The Lucky Winners by K.L. Slater
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 17th August 2025
Published: 14th August 2025
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
You’ve won the house of your dreams. It’s about to become a nightmare…
A gripping twist-filled thriller from the bestselling author of Message Deleted. For fans of T.M Logan, Gillian McAllister and Lisa Jewell.
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 THOUGHTS:
They've won their dream home...but are they really lucky...?
Dev and Merri are my people. They are real. They know what it's like living paycheque to paycheque, scrimping and scraping, trying to get by. This is my life! At last, characters with whom I can identify in the real world. And then...Lady Luck comes knocking. They've won a three million pound mansion in the exclusive Lake District overlooking Lake Windemere AND a quarter of a million pounds to go with it! Yep, just like that. But how did it happen?
It was their third wedding anniversary and Dev, a spontaneous easy going guy, buys Merri a lottery ticket for the occasion. He doesn't expect to win, but it's the thought that counts. Merri, ever the practical and thoughtful one of the couple, is almost livid that he wasted £20 on a ticket that will win them absolutely nothing and could have been best spent on one of their mounting bills and growing debt. In the light of the day the following morning, Merri has calmed down and appreciates Dev's thoughtfulness, even if it was a little reckless. They'll get through this - they have before; they will again.
Days later, Merri is trying to enjoy a lie in but the doorbell is ringing constantly and her phone is blowing up with a deluge of missed calls from Dev who is on his way to work p by bus (since their car gave up the ghost). Frustrated and yelling at the ringing doorbell to wait whilst reading Dev's senseless messages, she opens the door to a group of people with cameras and lights and a microphone shoved in her face asking "What does it feel like to be an instant millioniare?"
Standing on the doorstep in her dressing gown, Merri is speechless. What are they talking about? And then she remembers. The lottery ticket. And the realisation dawns. They've won the Lake District mansion and a quarter of a million pounds! No more scrimping and scraping! No more struggle street!
What then ensues is lots of photographs and a visit to their new home, more photographs, a guided tour, a deluge of paperwork legalising their ownership, loads of packing and then moving from Nottingham to the Lake District before they can finally sit back, breathe and enjoy their moment. All this is really theirs! But they have hardly settled in when the subtle threats begin. A brick through the window. Scratches in the glass balustrading. Spray paint on the windows. Their car mysteriously keyed. And the social media posts boasting their win under Merri's name which she never posted. Somebody isn't happy with their good fortune.
Still, ever since they have moved in Merri has felt unease. A prickling sensation on the back of her neck, a movement in the shadows and the unsettling knowledge that she doesn't really deserve this. That if Dev really knew the secret she has been keeping, she would lose him. But Merri's world is about to come crashing down when she realises that somebody knows her secret. And they will stop at nothing to reveal it. And bring her down with it.
The pacing was a little slower than some of her other thrillers, dipping slightly in the middle. I did lose patience with Merri occasionally as she seemed to be second guessing everything they did or everything others did. The story unfolded primarily through Merri's narrative with a little perspective from Dev and a few chapters from an unknown narrator titled "The Watcher". Although the house they won was stunning by all accounts, it's certainly not to my taste. All those clean lines, minimalism and glass facades - I'd feel like I was living in a fishbowl! I prefer something with history and character...as did most of the locals, from what I gather.
Another great read by Kim Slater, though not her best I still thoroughly enjoyed it for the most part. Looking forward to what else she can deliver us.
I would like to thank #KimLSlater, #Netgalley and #Penguin for an ARC of #TheLuckyWinners in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kim's first adult psychological thriller for Bookouture, ‘Safe with Me’, actually started life as a dissertation on her English & Creative Writing degree in 2010. She says "the creepy voice of Anna came to me strong and insistent . . . she wanted to be written, she wouldn’t go away. I’m so glad I listened!"
Kim first became published writing Young Adult fiction for Macmillan Children’s Books under the name Kim Slater. Her award-winning YA debut, SMART, started life as a short story for her MA in Creative Writing in 2012.
Kim is now a full-time writer. She has a daughter and two stepsons and live with her husband Mac in Nottingham and Yorkshire.
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