Review: Is Winning The Lottery A Blessing or a Curse?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 23, 2013
Four lottery winners.Four murders.Is there a serial killer on the loose?~~~~~~~~~~~~I love the cover of Jackpot, as I do for all of Susan Fleet's novels. Simple and direct.Susan Fleet loves to write about serial killers and Jackpot is another murder mystery that reads like True Crime. I do not find the plot so far fetched. I have watched The Lottery Changed My Life, a tv show about lottery winners. In one episode, a man was killed at a strip club. He had been known to carry large amounts of cash, making him a prime target.Check out The Tragic Stories of The Unluckiest Winners.Who knows what sets off a killer?Jackpot is full of suspense, containing plots within plots. The story keeps unraveling and what starts out as a good thing, quickly turns bad. But then again, Susan loves to write about serial killers and does a fine job of it.The characters come alive on the pages as Susan Fleet leads us from one murder to the next.“He’d won $12 million and he was still a loser.”Poor Nigel. He finally got a break. He won $12 million dollars in the lottery. His need to gamble, which had ruined his life, vanished.  But, some people seem to be jinxed. Bad things seem to follow them around, like bees to honey or flies to s***.Frank is a very flawed hero, but I love him. He never hurts anyone on purpose and goes out of his way for a child. It seems Susan Fleet always has a child in her books, that crosses Frank’s path. He goes above and beyond to help.I like my heroes tarnished. They become more real to me and Frank fits the bill. He is married and having an affair with a married woman, Gina. They have been together for years and he is faithful to her. They met because of their jobs. Frank is a cop and Gina a reporter. I would think they are an unlikely duo, until I think of how much time anyone spends at work.Susan fleet has a book idea for Gina and the title would be The Lottery Winner. ^_^I am very familiar with Boston and the Cape, locations in Jackpot. As Susan’s words unfold on the page, my mind develops photographs of the passing scenery.I have crossed this bridge many times and have sat in the traffic Susan Fleet talks about. We always worked at timing it to miss the worst -  traffic that goes on for miles, cars as far as you can see.She also includes music in her novels, whether if be the Jazz of New Orleans or the Boston Pops. It makes me think of the fantastic Fourth of July fireworks show.Ryan is Gina’s husband. His dad is an alcoholic named Tom Collins. Susan always manages to include a little humor with the horror.“…after dark the scary boogey men come out.” I laughed. You have to be there.I received this book in return for an honest and unbiased review. I always look forward to reading another murder mystery/thriller from Susan Fleet. What do you have in store for us next, Susan?