The Lucky Ones by Tiffany Reisz

The Lucky Ones

by Tiffany Reisz

They called themselves "the lucky ones". They were seven children either orphaned or abandoned by their parents and chosen by legendary philanthropist and brain surgeon Dr. Vincent Capello to live in The Dragon, his almost magical beach house on the Oregon Coast. Allison was the youngest of the lucky ones living an idyllic life with her newfound family...until the night she almost died, and was then whisked away from the house and her adopted family forever. Now, thirteen years later, Allison receives a letter from Roland, Dr. Capello's oldest son, warning her that their father is ill and in his final days. Allison determines she must go home again and confront the ghosts of her past. She's determined to find out what really happened that fateful night -- was it an accident or, as she's always suspected, did one of her beloved family members try to kill her? But digging into the past can reveal horrific truths, and when Allison pieces together the story of her life, she'll learns the terrible secret at the heart of the family she once loved but never really knew.

Reviewed by Melanie on

5 of 5 stars

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Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.

I’ve been a huge fan of Tiffany Reisz since I read her debut book, The Siren (The Original Sinners #1), back in 2012. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this book, but I’m so glad I did. I can’t imagine never being introduced to Nora, Søren, Kingsley, Griffin and Michael. I gobbled up that series and quickly started to read some of the books outside of that series.

This story is a great mystery about Allison. She’s just been dumped by her rich lover. She has been a kept woman for six years, since she was nineteen. But he’s gotten another woman pregnant and he plans to marry her and raise their child together. He leaves Allison with some money, rent paid through the end of the year and a letter of recommendation. Then she also receives a package from a former foster brother she hasn’t spoken to in thirteen years. She decides to go back to Oregon to see her dying foster father, Doctor Capello.

Doctor Capello was a neurosurgeon who never had any children of his own, but adopted three children and fostered many others. He was married to his work. He didn’t believe anyone could be evil. He believed that they were all just sick. He found several kids that were having behavior problems had brain tumors. He would remove them and they would be a different person. He devoted his life to helping these children, often pro bono.

Allison goes back to visit her former foster family. She also wants to learn why she wasn’t allowed to stay after an accident. She reconnects not only with Dr. Capello, but also with the three adopted Capello children who are all grown up now.

This story is so well told. Reisz shows you what can happen when someone believes 100% in their mission, be it good or bad. It shows people can do horrible things, even if for the right reason. Reisz has a way of taking you down a road of taboo. You will thank her for the weird road she will take you down. She always seems to take me places I never thought I wanted to go. If you’ve never tried Tiffany Reisz, I highly recommend her and this is a great book to start.

Narration:
This was my first audiobook with Emily Woo Zeller. I have to say I really liked her. This book doesn’t have a large cast, but each voices was very unique and easy to tell apart. I really need to give a shoutout for voicing of the dying father. You could really feel when he was having a bad day, versus when he had a better day, but all still sounded like a old dying man with weeks to live. She had great pacing and tone for all the different types scenes in this book. I would gladly listen to more books with Emily narrating.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 28 November, 2018: Finished reading
  • 28 November, 2018: Reviewed