A mordantly funny family drama exploring questions of luck, misfortune and privilege. Do any of us get what we deserve?

DO WE DESERVE THIS?
by Eleanor Elliott Thomas
Text Publishing, October 2025

Credit: Karin Locke 2023

When Nina Halloway is left unconscious after a car accident, her three adult children— histrionic pop star Jeremy, uptight lawyer Genevieve, and hapless twenty-something Bean— think it’s the most dramatic thing that will happen to them all year. Then they discover that the lottery ticket Bean bought her mother just before the accident is worth money—a lot of money .

At first, the three of them agree that holding on to the ticket until Nina wakes up is the right thing to do. Then, as various financial problems arise for Jeremy and Genevieve, their resolution is tested. Bean, meanwhile, begins an ambiguous relationship with a colleague whose motivations are unclear: does he know about the lottery win? When she finds out that her mother’s estranged family has made their money in some problematic ways, she begins to doubt whether the Halloways deserve their good fortune at all.

This smart and snarky novel explores big themes and complicated relationships with a light touch, and will appeal to readers of The Rachel Incident, The Long Island Compromise and Such a Fun Age.

Eleanor Elliott Thomas worked for many years as a lawyer before devoting herself to writing full time. She lives in Melbourne with her partner and two daughters. Her debut, The Opposite of Success, was published in 2023 and was shortlisted for the 2024 Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. Her hilarious substack can be read at: https://substack.com/@eleanorelliottthomas