glory, right?”
She opened a bag of pretzels and tilted it toward him. They were just a regular couple on a road trip, nothing to fear. “What will it be like, in Dominica, do you think? What kind of house will we live in?” It had been like a game, back when they had first met, to dream of the life they were going to build, construct a future in their minds. They hadn’t had much time to dream about this next incarnation of their lives, given that they were leaving in such a rush. “Oceanfront, obviously—but, what do you think, pool or no pool?”
“Mmm?” Cary reached into the bag and grabbed a handful of pretzels, then glanced in the rearview mirror again.
“No pool,” Lucky decided. “Who needs it when you have the ocean, right? And we’ll get a dog—a rescue, like Betty was, and go for long walks with her on the beach every day.” The words dried up as soon as she mentioned Betty. The LOST DOG signs were still posted on poles around their neighborhood in Boise. The loss of Betty was yet another ache inside her empty body.
“Do you think someone found her?” Lucky said. “Someone good?”
Cary glanced at her now, before turning his attention back to the highway.
“Found who?”
“Betty.” There was a lump in her throat.
“Sure. Bet she’s being well taken care of right now. Don’t you worry about her. Betty will land on her feet.” Cary took one hand off the steering wheel and reached for Lucky’s. “I know it’s hard. But everything is going to be fine.” His hand was clammy. He was scared, she could tell.
The truth? So was she.
Reading Group Guide
1. Lucky endeavors to steal only from rich people and to give some of her profits to those in need. Why do you think the author chose to instill this practice in Lucky?
2. Early in the book, John says: “What matters in one moment, it doesn’t matter the next. Things that fall apart eventually come back together again. Everything passes. You can be sure of that” (p.27). What do you think of this advice? Why do you think John wanted Lucky to believe this?
3. The present-day timeline takes place in 2008. Why do you think the author chose this year for the story? How do you think the story would have differed if it were set today?
4. Were you surprised that Lucky didn’t reveal herself to Steph when they met at the open house? Why do you think she made this decision and what do you think might have happened if she came clean?
5. Why do you think Lucky chose to approach Priscilla before seeking out Gloria? Do you think she really believed Priscilla would help her or was she nervous to meet her mother? Who would you have gone to see first?
6. Lucky’s dog, Betty, is present in many parts of the book. What do you think is Betty’s significance in Lucky’s life?
7. Cary and Lucky both grew up with con artists for parents. Do you feel sympathy for Cary? Do you think he could have stopped stealing if he really wanted to?
8. In what ways does the author defy our ideas of criminals? Were any of your perceptions of criminals, particularly female criminals, challenged?
9. What do you make of Margaret Jean’s character? Does she bear any semblance to the book’s main characters?
10. Throughout the book, we see Lucky try to find normalcy in her life and then return to stealing. At the end, Lucky seems to have found some safety and stability; do you think she is done stealing for good or will the cycle start over again? Why?
11. Lucky views the lottery ticket as her escape from the way she has been living her life. Do you think receiving this large sum of money is the only way out or can you imagine other ways she could have changed her path?
12. At the end of the book, it appears that Valerie is going to help Lucky avoid a prison sentence by having her testify against Priscilla. Do you agree with this resolution or did you have a different vision for the consequences of Lucky’s actions?
