Dead Lucky by Connor Hutchinson

Dead Lucky by Connor Hutchinson

A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK!

'Moving and shocking, and profoundly poetic' Mike Leigh, film director

'Almost unbearably compulsive . . . never less than rhapsodically funny' Sunday Times

'A wild ride' Financial Times

'Compelling' Daily Mail

'It's dark comedy meets toxic masculinity' The Times

'[A] sharp debut' The Independent

Think of being on your deathbed and thinking about all them nights where you said no, just 'cause you were a bit short on money. That's not how I wanted to live.

Jamie Fletcher should be the luckiest man in Manchester. His girlfriend Rebecca is out of his league, he has a best mate and drinking buddy in Trick, and he loves his job at a busy funeral home. Preparing the dead is not something Jamie takes lightly - whether it's choosing the right stockings for his old dinner lady, or playing the local butcher's favourite album to him before cremation.

But beneath his seemingly perfect life, Jamie has been keeping a big secret - one he reveals only to the dead. His gambling addiction has left him in eye-watering debt, and he's running out of ways to keep it hidden.

When Rebecca decides it's time for them to buy their first home together, he knows he has to do something to cover his tracks. Desperate, Jamie does what he knows best - he walks up to the bookies and places the biggest bet of his life.

How far will he go until his luck runs out?

Tonight could be the night that changes everything. You just never know.

A stunningly realistic portrayal of gambling addiction. . Dead Lucky announces Hutchinson as a writer to listen to about the love and pain in our society * Ben Halls, author of The Quarry *
Having grown up in working-class North Manchester, I can vouch for the remarkable accuracy of Dead Lucky. But Connor Hutchinson goes beyond surface naturalism to deliver a story that is both moving and shocking, and profoundly poetic. * Mike Leigh, film director *
Here is a gambling novel for our age of stagnant incomes and predatory apps: a boisterous, mordant parable from the backside of Manchester, where hope and delusion mingle inextricably among the boozers and betting shops. With vulgar wisdom and a crackling cant, Hutchinson lures his readers into the flashing heart of the most destructive addiction of them all. * Michael Deagler, author of Early Sobrieties *
My kind of book. Utilising a narrative voice that hooks you in from the off, there's nothing remotely pretentious about this compellingly convincing portrayal of community, ambition, and the perils of addiction. It's real and raw with a refreshing but scarily accurate relatability; I bet lots of readers will be sucked in by this essential story of our times as much as I was * Ashley Hickson-Lovence, author of Your Show and The 392 *
It's dark comedy meets toxic masculinity * The Times *
An often hilarious, sometimes nail-biting, always tender portrait of tight-knit communities, unsung heroes, everyday kindness and ordinary working people caught up in forces beyond their control. * Kate Brook, author of Not Exactly What I Had in Mind. *

Connor Hutchinson is a writer from Manchester. Through the use of dark humour, his work often centres around the themes of masculinity and the working-class areas he was raised. He is also a portrait painter and works in Publicity for Picador, Macmillan.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781472159069
ISBN 10	1472159063
Title	Dead Lucky
Author	Connor Hutchinson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Little, Brown Book Group
Year published	2025-07-10
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.