How Lucky
Author: Will Leitch
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date of Publication: May 11, 2021
Pages: 304
The five nominees for the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel are: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen, Five Decembers by James Kestrel, How Lucky by Will Leitch, and No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield. This is the second of my reviews for this list of books. Click on the hyperlink above to read the previous review.
This nominee combines a totally unique narrator, a tricky plot, great secondary characters, and a satisfying (although explosively violent) conclusion. The main character is Daniel Leads, a young adult with Type II Spinal Muscular Atrophy. SMA is a genetic neuromuscular disorder which causes progressive muscular degeneration and weakness. Despite his handicap Daniel lives independently with the help of caregivers and a few close friends. Daniel's courage, tenacity, independence, and humor make him a tremendously sympathetic character. While telling a great story, Daniel also gives the reader a terrific insight into the life of a person living with a frightful handicap.
The plot involves the disappearance of a foreign student from the campus of the University of Georgia. The setting of Athens, Georgia, also lends a distinct uniqueness to this novel. While sitting in his wheelchair on his front porch one morning, Daniel sees the young Chinese woman get into a Camaro. He also had a good view of the driver. Daniel has difficulty reporting these details to the police, so he enters an online chat room to describe what he saw. He quickly gets a communication from someone claiming to be the driver who has abducted the young woman. Multiple e-mails follow, the police finally get involved, and the mystery is eventually solved.
Much like Razorblade Tears, this book is more than the usual mystery novel. It makes a bold statement regarding the lives of handicapped people and how they must deal with the ignorance and insensitivity of the non-handicapped population. Much like the racial prejudices faced by the characters in S. A. Cosby's fine novel, Daniel has to learn to live with people's preconceived notions regarding people in wheelchairs and the discrimination which results.
This book has been criticized as a mere modern retelling of Hitchcock's "Rear Window" but it is so much more than that. The similarities end with the main characters being in wheelchairs. How Lucky opens a window into the life of a feisty, independent, and courageous handicapped person who manages to contribute mightily to society despite his difficulties. This is a marvelous book, well worthy of the Edgar Nomination it has received.
