Blind Luck [Paperback]

Would you bet your life on luck? Risk your fortune on a coin toss or wager? In Toronto screenwriter Scott Carter’s debut novel, Dave Bolden could plausibly answer yes. When the driver of an 18-wheel big rig has a seizure and crashes his truck into an office building, Dave is the lone survivor. Dave himself would have fallen victim to the catastrophe, but the mother of all hangovers had driven him from his desk to take refuge in the washroom.

Multi-millionaire investor Mr. Thorrin, who views Dave’s fortuitous survival as an omen, badly wants Dave on his payroll. Dave is sceptical but, deep in debt and newly jobless, he accepts Thorrin’s offer of employment. Dave’s luck is put to the test in assignments that run the gamut from the obvious (picking stocks or predicting the point totals of football games) to the ridiculous (guessing a stranger’s name or the amount of money in someone’s bank account). Carter punctuates the narrative with scenes from Dave’s past, each of which illustrates the effect fortune has had on the man’s life.

Dave’s lucky streak holds, but as the rewards grow, so do the stakes. Luck and risk, after all, are two sides of a single coin, and as the bets become more extreme, pain or death could result if Dave’s luck eventually runs out.

Carter does fine work on the little details of his characters’ appearance and interactions. Dave Bolden is a likeable protagonist, the prose is engaging, and the novel’s pace leaves little time to consider the essential implausibility of its premise. Unfortunately, the narrative flow is broken whenever the author deviates from Dave’s point of view. 

And because Dave’s luck holds out time after time, the novel’s conclusion is never in doubt. If you buy into the premise of the book, the ending is satisfying. If you find the pileup of coincidences begins to strain credulity, neither the climax nor the denouement will prove effective.

Scott Carter has delivered a wonderful debut novel, one that is fresh and original. The book weaves between what is happening and flashbacks in Dave's life that shows how lucky he is. The flashbacks are done in such a way that we can see why Dave doesnt view himself as lucky. These segments add a depth to the tale and a nice backing to make his non-belief in his luck that much more understandable. The book moves quick, is incredibly well written and exciting in a subtle way. I highly recommend this one. (Carl Isonhart Suspense Magazine)

Blind Luck is a well paced story, filled with twists and turns and the edge-of-your-seat nail biting thrills that many gamblers have experienced when testing their luck and leaving things to chance. Carters easy writing style and comfortable characterization makes Blind Luck even more difficult to put down. David Bolden is one of the most relatable, likable, and real characters Ive read in a very long while. (Renee Miller The Canadian Publishing Examiner)

...This page-turner of a novel is a treatise on family, fortune and fate, a fast trip into the world of chance. Couple it up with Russell Smiths Girl Crazy and you have two very smart, stylish works of big city imagination. (Andrew Armitage The Owen Sound Sun Times)

Carter does fine work on the little details of his characters appearance and interactions. Dave Bolden is a likeable protagonist, the prose is engaging. (Quill & Quire)

Lucky us, to have author Scott Carter among us. The Beach-bred and Riverdale-dwelling teacher and screenwriter has produced his first novel, Blind Luck, and its a terrific read. (Eric McMillan Toronto Reads)

The book I read is called Blind Luck by a Canadian Author named Scott Carter...its truly an amazing read (Todd Shapiro 102.1 The Edge)

Blind Luck is an extremely engaging novel. Carter, who is also a screenwriter (and English teacher), has crafted a book that craves to be made into a film. The action never flags, the characters are sharply drawn (especially Dave, whom I imagine played by John Cusak), and the scene shifts from Daves past to present are smoothly handled... (Bill Maclean The Beach Metro)