I’ve loved Stacy Willingham’s previous books – all tightly plotted and packed with tension against the backdrop of the sizzling heat of the American South. Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of ‘Only If You’re Lucky’ in return for an honest review – opinions, as always, are my own.
This story centres on a group of four friends who meet at university in South Carolina. The main character, Margot, is fleeing from a tragic event in her personal life when she meets the charismatic and captivating Lucy. An invitation to share a student house follows and Margot, Lucy, Sloane and Nicole find themselves living together and next to a boys’ fraternity house. Before long, Margot’s past starts to surface in ways she never expected – and impacts on her current life and relationships. When events take a dark turn, Margot and her friends need to decide who to trust. But can they even trust each other?
I wasn’t sure whether I was perhaps a bit old to really appreciate a tale centred on university, and there was plenty of teen angst and themes more relevant to younger readers – finding your place in the world, the intensity of youthful friendships and first love. I did find this – and the varsity parties – perhaps a bit unrelatable at my advanced age! I think this is why it took me slightly longer to get into the book, but – once I did – I was absolutely hooked. The second half of the novel is absolutely packed with revelations and twists and I did not want to put it down.
Previous books by Stacy Willingham have used the claustrophobic, heat-hazed American South and the danger of the swamps really effectively – I was expecting more of this, but instead Willingham uses the buildings to convey the tension. Here, we have the secrets lying below the surface in ‘respectable’ suburban houses, the sinister old school, the freedom of the shut-up bowling alley and the mysteries of the student houses. The use of setting is clever and engaging, although I was hoping for a bit of Southern warmth to cheer up a very grey February in England!
The characterisation is well done – there are so few certainties in the book that my view of the girls kept shifting as more information came to the surface. Initially, I found Margot to be quite a tragic figure, struggling to fit in as she grapples with her grief. However, this soon changed as her jealousies, attitudes to other characters and past came to light – it’s clearly very cleverly planned by Willingham as I never knew where I stood with any of the main characters, Lucy was a total enigma – but that’s the issue Margot is dealing with too as she tries to make sense of her housemate.
I’d say this is an engaging and tense psychological thriller. It perhaps starts out slower than Willingham’s previous books, but the payoff is worth waiting for. It is a departure from Willingham’s other books, focusing on a younger protagonist and different setting, but it is satisfying and immersive.
Header photo by Michael Discenza on Unsplash
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