Lucky's Beach: A Novel

Written by Shelley Noble

Narrated by Rachel Perry

New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble takes her readers on another beach adventure where a young woman discovers the power of family and forgiveness.

School teacher Julie Barlow and her two best friends, Beth and Aggie, are looking forward to an adults only beach vacation. Julie also plans to use the time to figure out why her perfectly planned life has gone terribly amiss. They’ve barely hit the road when a frantic call from Julie’s mother hijacks their best laid plans. Uncle Tony “Lucky” Costa is missing. Always entertaining, often irresponsible, never reliable, Uncle Lucky was a favorite with her friends.  For Julie, for whom he’d been a sometimes surrogate father, not so much.

Her mother wants them to take a “teeny” detour to look for the irascible retired surfer. Julie makes excuses. After all, she was the one who decided she never wanted to see Lucky again. Overruled in this as she is in much of her life, Julie and her friends detour to   Lucky’s latest scheme, Lucky’s Beach Bar and Grill.  They find it tucked away in a quaint coastal town on the Delaware coast. With a crescent beach of white sand, large waves, plenty of tanned young men, a lively night life, it’s a perfect beach getaway.

Beth and Aggie see good times ahead, Julie is determined to get through it as quickly as possible. But that will change as she gets to know Lucky’s friends and confidantes. The taciturn bartender, the loyal housekeeper, the local fortune teller, the whole town shares a determination to protect him. But from what?

Soon Julie and her friends are swept up in an effort to save the town's—and Lucky’s— most closely guarded secret. And Julie begins to see her uncle in a new light.

Julie Barlow has a few things to learn about life—and love—and sacrifice. Her lesson begins this summer at Lucky’s Beach.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jun 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062953551

Shelley Noble

Shelley Noble is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Whisper Beach, Beach Colors, and The Tiffany Girls, the story of the largely unknown women artists responsible for much of Tiffany’s legendary glasswork, as well as several historical mysteries. A former professor, professional dancer and choreographer, she now lives in New Jersey halfway between the shore, where she loves visiting lighthouses and vintage carousels, and New York City, where she delights in the architecture, the theatre, and ferreting out the old stories behind the new. Shelley is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Historical Novel Society.

Reviews for Lucky's Beach

[tatoosh-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Julie Barlow and her friends Kayla and Aggie are leaving for a 10-day vacation at Dewey beach in Delaware when her mom phones and asks her to check up on her Uncle Lucky. Mom is worried because Lucky missed their weekly call. Ever the dutiful daughter, Julie agrees to a side trip to check on Uncle Lucky. When the group arrives in the small beach town where Lucky lives they found that he is out of town on business. Everyone they meet knows Lucky, and the townsfolk take an instant liking to Julie and her friends. They assure Julie that Lucky will be back in a few days, and encourage the group to drive on to Dewey beach for their vacation. Julie fears that Lucky is in trouble, and she and her friends stay to provide help.As with many novels, the pace of this story slows in the middle of the book. This would have been a good place to flesh out Kayla and Aggie as characters. Instead, they are absent for long intervals.A niggling irritant is the lack of a clear, cogent description of the community of Lucky’s Beach. Most of the action occurs in six locations: Lucky’s Bar, the Dunes Hotel, Marie Simmons’ house, the mysterious house on the private beach, the small cluster of shops and restaurants, and the beach. The story unfolds as the characters move among these locations. The sketchy description of the community hampered my efforts to create a mental image of the layout and the characters' movements. In Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel, Elizabeth George points out the importance of setting in fiction. Lucky’s Beach provides a clear illustration of the problems that result when an author gives insufficient attention to the setting.The residents of Lucky’s Beach are working on a project that comes to fruition in an implausible penultimate scene. The murky description of the characters’ actions robs the scene of dramatic impact. The book ends in a disappointing thud. Nevertheless, Lucky’s Beach is an enjoyable rom/com in which the romantic element is nicely understated. The romantic attraction is there, but not blatantly in your face as in other recent rom/coms such as Recipe for Persuasion. It is easy to root for Julie, and the secondary characters are likable although poorly developed. The plot was interesting, and the touch of mystery and intrigue kept me engaged throughout.

[dgmlrhodes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a fun beach read with enjoyable characters and storyline. It was nice and lighthearted with a bit of mystery and a bit of romance. The main character is having a personal crisis since she has made many decisions about her life based on what her mother and others wanted for her. It was fun reading about her journey to find herself The characters were one's that you could easily connect with and understand, although there seemed to be a lot to track. The main character and her friends started out on vacation, but took a side trip to find out what was happening with her Uncle Lucky. While they were searching, the group discovers fun and romance to add to the mystery. Overall, a light and enjoyable read! I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.

[fernemysteryreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I did not realize until I updated my reading record that this is the 2nd time that I was lucky enough to receive a copy of a title by Shelley Noble as an “Early Reviewer” from Library Thing. My 1st enjoyment of the author's writing was in 2015 as I read "Whisper Beach."School is in recess for summer vacation and 4th grade teacher Julie Barlow and fellow teachers and girlfriends Kayla and Aggie are about to begin their annual vacation time at the beach together before the start of other summer activities and responsibilities. As the girls are on their way to Dewey Beach, Julie's mother telephones and is frantic as she's on a nurses' cruise and has been unable to reach her younger twin brother. As they connect via phone calls every week Mrs. Barlow can't understand why he hasn't answered his phone or returned her calls. The girls promise to detour to check on Uncle Lucky formally named Tony Costa and as they try to track down the elusive uncle memories and mysteries surface.It seems as though everyone in the small beach town knows Julie's Uncle Lucky. They also seem to be quite aware of Lucky's niece even though she hasn't seen her uncle in years. Though Uncle Lucky was a very important part of her world when Julie's father died she characterized her uncle as entertaining but irresponsible and she hasn't forgotten or forgiven him for broken promises as there was just one too many.It's nice to think of a small beach town all pulling together to care for one another and this time it seems the town is protecting Uncle Lucky although Julie and her friends can't figure out who he's being protected from and why he would need protection. He's an aging surfer who apparently now owns a beach bar and grill. How dangerous can either be?As Julie searches with her friends for Uncle Lucky she is confronted by memories that are different than the perspectives of her friends of times they all shared together after Julie's father died. As their search continues each young woman has decisions to make about their futures and with romance in the ocean air it seems as though this vacation is turning out differently than anyone could have anticipated.I thoroughly enjoyed this "beach" novel as much as my 1st introduction to Shelley Noble's writing. As the author has written multiple "beach reads" as the heading offers on her website I look forward to enjoying more of her titles but I may not be able to wait until next summer to enjoy another one. I also viewed some historical mysteries on her website so I look forward to reading the Lady Dunbridge Mystery series too.

[livelylady · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Chick-lit meets drama. Julie, a burnt out teacher goes on her summer vacay with two fellow teachers. But first they would stop to make sure her uncle was good at his beachside cottage as he had not answered his phone when her mother called. That is where the story begins and kind of meanders through the characters, what is really going on behind the scenes, and decisions she makes. More chick-lit than drama. Good for a light beach read.

[written-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't really care about this story. It started out interesting enough. Julie and her friends going on vacation only to be sidetracked into looking for her missing uncle. She finds the uncle and her friends are happy to stay put at this beach instead of moving on to their original plans. I thought the book dragged a bit with the "mystery" behind what Lucky was up to. I was just glad the have the book end.

[nbmars · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This story felt to me like a “racier” version of a Hallmark movie: summer romance depicted in an inoffensive way, with a predictable outcome of a very improbable story. Where it diverges from the Hallmark formula is the inclusion of some social issues thrown in that would not have made the Hallmark cut.Julie Barlow, 28, is a fourth grade teacher who is good at her job but dissatisfied with her career choice. She has always tried to please her single mom Louise, who wants Julie to make safe choices that will provide security for her future. But Julie feels like something is missing. We get to share her angst throughout the book.As the story begins, Julie and her two BFFs, Aggie and Kayla, also teachers at her school, are taking off for Dewey Beach in Delaware for a 10-day summer vacation. On the way, Julie’s mother, who is on a working cruise (she wouldn’t take any other kind) calls and asks Julie to stop and check on Louise’s twin brother Lucky. Louise calls Lucky every week, but now Lucky isn’t answering his phone and Louise is worried. Lucky runs a bar on a beach near Dewey, so it would not be too far out of their way, and Julie, ever the good girl, agrees to do it.When they locate Lucky’s Beach Bar and Grill, Lucky is indeed not there, and it seems like the whole small, tight-knit town is keeping something from them about where Lucky is. They decide to stick around a few days and see what they can find out; after all, the town is full of single, hot guys (of course). Julie is particularly drawn to Lucky’s surly bartender, Alex, who seems even more determined than anyone else to chase the girls out of town.In alternate chapters we find out that there are problems in the town that seems so idyllic on the surface involving migrants, domestic abuse, and runaway abused kids. None of that gets the same coverage as Julie’s agonizing over self-actualization, but does add some interest to the story.Evaluation: Very predictable but mildly diverting. I could have done with less of Julie’s self-absorption however.

[cyncie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lucky's Beach by Shelley Noble is the story of three teacher friends, Julie, Aggie and Kayla. Julie is not sure she wants to continue to teach, but she is intimidated by her forceful mother and her opinions about staying in a steady job. She is taking this summer to reflect on her future after she has a ten-day beach trip with her friends. Julie presents from the first as being overly influenced by her mother. The friends' summer vacation plans get quickly hijacked when Julie's mom calls and asks if they will make a "quick" detour to check on Uncle Lucky, mom's twin brother. The friends arrive at Lucky's Beach to suspicion from all the natives, and no Lucky. From then on, this is a juvenile sort of mystery. I lost interest after the third chapter but stayed with the book in order to review this library thing giveaway. The last three chapters were better but I would not have finished the book, if I had not felt an obligation to review-just not a very interesting story to me.