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Fortune: A Novel
In this explosive novel about a decades-old mystery, shocking revelations of the past and the secrets of three women will be spilled when a small Midwest town announces a DNA lottery.
One drop of blood for a chance at a multimillion-dollar windfall. Is it a philanthropic gesture from a billionaire widow? Some suspect a darker motive behind the DNA lottery—one tied to the eighteen-year-old mystery of an infant’s unidentified remains that mars the history of idyllic Rosemary Hills, Iowa. Right after the blood lottery is announced, three local women fall under suspicion of knowing something about that night, and their carefully kept secrets threaten to spill out too.
Cleo is a divorced single mom forced to return to her hometown and accept a strange job reading to an invalid recluse; Jemma is a controversial state senator whose reelection campaign and teenage daughter have her on edge; and Alex, a divorce attorney, copes with a crumbling marriage of her own and the suffocating presence of a cold, overbearing mother.
Soon, unimaginable revelations of the past will collide with the present—and not just for Cleo, Jemma, and Alex. In this seemingly ordinary community, they aren’t the only ones with long-buried secrets.
One drop of blood for a chance at a multimillion-dollar windfall. Is it a philanthropic gesture from a billionaire widow? Some suspect a darker motive behind the DNA lottery—one tied to the eighteen-year-old mystery of an infant’s unidentified remains that mars the history of idyllic Rosemary Hills, Iowa. Right after the blood lottery is announced, three local women fall under suspicion of knowing something about that night, and their carefully kept secrets threaten to spill out too.
Cleo is a divorced single mom forced to return to her hometown and accept a strange job reading to an invalid recluse; Jemma is a controversial state senator whose reelection campaign and teenage daughter have her on edge; and Alex, a divorce attorney, copes with a crumbling marriage of her own and the suffocating presence of a cold, overbearing mother.
Soon, unimaginable revelations of the past will collide with the present—and not just for Cleo, Jemma, and Alex. In this seemingly ordinary community, they aren’t the only ones with long-buried secrets.
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First published October 1, 2023
3998 people are currently reading
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About the author
Ellen Won Steil
3 books143 followersEllen Won Steil is the bestselling author of Fortune and the forthcoming Becoming Marlow Fin. She grew up in Iowa in a Korean-American family and earned her BA in journalism from Drake University and law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two young sons. Ellen believes most good stories have at least a hint of darkness.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 446 reviews
September 24, 2023
I guess because I wrote it? ;-)
October 26, 2023
While I don't really want to criticize someone's first novel (Congrats to Won Steil for getting published), it is also recognizable as someone's first novel. I actually blame the editor for its faults, as most of them could have been fixed prior to publication. A few things I noticed: The pacing is all over the place. Very slow at the start and some mid-points and too fast for comfort at the end; a twist, that while interesting, isn't fully developed and almost seems trite; Lack of characterization of secondary characters. I would have loved some background on the Sheriff and why he's beholden to the Parkers, the love interest that seems like an afterthought, the Parkers and their power, the oldest daughter and that relationship - and much more info on Poppy and her hidden relationship. So ya, I made it to the end, there were parts I liked, but it didn't all jive together for me.
October 5, 2023
I don’t even know how to review this book as I was so confused the entire time due to the 100 million characters. I *think* I know how it ended but after a few hours of thinking, I’m still not confident! You can definitely skip this one.
September 2, 2023
Meh
In places this book was jerky and the words didn't flow well. Parts of it were brilliant, parts of it were boring or disjointed. This was my free book this month and it was a bit of a disappointment.
In places this book was jerky and the words didn't flow well. Parts of it were brilliant, parts of it were boring or disjointed. This was my free book this month and it was a bit of a disappointment.
September 6, 2023
This book has a strong beginning, a powerful ending, and in between it rambles about all over the place.
A wealthy widow sets out to solve the mystery of a dead baby 18 years earlier, offering a DNA lottery to local people. If they submit a DNA sample, they get a ticket in the lottery to win a multi-million dollar prize.
Three women who are the right sort of age to know more, resist the demand that they give samples and eventually we - unsurprisingly - find out what actually happened.
It did keep my guessing for most of the book - although I'm not sure that I felt very invested in the outcome. The three women's stories were quite muddled and they were easy to confuse for one another.
Whether anybody would really be able to take DNA and use that information in the was the widow intended is something that really needed a more thorough examination. I know the USA has funny ways of looking at the world, but surely GDPR and consent must come into this somewhere.
A wealthy widow sets out to solve the mystery of a dead baby 18 years earlier, offering a DNA lottery to local people. If they submit a DNA sample, they get a ticket in the lottery to win a multi-million dollar prize.
Three women who are the right sort of age to know more, resist the demand that they give samples and eventually we - unsurprisingly - find out what actually happened.
It did keep my guessing for most of the book - although I'm not sure that I felt very invested in the outcome. The three women's stories were quite muddled and they were easy to confuse for one another.
Whether anybody would really be able to take DNA and use that information in the was the widow intended is something that really needed a more thorough examination. I know the USA has funny ways of looking at the world, but surely GDPR and consent must come into this somewhere.
September 14, 2023
Some parts of this story were good, but overall there were too many storylines going on that didn’t flow well. It was very disjointed and difficult to follow. It had a very odd and dissatisfying ending.
September 30, 2023
I’m calling it right now.
In the thriller department this is my FAVORITE BOOK OF 2023!!!!
READ IT NOW!
Sometimes I ask my husband to read the synopsis for me because I feel like that spoils the book for me and I asked him if he thinks I would love it and he told me it’s Hunger Games-esque but modern and I was sold.
I was hooked from page one and something that happened right in the beginning I have not been able to forget and still think about to this day!
Ellen did a phenomenal job at keeping things flowing and moving without losing site of its main objective especially with multiple characters, dual time lines and the mystery of it all, so well balanced!
Just the whole freakin premise of this book was amazing and it was executed perfectly I can’t believe this is her first novel and it won’t be the last I read from her! I can’t wait for what ever she has up her sleeve in the future!
Best decision I ever made picking this as my Amazon first read for the month of September!
If I could have paired this with an audiobook I would have DEVOURED this book! But I’m a turtle reader without 😅🐢
If you love:
Psychological thrillers
Emotional
Attention to detail
Suspense
Mondern Hunger Games-esque
Well written books
This book is for you!
Please read it you won’t regret it I highly recommend!!!!
In the thriller department this is my FAVORITE BOOK OF 2023!!!!
READ IT NOW!
Sometimes I ask my husband to read the synopsis for me because I feel like that spoils the book for me and I asked him if he thinks I would love it and he told me it’s Hunger Games-esque but modern and I was sold.
I was hooked from page one and something that happened right in the beginning I have not been able to forget and still think about to this day!
Ellen did a phenomenal job at keeping things flowing and moving without losing site of its main objective especially with multiple characters, dual time lines and the mystery of it all, so well balanced!
Just the whole freakin premise of this book was amazing and it was executed perfectly I can’t believe this is her first novel and it won’t be the last I read from her! I can’t wait for what ever she has up her sleeve in the future!
Best decision I ever made picking this as my Amazon first read for the month of September!
If I could have paired this with an audiobook I would have DEVOURED this book! But I’m a turtle reader without 😅🐢
If you love:
Psychological thrillers
Emotional
Attention to detail
Suspense
Mondern Hunger Games-esque
Well written books
This book is for you!
Please read it you won’t regret it I highly recommend!!!!
October 22, 2023
I hate to criticize someone's debut novel, but this one didn't work for me. The characters were not likable, the story was choppy, the pacing was uneven and by the time the twists came I no longer cared. Some of the twists were rather dark and should have been shocking, but I wasn't invested and they didn't pack the punch they should have. All in all, I felt like this story was a disjointed, uninteresting, confused muddle that didn't make a lot of sense. I wish the author luck, but I don't think I'll read anything else by her.
September 14, 2023
If you like confusing, choppy books, this is the one for you
I really dislike the way this book is written. The story itself wasn’t bad but the writing style was just so choppy and it jumped around so much, that it was hard to follow. By the time that I was halfway through, I just kept hoping it would be over soon.
I really dislike the way this book is written. The story itself wasn’t bad but the writing style was just so choppy and it jumped around so much, that it was hard to follow. By the time that I was halfway through, I just kept hoping it would be over soon.
July 10, 2023
Oh my goodness, this book! I was intrigued by the premise, but Ellen Won Steil did so much more with it than I was anticipating. Not only is it a propulsive psychological thriller; it’s also a nuanced look at the lives of four very different women struggling in their present lives as they contend with dark secrets and pain in their past. How she balanced all that, plus the mystery, an and a dual timeline, I can’t begin to tell you. But it works, and it’s so good! If life didn’t get in the way, I would have read this is in one delicious gulp.
June 2, 2023
This book is written with such amazing emotional and physical detail. It’s suspenseful all the way through and I could not put it down. I can usually predict the ending halfway through; however I was thrown multiple curve balls which is exactly the kind of novel that earns a 5 star from me! Can’t wait to read what’s next from Ellen Won Steil!
September 17, 2023
confusing
I finished the book but don’t know what happened. I guess I’m dense but all just confused with me now
I finished the book but don’t know what happened. I guess I’m dense but all just confused with me now
September 26, 2023
I couldn't follow the plot. Was Baby Ava dead, or adopted? Who put those three names on the picture? Why did the rich old man care? Who fathered the baby?
September 3, 2023
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
This was a brilliant debut novel. It was thrilling and captivating, with plenty of twists and turns. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this writer.
This was a brilliant debut novel. It was thrilling and captivating, with plenty of twists and turns. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this writer.
October 17, 2023
Everything I have to say about this novel would sound like an insult or backhanded compliment, so I'll keep it brief and say it was fine. It was mainly just a book to kill time until new-release-day, and it served that purpose well.
March 24, 2024
Do you ever get drawn into a book based on its premise, only for it to be nothing about the story it advertises? That’s how I felt about this book. So very little of the plot actually deals with the cold case mystery/DNA lottery aspect that initially drew me in. This was incredibly disappointing given I found the DNA lottery exciting, enticing and original. So to change your expectations, this is a literally fiction novel about three women, who used to be kinda friends in high school, and their ‘dysfunctional’ families. Not really much else. The ending is choppy and left me more confused than when I started the book. I actually had to google an explanation and summary after finishing.
Also this book contained one of my book pet peeves - WAY TOO many characters. I wish the author just honed in on the three main woman and the cold case mystery. All in all, this left me wanting so much more.
Also this book contained one of my book pet peeves - WAY TOO many characters. I wish the author just honed in on the three main woman and the cold case mystery. All in all, this left me wanting so much more.
October 29, 2023
This book was absolutely ridiculous with an ending that made absolutely no sense, especially with the MOST unstable character being able to adopt a child so soon after the "scandal" she was a part of. But of course, she was a performing white saviour by buying the baby from Haiti. Such a disgusting book! And the author rated it? Giving it FIVE STARS? Nah, sis, we're not about that BS. Automatic removal of stars from the rating, but unfortunately, 1 is the lowest I can give here. SO SO SO SO fricking glad I chose this as my Amazon First Picks book, so the only thing I wasted on it was my time.
October 12, 2023
Exciting premise and suspenseful story - A DNA Lottery is held - but is it to identify a long lost relative or something very, very different.
Many years ago a baby disappeared and it is thought that this DNA might help determine what happened. A billionaire widower tried to entice the entire town to participate. New citizen Cleo is thinking it over -and needs to decide. Suspenseful great first novel!
Many years ago a baby disappeared and it is thought that this DNA might help determine what happened. A billionaire widower tried to entice the entire town to participate. New citizen Cleo is thinking it over -and needs to decide. Suspenseful great first novel!
September 14, 2023
Slow, disjointed, story lines that go nowhere. I don't know if this is a new author's accountability or the editor, who may have reduced pages and taken away necessary details for the marooned story lines. By the end I didn't even care, then suddenly it was over and all wrapped up with a bow. But so many loose ends.
September 14, 2023
The idea sounds more interesting than the book turned out to be
October 15, 2023
Great writing!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is definitely one that you don't want to put down. Hope this is turned into a movie!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is definitely one that you don't want to put down. Hope this is turned into a movie!
October 14, 2023
This was my Kindle freebie for September. I enjoyed it although it was a tale oft-told. That doesn't take anything away from it, however. I enjoyed her characters a great deal, though in places it got a little baffling, as we jumped back 'n' forth in time and I was struggling a little to remember who was who in present time and who they were married to and who their kids were, etc. I liked Will a great deal and also Laila Reyes did something that made me a bit sniffy......
I did spot the odd error but mainly her not using hyphens....as with head turn or even keeled or guilt ridden or wild eyed. Then she didn't capitalise French nor Shiraz nor Yellow Pages, either. She also wrote, "She looked taken back" and not aback. Grisly ought to be gristly, too, in the context it was written.
The odd phrase I found a little 'peculiar' as well....like, "The mini white crystal chandeliers, robin's-egg-blue linen tables, and sleek decor did her mother no favors in making her appear less bitchy..."
All in all, I would definitely download something else by her. This was a debut novel and she likes a "bit of darkness" in her stories and that appeals to me !!
I did spot the odd error but mainly her not using hyphens....as with head turn or even keeled or guilt ridden or wild eyed. Then she didn't capitalise French nor Shiraz nor Yellow Pages, either. She also wrote, "She looked taken back" and not aback. Grisly ought to be gristly, too, in the context it was written.
The odd phrase I found a little 'peculiar' as well....like, "The mini white crystal chandeliers, robin's-egg-blue linen tables, and sleek decor did her mother no favors in making her appear less bitchy..."
All in all, I would definitely download something else by her. This was a debut novel and she likes a "bit of darkness" in her stories and that appeals to me !!
October 5, 2023
4.5 Stars!
Fortune is a debut... but I would have never guessed that. Ellen Won Steil has quite the talent for words as I eventually just ran with this book.
I'll be honest. The only reason I did not give this book a 5 was because the multiple POVs with the dual timelines had moments that were difficult to keep up with. I found myself double checking the chapters to see who we were talking about and which timeline we were following.
Fortune is a thriller that follows the lives of four women who are unlikely to ever cross each other's paths, but the past is full of secrets tying them all together. The suspense kept me intrigued through the entire book and it never quite went the way I expected. Thrillers for me are usually incredibly predictable or just an ending that is underwhelming. Fortune was neither of those. It was fresh and exciting from beginning to end.
Fortune is a debut... but I would have never guessed that. Ellen Won Steil has quite the talent for words as I eventually just ran with this book.
I'll be honest. The only reason I did not give this book a 5 was because the multiple POVs with the dual timelines had moments that were difficult to keep up with. I found myself double checking the chapters to see who we were talking about and which timeline we were following.
Fortune is a thriller that follows the lives of four women who are unlikely to ever cross each other's paths, but the past is full of secrets tying them all together. The suspense kept me intrigued through the entire book and it never quite went the way I expected. Thrillers for me are usually incredibly predictable or just an ending that is underwhelming. Fortune was neither of those. It was fresh and exciting from beginning to end.
November 1, 2023
Interesting novel with plot twists galore. The lotto was a bit far fetched tho. Overall an entertaining read.
September 14, 2023
I really really wanted to like this. It was an Amazon First Reads, and because I'm from a small town in Iowa and I love thrillers, this book was a no brainer for me. I have read a LOT of thrillers, and while I want to give the author some grace because this is her first book, I think it was obvious that it was her first ever book and in the grand scheme of thrillers out there, I would not recommend this book to anybody to read.
Fortune revolved around four main characters - Edie, Jemma, Alex and Cleo. It had chapters in current day in each of the four characters' perspectives, and chapters in past years in Jemma, Alex and Cleo's perspectives. While most thrillers will use that setting to build up suspense, it seemed like there was a lot of big building for no result. Almost everything that happened seemed extremely unrealistic. Additionally, even though this book was ~350 pages and had a lot of chapters set in flashbacks, there was minimal to zero useful background on characters. Alex's mom Maud seemed like a psycho, and I kept thinking there would be some explanation for why she was that way, but no. Same with all four main characters' personalities. This really frustrated me while reading it, and made the ending seem lame.
I noticed a couple of typos in this book, which is always disappointing.
Lastly, and this is personal - I cannot stand when people write about a small town and don't understand what a small town really is. Of course if you live in NYC, Chicago, LA, etc., a town of 60,000 is small. In reality, this is NOT A SMALL TOWN. I grew up outside a town of 2500 and have lived here almost my entire life (30 years old). THIS is a town with one cute coffee shop, everybody knows everybody on the police force, business owners, classmates and their parents, etc. 60,000 is big, and not a town where there would be only one coffee shop people go to - in a town that big there are multiple chains and close to zero mom and pop shops. This might be nothing to most people, but the precedence was set on this early in the book, so it frustrated me from the beginning.
Fortune revolved around four main characters - Edie, Jemma, Alex and Cleo. It had chapters in current day in each of the four characters' perspectives, and chapters in past years in Jemma, Alex and Cleo's perspectives. While most thrillers will use that setting to build up suspense, it seemed like there was a lot of big building for no result. Almost everything that happened seemed extremely unrealistic. Additionally, even though this book was ~350 pages and had a lot of chapters set in flashbacks, there was minimal to zero useful background on characters. Alex's mom Maud seemed like a psycho, and I kept thinking there would be some explanation for why she was that way, but no. Same with all four main characters' personalities. This really frustrated me while reading it, and made the ending seem lame.
I noticed a couple of typos in this book, which is always disappointing.
Lastly, and this is personal - I cannot stand when people write about a small town and don't understand what a small town really is. Of course if you live in NYC, Chicago, LA, etc., a town of 60,000 is small. In reality, this is NOT A SMALL TOWN. I grew up outside a town of 2500 and have lived here almost my entire life (30 years old). THIS is a town with one cute coffee shop, everybody knows everybody on the police force, business owners, classmates and their parents, etc. 60,000 is big, and not a town where there would be only one coffee shop people go to - in a town that big there are multiple chains and close to zero mom and pop shops. This might be nothing to most people, but the precedence was set on this early in the book, so it frustrated me from the beginning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2023
The brief description on Amazon lured me in & I was so excited to read this book. The storyline seemed like something new and refreshing.
There were points where the book was hard to follow- it seemed a little chaotic and all over the place. The very beginning started out pretty good, and to me, the story lulled until it was about 80% finished. The last 20% of the book flew by for me and I quite enjoyed that part.
I do commend the author for tying up loose ends and giving answers to many of the questions I had throughout the book.
All in all, it was a refreshing read idea/plot wise, I just wish (personally) that the execution had been better and the storyline had been easier to follow in the middle and had better flow. Once you read the ending and are able to link all the pieces of the storyline together, it’s not a bad read.
There were points where the book was hard to follow- it seemed a little chaotic and all over the place. The very beginning started out pretty good, and to me, the story lulled until it was about 80% finished. The last 20% of the book flew by for me and I quite enjoyed that part.
I do commend the author for tying up loose ends and giving answers to many of the questions I had throughout the book.
All in all, it was a refreshing read idea/plot wise, I just wish (personally) that the execution had been better and the storyline had been easier to follow in the middle and had better flow. Once you read the ending and are able to link all the pieces of the storyline together, it’s not a bad read.
September 16, 2023
Simply magnificent!
This dark tale is expertly written and kept this avid reader on her toes!! The twists and turns come out of nowhere, and the ending will leave this story haunting me for years to come. Bravo to this talented writer, Ms. Ellen Won Steil!! I wait with bated breath for your next release. If you love mysteries, plot twists, and being shocked into silence, then this book is for you. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!
This dark tale is expertly written and kept this avid reader on her toes!! The twists and turns come out of nowhere, and the ending will leave this story haunting me for years to come. Bravo to this talented writer, Ms. Ellen Won Steil!! I wait with bated breath for your next release. If you love mysteries, plot twists, and being shocked into silence, then this book is for you. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!
September 29, 2023
more answers & closure would be appreciated
September 27, 2023
Confusing
This was a good mystery, kept silent many years by 3 friends, who didn't even know the entire nightmare. I didn't figure who the mystery patient was until the very end. I did find the book quite disjointed and had trouble keeping up with the characters.
This was a good mystery, kept silent many years by 3 friends, who didn't even know the entire nightmare. I didn't figure who the mystery patient was until the very end. I did find the book quite disjointed and had trouble keeping up with the characters.
July 2, 2023
I could NOT put this book down. The precise character development made me feel like I really knew and understood the main players. I enjoyed the suspenseful plot line, which encompassed a spectrum of emotions and could be horrifying, heartbreaking and heartwarming. I particularly enjoyed the author’s depiction of how deep motherly love can be. I can’t wait to introduce this novel to my book club and look forward to future works!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 446 reviews