Absolutely loved this one!

This book has a really good vibe that reminded me of a Stephen King book. Basically it's a bunch of adults trying to amateur sleuth their way to trauma resolution. Additionally, the specific type of trauma they experienced is very reminiscent of 'Children of the Corn'. It's not a super unique storyline, to have a bunch of people who shared a traumatic event trying to sort it out, but it was done well and the characters are unique and the storytelling keeps things moving.

I could easily see this one becoming a Netflix Miniseries!

This book started off like the opening scene of a Purge movie. People are scream, guns are going off, children are screaming and trying to escape while they hear their parents being murdered. As the entire subdivision is slaughter, five children managed to escape and run into the woods. On the five year anniversary of their families death, all five children dubbed the Fallen Oaks Five, receive a note saying they would be the next ones killed. The Fallen Oaks Five gather together to try and solved their parents murders stay alive, and work through the trauma that happened to them all those years ago. This books is full of twists and turns and everyone is on edge and suspicion of each other and the police.

I loved this story until the last chapter. 5 stars til the end. Sorry ending made no sense.
Ellie and her sister survive a neighborhood massacre (fortunately not graphic) they go off to live with an unpleasant grandmother until Ellie is 18 then she takes care of her sister.
Five years have passed. and a threatening note appears on all 5 survivors doorsteps. They meet up in the hometown they all left behind. They need to solve the mystery of who orchestrated their parents murder and avoid becoming the next victims.
I loved the story until the end. I will look for more by this author . Narration was good but voice was too mature for the protagonist.
thanks NetGalley and Orange Audio for the chance to listen.

I have been making my way through all of Kiersten Modglin’s titles. I think this one is my third and I’ll be moving on quickly to the next in line! I like that her books aren’t too drawn out. They start with a bang and keep going all the way through. I felt like there were a lot of moving pieces in this one compared to the others I’ve read but, once I got to the end, they all came together very well. I highly recommend this on audiobook format- the narrator did a great job!
Thanks to NetGalley and Orange Sky audio for this complimentary copy of the book.

Pub date: 1.11.2022

Five years after the murder of almost an entire subdivision, the remaining survivors (known as the Fallen Oaks Five) receive threatening letters and their lives are once again in danger.

Hmm, how to properly sum up how I felt about this book? I thought the beginning was addicting, fast-paced, and intense. I was totally hooked. But…I hated the end!

Even though the twists weren’t really surprising, I did find myself unable to stop reading because I needed to know what was going to happen. However, I felt so let down by the unnecessary final thoughts that it almost ruined the entire reading experience for me.

I don’t feel like I wasted time, the plot was interesting enough, so I’m sure a lot of people will love how she ended this and come away feeling like the book worked great for them.

Thanks to Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Format: audiobook
Author: Kiersten Modglin ~ Title: The Lucky Ones ~ Narrator: Linda Jones
Content: 1.5 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

This one was a NO for me.

Five years ago, their parents were killed, and they were the only survivors - the lucky ones. Now someone is after them again.

MC was quite unlikeable. I get it, PTSD and all that. I would accept that if the story was good.

Many details in this book seemed unbelievable, and some scenes were totally unconvincing. So I was annoyed from the beginning. The behavior of survivors and some of their decisions were quite irrational. They were rude, and they did not react the way I would expect. Also, I think this novel was too short, so some important things and explanations were just omitted. Now, in the end, I’m still not sure if it all even made sense.

The narrator is good but could not make up for the flaws in the story. A quick read, but, unfortunately, I would not recommend it.

Thanks to OrangeSky Audio for the ALC! All opinions are my own.

Five children were the only ones to survive a killing spree and now five years later each have received a letter letting them know the killing is not done. Even though they did not stay together they come together now and decide to go back to town to find out who, what, and why. Um...why...and when all the twists and turns point to who why are they not running as fast as they can away? Glad I had this one in audio or I may not have finished it. With audio I kept it playing as I was busy. The narrator was great. Lots of twists and too many turns.

This book has all the makings of a truly thrilling tale but it fell a little short for me. Five kids survived a horrid murder spree where their parents all died. Years later, the survivors received an eerie letter suggesting that the killings may not be over. They all decide to try to solve the crime on their own as they uncover clues, they find themselves in danger. The book is well written but maybe just a few too many red herrings and twists for me. I do enjoy this author’s work and look forward to reading her next book!

As always Modglin failed to disappoint. I have yet to read something by her that has not caught my attention from the first chapter.

This is a very interesting read about the survivors of a mass murder coming together after five years. Once they all get the same threatening letter in the mail and turn it into the police they find out that the murders were not properly investigated. They return to the scene of the murders to find the entire neighborhood demolished and a park in it's place, and the residents talking about a curse.

I really enjoyed this read, however there are some loose ends that I would have liked to seen tied up. It kept me guessing from the beginning until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early release.

This was my first reading of a book written by Kiersten Modglin. This is a story about a small group of folks who survived a heart stopping and bizarre mass murder incident. No one was supposed to survive. However, there is a small group of folks, who were just children at the time the murders. They are the lucky ones who managed to survive the murderous attack.

Now, five years later, the case remains unsolved. But when a dire warning is received, the group of survivors must work together in order to save themselves from joining those who died five years before.

I must say I found the plot of this story to be unique compared to murder mystery stories I have read in the past. This story kept me turning the pages and invested in the fate of the surviving characters. The Lucky Ones is a really good book, but I think it really had the potential to be a really great book ... and that made me wonder if The Lucky Ones might be developed into a series.

If you want an edge of your seat thriller that is incredibly fast paced and impossible to put down, then this is the book for you! I was kept guessing until the last page and was totally captivated and gripped with The Lucky Ones. The narration was great and enjoyable to listen to.

The Lucky Ones by Kiersten Modglin

Thank You to @Netgalley @orangeskyaudio @kierstenmodglinauthor for the free audio version of this book.

This is my third book of Kiersten’s. I love a twist and I know Kiersten is known for a twisty tale so I was excited for this listen.
5 yrs ago in Gerbera, a small town in Fallen Oaks residents are brutally murdered leaving five surviving children. Now grown and the anniversary of their parents and neighbours slaughter fast approaches and the five receive letters of warning. The killers are still out there.
Told mostly in the POV of Ellie who managed at the time to save herself and her younger sister Cassie. Ellie rings a member of the five she has the number of and manages to arrange getting together the group to go home and solve the mystery of the killer before it’s too late.
I did get slightly lost a couple of times. The book started off brilliant just what a love, something horrific and shocking but I felt I lost the story mid way and then near the end. But in fairness to Kiersten my brain has been a bit fried this week it’s probably one I’ll need to listen to maybe again to enjoy it more when I’m not stressed out ! Sorry Kiersten

I enjoyed this outing by Kiersten Modglin, a writer who has been getting a lot of buzz on the internet of late. I read and really enjoyed her buzziest book, The Arrangement, which had a totally shocking ending, and was happy to see that her skill at building suspense in that one was not just a fluke. Here is another solid, suspenseful outing by a prolific new thriller writer to keep your eye on.

There is a very cool and interesting premise to this book - the very few (five!) survivors of a mass murder in a quiet suburban subdivision come together five years later after receiving new threats. All those years ago, the residents of their little neighborhood, including their whole families, were all horribly murdered, seemingly randomly, except for them. They come to realize their famous and brutal case was never sufficiently investigated (a coverup, perhaps?), and, when they return to the scene of the crime they learn the subdivision has been mowed down and replaced by a park, and the residents are speaking in hushed tones about a curse.

I really loved almost all of the book. Modglin is so adept at building suspense on every page and weaving creative and compelling plots. I was slightly less wowed by the ending, which (unlike her previous effort) did not, to me, wrap up all the loose ends and questions in the way I had been hoping. Still, the book was compelling, interesting, original and ultimately satisfying. I’m definitely going to add Kiersten Modglin to my list of auto-read authors and I look forward to reading more original and scary stuff from her very soon!

Also, the audiobook was very well-narrated and I recommend it! I would love to hear this narrator in future audiobooks by this author - it’s a good match.

Thanks to OrangeSky, NetGalley and the author for the advance listening copy.

There's something about the way Kiersten Modglin crafts a story that makes you devour it all in one sitting. The stories are engaging, getting you to care about the characters involved, and they are fast-faced, giving you just enough to keep you hooked and reading through the night. This one was no different. I had to find out what was happening with this characters, discover all the twists and turns with them, and then suffer alongside them as they uncover the truth. I enjoyed this one as much as the others and look forward to many more.

I enjoyed how short this was. Not too much backstory, but enough. Some of the scenes, specifically at the end, are VERY gruesome. The ending though saved this book. Nice mini twist.

The Lucky Ones is a book about 5 children who survive the massacre of their entire neighborhood. Known as the Fallen Oak Five, they are all struggling to have a normal life after losing their families.
Then comes the letters suggesting that they aren't so lucky after all and are now in danger of losing their lives as well.
The five come together to solve the mystery of what really happened that day five years ago. Why would anyone come to their neighborhood and kill so many? What could the reason possibly be? Why are they now being targeted again? Haven't they been through enough already?

I listened to the audio version of the book and liked the narrator. I enjoyed the entire book right up until the last couple of pages. Really, was that ending necessary? It kind of pulled down the rest of the book. What would have been a 4 star book has now become a 3 star.

Many thanks to netgalley and OrangeSky Audio for the arc.

Another enjoyable read from Kiersten Modglin. The story centers around five people who survived a massacre in which their families were murdered. Five years later, each person receives a mysterious letter indicating they might not have been so lucky to escape the carnage. I thought I knew what was coming but the story went in a completely different direction. I was a little confused by some of the characters decisions and my mind drifted some when there was a lot of talk about an ancient curse. But the ending was a pleasant surprise and there was even a small twist that made me rethink the whole story.

I went into this book pretty blind. I have abs habit of seeing books by authors I’ve liked and just requesting them on NetGalley then forgetting what they are about. This is one of those books that it may be best to read when you don’t know much about it. I loved the writing of this one and how many twists it had. I was never bored and just needed to know what was going to happen. Literally started this at work and kept wanting to read it but couldn’t. Definitely recommend this one!

Not really sure how I feel about this one. It was kind of short. It was also kind of far fetched. I did find that there were parts that made me want more & to figure out what actually happened to their families 5 years ago.

Some things I thought were off were 5 adults staying together when they got the notes. And none of them had their lives together. The ending also seemed rushed. It wasn’t as twisty as I thought it would be.

I don’t really like stories that couldn’t actually happen. I did like the narrator. It all together was just ok. Ellie was ok, not horribly unlikeable. This was just meh for me. Something to pass the time. Normally I like Kirsten Modglin & her stories a lot.

2.5 stars

The Lucky Ones is yet another recent read that I initially thought had a lot of potential, but left me wanting more.

The concept where a group of survivors struggling against a new threat is one that has been done many times before. Modglin pretty much sticks to that formula, but I felt like I didn't get enough time to learn about the initial murders or where the survivors were in their lives when the story started before the introduction of the threat came. There is a somewhat singular focus on hitting certain story beats over developing the characters beyond a certain level, which detracted from my enjoyment of the book.

The mystery itself also had potential, but it did contain one of my biggest pet peeves about thrillers. I am not the biggest fan of twists that come out of nowhere without any earlier support in the text. I never felt like we built up to series of big reveals that happen about 55%-60% of the way through this book. They felt ham fisted into the storyline just so we could get to the really big reveal at the 90% mark. I love a good twist, but they really have to be handled well for me to personally enjoy them.

Even though I was a bit let down by this book, I can tell that Modglin has a keen eye for this sort of writing. I just don't think that this particular outing was the one for me. Hopefully, after reading a little more of her work, I will find something in her backlog that will really thrill me.

Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review!