Is it possible that the Lucy part was added as an aim for sort of sexual revolution /modern literature touch? It was amazingly horrible, bad to read bad content(this is my personal opinion). I wonder if anyone ever read the novel before it got into press (I am assuming no , the timeline problems are very obvious even after a cursory read). I think the Luca background story was sort of on the ridiculous side too, it was just too much to be believable.

Kay's personal development/understanding is much more in the focus of the book and I like that a lot. But of course FFC decided to give her different key story in GF 2 which is makes me quite indecisive which universe I like better.

I am sure that in you are right, the readers are like Kay, but she does not have enough role as a woman to lead us through how the Mafia works from the inside. In my opinion Tom Hagen who does that (and helps us and Kay to understand), even more in the novel than in the movie.