Product Description

Virtually unnoticed, JoLayne Lucks stops by the Grab'n'Go to play the same numbers she's played every week for five years. Each lotto number marking the age at which she dumped a tiresome lover. She doesn't know it yet, but the discarded men in JoLayne's life have finally amounted to something.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52513 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Review
JoLayne's luck comes up big on the lottery, only to have the ticket stolen by violent white supremacists. She teams up with a journalist to deal with the fascists, while the Mafia pursues her real target. It is all done with the trademark Hiaasen pace, wit and swagger that make him one of the most enjoyable crime writers around. (Kirkus UK)

As soon as an informative headnote warns that "there is no approved dental use for WD-40," you can relax, knowing that you're in for several blissful hours in the hands of a master farceur whose subject this time is what passes in South Florida for providence. Even though she's confirmed the winning numbers on her Lotto ticket, placid veterinary assistant JoLayne Lucks refuses to give an interview to rolling-stone Register features writer Tom Krome. Hoping to rescue the turtles of Simmons Wood from mobbacked development by buying the parcel out of her half of the $28 million jackpot, she doesn't see any point in telling the world she's rich. Then, suddenly, she isn't, because the holder of the other winning ticket, halfwit white supremacist Bodean Gazzer, decides to double his own payout by heisting her ticket. Bode and his sidekick Chub have their own public-spirited vision for the prize: arming the White Rebel Brotherhood (membership 2 and growing) in preparation for the UN-sponsored invasion of the US via all those unused handicapped-parking spaces. Along with the obligatory romantic complications, Hiaasen provides an alarmingly comical parade of spiritual counterparts to the providential nostrum of the Florida lottery: the weeping fiberglass Madonna, the RoadStain Jesus, the miraculous apostolic turtles who bring nirvana to the features editor sent to retrieve Krome after he takes off with JoLayne in pursuit of the Lotto thieves. Not even Hiaasen (Stormy Weather, 1995, etc.) can sustain this balancing act forever, and eventually it collapses like a house of cards. But for an impossibly long time, the whole wild sideshow seethes and boils with all the grinning vitality of a "Have a Nice Day" poster reimagined by Hieronymous Bosch. Just when you think Hiaasen can't outdo himself, he finds more lunatics who just happen to tap into your deepest fears about America. Makes you wonder. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Runs out of steam...
This was the first Hiaasen novel I read, and, since then have read 5 more; in my opinion, Lucky You is the weakest of the six. Don't get me wrong: this is a good book, which I enjoyed reading. But it seems to lack the spark of the other Hiaasen novels I've read, and I began to lose interest a bit in the final quarter. Also, while Hiaasen's wit was present, it was not as prominent as in his earlier novels. In the process, Lucky You ended up reminding me of a weak Elmore Leonard novel. Leonard and Hiaasen are my favourite authors, and, while there is undoubtedly some similarity between their work, they both have their own unique voice. As a seasoned Leonard reader, however, I couldn't really discern Hiaasen's voice in this one. If you have never read any of his works, I would suggest that you probably start elsewhere - I recommend Stormy Weather and Native Tongue. I would also suggest that you read anything you can by Elmore Leonard [but don't start with the Get Shorty sequel "Be Cool", because I think that was distinctly under par].

Get Rich Quick Fever Wrecks Havoc on Scammers!
Do you play the lottery? If so, you'll feel an affinity with appropriately named, JoLayne Lucks, the heroine of this novel.

How would your life be changed if you suddenly won $14 million? Naturally, you would find good use for it. But what negative consequences would follow? If you favor your privacy, personal safety and sanity, you will find Lucky You presents a living nightmare of all the things that can go wrong.

Naturally, lottery winners become targets for all kinds of fraud. In fact, some will even try to claim that they own the winning tickets. But how often do envious people actually try to steal the ticket? That's the premise of this book.

The plot line though is merely an excuse for the ever satirical Mr. Hiaasen to unloose his humor on those who operate beyond the fringes of legal and ethical behavior including purveyors of fake religious miracles, crooked officials, cheating spouses, white supremacists, racists, the mob, counterfeiters and thieves. In addition, the humor spills over to include those who marry too quickly and unwisely, overeager managers and law clerks, and the overconfidence of men. Those who enjoy reading about writing will be thrilled by the many satirical references in the book to the degradation of the written word in small town newspapers.

Mr. Hiaasen is at his best when he focuses narrowly on fields of endeavor that he knows well. There his humor is sharp, on target and original. When he moves outside of his arena, the humor moves into burlesque and broad strokes that tend to belabor an obvious point past its potential. That's the weakness of this book. He's mostly off solid ground for his humor. Because his targets are people for whom we feel little sympathy, the humor sort of works.

This book contains one of Mr. Hiaasen's favorite themes: the significance of natural beauty being marred by greedy people. But there's no Skink here to take the story line to its usual brilliant potential.

If you are, however, a fan of Mr. Hiaasen, I definitely recommend this book to you. Just realize that this isn't one of his most brilliant efforts.

Appreciate what you have and live in harmony!

Brilliant fun
My first Hiaasen novel but certainly not my last. A superbly written thriller with plenty of laugh-out-load moments to boot. The two redneck villians, although cruel and obnoxious, must be two of the most inept, and therefore hilarious, criminals in modern fiction. Top stuff.