Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Winner Lori Radar-Day brings her newest psychological thriller to the page with The Lucky One.

Two strong women, Alice and Merrily, tell their stories that will eventually converge.

Alice Fine works in the Chicago office of the construction business her father and Uncle have run together for her entire life. With a recently broken engagement behind her, Alice spends her down time searching the pages of the true-crime volunteer site The Does Pages, searching for clues that would bring closure to unknown victims.

With her mother dead a few years, she’s close to her father, who often despairs of her volunteering. Once a policeman, he rescued her from a kidnapping in Indiana when she was a young child, which prompted the family’s move to Chicago. Part of Alice’s quest is to find her kidnapper, and one day she sees his photo on The Doe Pages website.

After that she must search for the truth of who this man was, even though the post with his photo is quickly deleted. That search brings her and two local amateurs from the Doe Pages to Merrily Cruz, a young woman who knew the man Alice seeks, and has her own history with him.

The dark truth they seek will surprise readers as the women research the pasts of this man and the people whose lives he touched. A stunning climax turns everything Alice and Merrily thought they knew on its head.

Rarer-Day uses a clever device of excerpts from the Doe chat page that enhances the story. This terrific story has a chilling effect as it’s all-too believable, as are the characters. It will leave readers wondering just who really was the lucky one. Highly recommended.