Lucky Girl by M. Rickert (BOOK REVIEW) 5/5

“Lucky Girl” by M. Rickert was a tiny little novella that I picked up on a whim, from Walmart of all places. I merely thought the cover looked cool. But what I got from it, absolutely blew me away. When I started the novel, I thought it would be a quick and easy little horror story. I initially didn’t love the characters, and the writing of their little Christmas get-together didn’t initially grab me. If it wasn’t such a short tale, I might not have read it so quickly, because it seemed to be a story I would be okay with setting down, stopping and starting.

But I’m glad I devoured this little novella in one sitting. Beware minor spoilers. By the time the group were reuniting at BLANK’s mansion in the present day, I was starting to grow more interested. The grown up, adult versions of the characters, and how their lives had shaped them, were much more interesting. I found myself reading just to peel back some of the mystery surrounding the characters, and the bell from the Krampus story all those years ago slipped into the back of my mind. The read was nicely paced, the characters well fleshed out, dialogue believable. When the end came around, I will admit to flicking through quickly, eagerly drawn into what was happening on the page.

I don’t believe this story to be about Krampus. I loved the symbolism of the real monster, and the twist at the end was executed perfectly. This is a story about people, about loneliness and obsession, about a long-running plot where everything fell into place. It was masterfully written, much more than I initially thought when I picked it up, and extremely clever. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a thrilling short horror story that will leave you thinking.