The lucky winners

by K.L. Slater

You’ve won the house of your dreams. It’s about to become a nightmare…

When Merri and Dev buy a ticket on the last day of a national draw to win the house of their dreams, they never, in a million years, expect to win.

Less than a week later, they’re receiving the keys to their new Lake District mansion.

For Dev, it’s a dream come true – no more stressful rent negotiations, or waiting for the landlord to finally fix the damp. Of course he’s delighted to be interviewed about their good luck.

But Merri feels a little uneasy. Dev doesn’t realise there’s a reason she’s never wanted to put down roots, always trying to run away from the memories of what happened the day her little sister died.

At first it’s easy to think she’s imagining the shadowy figures in the lakefront garden. It’s silly to think that someone is watching her through the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

And then a body is found in the lake. And Merri’s new perfect life is about to come crashing down…

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Contemporary, Audiobook

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2025

About the author

Kim is the number one bestselling author of sixteen psychological crime thrillers. She has sold over two million copies of her books worldwide. She has also written four Carnegie-nominated Young Adult novels as Kim Slater for Macmillan Children’s Books. Kim has an MA in Creative Writing and lives with her husband in a small Nottinghamshire village.

Publishers: Bookouture, Sphere, Grand Central, Audible
Agent: Camilla Bolton at Darley Anderson

Author website: www.KLSlaterAuthor.com
Twitter: @KimLSlater
Facebook: KL Slater Author
Instagram: KLSlaterAuthor

Reviews

[Francesca (pavisfrancesca) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Definitely an enjoyable read, always love KL Slater’s books but I have to say this was very slow paced until the 60% mark.

Great concept but the first at least half was our main character couple moving to the house they’ve won and not being accepted into the community, nothing really thrillerish happens until the second half.

Ending was brilliant and I was very satisfied with the second half but just bear that in mind 😊

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up]

This authors books I read devour then await her ne t one she can never write fast enough for me.
Don’t be mislead by the title winning a dream house walking away from their debts to a better horizon it’s not as easy as that. Why? Because it’s K.L.Slater. The twists within these pages just keep on giving, it’s like knitting, all your stitches are on one needle but drop one and you’ll have a hole to fill, that’s why I was interested in all the way , watching these holes being picked up and see it all coming together making sense. She certainly delivers what I needed in this book.

[theliterateleprechaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’ve always felt the past isn’t something you can just walk away from. Not really.”

This psychological thriller by one of the best in the genre is one you won’t want to pass on. It examines winning and the problems that arise when it means risking the one thing we can’t afford to lose. We may not win big on any lottery, but we’ll all face a moment when we have a choice to make that has the potential to shed light on things we’d rather keep hidden. It was good for me to be reminded that a dream doesn’t necessarily “sit comfortably once it collides with real life.”

A simple choice to gift his wife a lottery ticket for their anniversary certainly eradicates some of the problems in their life, but it also creates newer problems, ones they don’t need and can’t afford.

I like stories that make me consider and Slater absolutely gives her readers reason for pause.

I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.

[Karen Chong · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 / 5.0

Slow boring book, will not remember the plot probably tomorrow. Nothing in this book was unique, it’s always based on unknowns. The plot was slow, didn’t enjoy the characters, didn’t enjoy the build up of the plot. Didn’t really enjoy the premise of the book, yes I know people have skeletons in their closet but I think how the plot developed that I didn’t like how weird the trickle of information was applied. At points I found the book inconsistent with the pacing.

Not really my cup of tea

[Dave Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

K L at the top of her game another excellent thriller from a gifted and amazing author.

When her husband buys a raffle ticket as an anniversary present the last thing she expects is to win in fact this cash strapped couple have a completely different view to its purchase. However they win and it brings to light the dark secrets of Merri's past and events are beyond what she expected. But what are the locals responsible for and who can you trust. A new start was all Dev expected and to settle into a chilled life of luxury. But the locals aren't happy as well as someone else and if you love phycology thrillers you will love this, it's so well written and her story telling is excellent

So this is beyond 5stars, great characters as well as story and the twists are unseen until they hit you and they send the tale spinning to several levels you really don't want to miss your I really loved it.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE LUCKY WINNERS is a standalone psychological thriller by bestselling author K.L. Slater. Having read and enjoyed her previous novels, I was anxious to start this novel.

Her Novels Include:
Safe With Me (2016)
Blink (2017)
Liar (2017)
The Mistake (2017)
The Visitor (2018)
The Secret (2018)
Closer (2018)
Finding Grace (2019)
The Silent Ones (2019)
Single (2019)
The Apartment (2020)
Little Whispers (2020)
The Girl She Wanted (2020)
The Marriage (2021)
The Evidence (2021)
The Widow (2021)
Missing (2022)
The Girlfriend (2022)
The Narrator (2023)
The Bedroom Window (2023)
Husband and Wife (2023)
Message Deleted (2024)
The Married Man (2024)
The Lucky Winners (2025)
My Husband Next Door (2025)
The Waitress (2026)
We Tell Lies (2026)

This is my review of The Lucky Winners.

Merri and husband, Dev are struggling financially, when Dev buys Merri a raffle ticket for their anniversary of the Dreamkey national prize draw for an amazing house. They never, in a million years, expected to win.

But less than a week later, they received the keys to their new home.

For Dev, it’s a dream come true, but Merri is worried. But Merri is hiding something…Dev doesn’t realise why Merri is always trying to run away from the memories of what happened the day her little sister, Beth died.
But soon after moving into their dream home, Merri senses that someone is watching her at their new home.

And then a body is found in the lake. And Merri’s new perfect life is about to come crashing down…

This is a well-written fast-paced novel with intense descriptions that heighten the suspense level, and give depth to the characters. The tension builds slowly with twists and turns to a satisfactory conclusion. This suspenseful thriller that kept me hooked until the very end…and an ending I didn’t see coming. A great read!

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

But are they lucky?

Dev and Merri are struggling, doing without things here, giving things up there and generally just about surviving, but they are happy as they can be and love each other

Then Dev enters a comp to win a luxury mansion and their lives change dramatically

Dev is thrilled, Merri excited but also scared as with this win comes exposure to the media inc photos of her and Dev, something she is not keen on….

Their lives are about to get even more chaotic as bad things start to happen and as new people in their lives and people from dark pasts re-appear….everyone seems on a mission to cause chaos and harm

And then everything and everyone collides at a supper party…..and the trouble really starts

It took a while for me to settle to the characters but once did it was an exciting psychological/whodunit thriller that this author writes so well

[daniela weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

a real slow burn which
easily grasped my attention,
this had a fun trope and a great
execution - but its dénouement
fell flat after all the tension. :x

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lucky Winners by K.L. Slater is a psychological thriller about a young couple who buy a ticket to win the house of their dreams, and they do.


Let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.



I used to love books written by this author, but now they all seem the same.  Yes, they are good, but I am not finding them great.  They are all way too predictable, as was this one.

The story was told from multiple perspectives, and time-lines.  That was very straight-forward, and worked well to tell the story.

Character-wise.  I couldn't really get behind any of the characters.  I didn't really like Merri who kept a major secret from her husband.  I thought Dev was an idiot, drinking too much, and talking about private matters, and Paige appeared too shady.  So did all of their new friends.  Of course they all needed to be what they were, but I just didn't enjoy the parts they had to play.

The overall plot felt like it had been done before.  As I said, predictable.

The author writes well, no question about that, and the book had the right pace, the right suspense level, but it lacked excitement.  So overall, it was a good, safe, and well executed story, but I was looking for better by this author (again).  I had taken a break from her books, and I think I'll take another one.

That being said, I would love to have won that house!



For a more thorough review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, my own synopsis of the book, and its author information), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good read! I know it’s crazy, but this is my first read by this author and I can’t wait to get into her other books!

There are dual timelines here and each of the timelines holds you in suspense. It’s hinted that something happened to Merri when she was young, but you don’t know what. And then there’s the present timeline and we know someone is after Merri, but there’s even more going on then we know! I thought that Slater weaved this all together brilliantly!

I did want more of Paige, Merri’s best friend. I would have liked to have had her come to their new house. I also really enjoyed Sarah as a character as well. She seemed like a friendly person, that anyone could get along with.

I had one suspicion through most of the book, and I’m pretty sure that I fell for what the author wanted me to! When the reveal happened, I was utterly shocked! I want to say more, but I won’t because I don’t want to give anything away. Just know, you’ll never guess this reveal!

So if you’ve read this author, or want to try a new author and love a great reveal, check this one out!

[Toby Clements · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book unfortunately flatters to deceive, a relatively good concept has poor pacing issues and ultimately a very underwhelming ending.
The intrigue of the protagonist’s backstory wears thin after a while and the reveal towards the end feels very predictable which is a shame.
I do have to admit that after page 280 the story gets a whole lot more interesting, it’s just a shame it took that long.
I am told that Slater’s other books are much better, I hope they are.

[Paris King · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! Great narration on Audible, but as for the story .. nothing shocked me, and I felt like it was quite slow in parts.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Adelyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded up.

Did not get along with this one. Most of the book couldn't be further from the crime/thriller that it promises, as it basically talks about a couple moving to a fancy new house having won it in the lottery, but clearly there are skeletons in the closet. I skim-read the second half just to see how it ended, it got a bit better but I was honestly done with the characters and the story by that point, as any excitement I had from the blurb and/or the premise had long since evaporated.

[Lydia De'Ath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truly just a bit naff. Plodded on until the end but all of the action was crammed into about 15% of book with some huge gaps in the plot

[Papergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I secretly imagined winning this month's Omaze house, I curled up to read this novel about a couple winning a similar Lake District property. Despite the predictability of the key plot details, I quite enjoyed this story. There's a lot going on nd we jump between different a couple of different time periods as well as a couple of different perspectives, whichwere clearly identifiable and suited me just fine. I also love how things went from quite happy and lucky to quite sinister in a short amount of time.

The pages flew by in this easy read because the pace kept to a steady march throughout.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Merri and Dev are struggling to pay their bills and have to watch every penny.
Dev buys a ticket for a competition to win a house for Merri for their wedding anniversary.
They are over the moon when they win a brand new three million dollar house and also a quarter of a million dollars in spending money.
But not everyone is happy about their good fortune and some are even determined to ruin their good luck.
I always enjoy reading books by K. L. Slater and I’m looking forward to her next book already.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House fmy e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sonia Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I loved the most about this book was the protagonist couple's relationship, they clearly loved and cared for each other deeply and were supportive of each other.
The plot was interesting and I enjoyed it all.

[Jules Stanley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book. Do not read. Avoid. I quite liked the premise but the execution of the story is awful. I could write better and I ain’t no good story writer. Removing this from my 2026 challenge because I did not get beyond 15% in. Outrageous.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main bugbear with this book is that the characters seem to have NO idea how little 250k actually is, especially when you take into account the cost of running a super large house and want to start buying ride-on lawnmowers and building outdoor kitchens...
Yes, you are going to need to get jobs. Both of you. And better paying ones than you had before. You know, when you were in debt and couldn't pay your bills or rent? *eyeroll*
You will not be able to live off what's left of that money after the debts are paid off for long, especially spending like you are doing. Grow some brains people...

That, and the fact that it's yet another book where 90% of the issues in it wouldn't have been issues at all if people just communicated like normal human beings.

Other than that, it's well-paced and competently written, and no more predictable than almost every other thriller out there...

[shereadswith_coffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

He buys a raffle ticket with money they don’t have for her birthday. It’s the chance of a lifetime to win a multimillion dollar mansion in the Lake District. They win! They move! Dev is ecstatic, Merri is unsure. There’s a reason she’s not using her real name anymore.
She’s running and hiding from the memories of when her little sister died. How long can she hide when she sees shadows, her home is vandalized and a dead body shows up in the lake.

My Thoughts:
The main premise of Dev and Merri getting the big “WIN” caught my attention. What kept me reeling was Merri’s secret. I loved how @KLSlater took you down a back road of Merri’s upbringing and what led her to keeping a secret from her own husband.
I appreciated the deceptive lead in to “friendly new neighbors” and “the nice handyman”. A novel that makes you question ALL the characters, their motives but most of all what one will do when someone they love is in danger.

It’s a psychological thriller you won’t want to put down. It’s suspenseful, unsettling and obsessive. It’s keeps you guessing until the very end. Highly recommend this tense and gritty read!

Thank you @bookouture for this gifted eARC

[Jennifer Bendel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, short read. Merri and Dev win the house of their dreams. Dev is ecstatic and eager to meet the locals. Merri is suspicious and wary of everyone. It quickly becomes clear someone doesn’t want them there. Someone is out to get them.
I liked the characters in this book. They felt realistic and like people you’d know. The flashbacks were a little dark but you quickly see why Merri is so guarded. The twists were good and I liked how things worked out in the end. If you’re looking for a quick thriller, this is perfect. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[For The Love of books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream House has

From a life of debts to winning a dream house. Is this not what everyone dreams of... until it becomes a nightmare.

[Rachael Steell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Enjoyed this so much I read it in 2 days, been a while since I’ve read a good whodunnit!! 😊

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was okay , kept me thinking. Thought I had an idea but it wasn’t what I thought. I would recommend. On to the next one

[Hannah Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed listening to this one

[CrinM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooooh who doesn’t want to be the big lucky winner of a GRAND PRIZE?! Super unnerving to watch it unfold and potentially ruin Dev and Merri’s whole lives. Thought I figured out who The Watcher was but got that wrong. I don’t know that I would enjoy living in an all glass house simply because I would feel like I was in a fishbowl. Well written and suspenseful.

[Michael Dawson · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started off well and then it got boring towards chapter 27 the characters of the story became very bland and uninteresting and the story arc was slow and the main protagonists of the story made very bad decisions and there was so much useless information that it became very boring very quickly.

[Julie Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great psychological thriller.
When Dev wins a large mansion in the Lake District he cannot believe it, however his wife Merri is hesitant to move.
Dev loves all the media attention that his win has caused but Merri wants to hide away from it all.
We learn that Merri has something in her past that Dev doesn't know about, and when things start happening at their new home, she becomes more unsettled.
This is a gripping thriller, that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

[Adele Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

*****SPOILER ALLERT*****


I enjoyed the book but I found it far fetched.



I don’t under stand the story of Mr Webb. Yes he loved his wife and she died but was that enough to stalk, plot and try and kill Janey. He knew is son was bad news. Plus Jack and Sarah, him saying to Dev that they were having marriage problems, was that so the Author could make you think he killed Sarah.