The Lucky One is a mystery by Jessica Payne. In it Norah has tried to move on from her traumatic past when she escaped a serial killer called Hansel. As she felt so powerless that night, she became a mixed martial arts fighter. When her father dies she comes back to her small town that still haunts her nightmares. And in her father's death's wake comes Hansel who has come back to torment her. Now Norah must figure out his identity before her and her friends are killed.
The thing that always ties up a good mystery is the killer. No one wants to spend time and effort on an unsatisfying killer. An unsatisfying killer can be one who is too predictable or one that comes out of left field. The identity of Hansel is satisfying for a few reasons. One that is a spoiler to his identity so I won't talk about that one. Hansel's identity is one that makes sense with all the evidence presented. While he is predictable, I'm glad there were some very satisfying red herrings along the way.
I never liked the relationship between Norah and Owen. Something about the two being together seemed forced and therefore off. Owen was the boyfriend of August who was murdered by Hansel the same night Norah was able to escape. Then there's the fact that Owen is very possessive of Norah which is not a turn on for me. Plus I was expecting to go into a mystery without a romance and so that threw me off. As the book went on I was glad that they were a couple as it ended up adding to the plot.
Norah is shown to be a competent person with an ability to think even when terrified to the core. What is annoying is that throughout the book she will point out something and then, for some reason, act against that knowledge. She'll point something out and then seem to throw herself off the metaphorical ledge. One big moment is when she allows herself to be captured by Hansel near the end of the book. Well she doesn't consciously allow herself to be captured but she ignores the knowledge about how to avoid capture.
Guy and Elaine are two true crime people that were too enduring to me. This is probably because they reminded me of Freddie Lounds from the Hannibal television series. Like her they are not pleasant characters and for all the good they do, they do a lot more harm. Guy lied to Norah about the topic of his book while Elaine continually hounds Norah for more information about the night she was captured. I do like neither one is Hansel by the end and they're allowed to just be pests.
The fate of Norah's mother is not answered by the end of the novel. Her mother must be important as it keeps popping up throughout the book and different characters theorize about her fate. It could be that she is still alive or maybe Hansel murdered her. I wouldn't mind reading a sequel or prequel where that question is answered.
I would recommend The Lucky One by Jessica Payne to those looking for a good murder mystery.
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