I'm going to make this short and sweet. Stacy Willingham is a debut novelist, and her writing is strong enough that she has the makings of a good book in her. Unfortunately, this is not it. I never want to disparage new writers, but the plot of A Flicker in the Dark was so predictable that I had it figured out in the very early chapters. I was so sure of where the book was going that I did something I NEVER do -- I flipped to the final chapter. It confirmed my suspicions, so I marked the book as 'Read,' and moved on to my next book. I read a lot of great, good, mediocre, and bad books, but I can't deal with predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

At twelve, Chloe Davis had to confront the truth: that monsters live among us. When her father was arrested for the murder of six young girls, Chloe lost herself. Through guilt, trauma, and distrust, Chloe established a new life for herself. Now a successful psychologist and engaged to an idyllic and loyal man, she is doing everything to forget about the past. However, as the twentieth anniversary of her father's murders approaches, more girls start disappearing. Chloe is forced to face the deepest reaches of her history and fears. She doesn’t know who to trust, especially when the murders seem to be targeting her. She is not even safe among the people she loves. Willingham crafts characters that are authentic in complexity and imperfection. The plot is engaging, thoughtful, and unexpected, which is sure to fascinate even the most prolific mystery and thriller readers. This novel is perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and Alice Feeney.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 4.5/5 stars

When Karin Slaughter blurbs your book, I will read your book. A Flicker in the Dark is a debut novel from an author who writes like she is on her 20th novel. The story follows Chloe Davis, a psychologist still haunted by her past. When she was 12, she found out her father was a serial killer who killed 6 teenage girls in their small town. When a local girl goes missing and Chloe sees similarities between the crime and those of her father’s, she has to discover whether she is being paranoid or about to come face to face with a killer..again.

A Flicker in the Dark is disturbing, ominous, and thrilling. I cannot believe this is a debut novel. I could not stop reading this mystery and demand a movie or tv series. Luckily, Emma Stone (!!) is producing an adaptation for HBO Max. This is for sure a top mystery of 2022 and a must-read for Karin Slaughter fans.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted on publication date.

A Flicker In the Dark by Stacy Willingham is a wonderful, atmospheric mystery about a woman whose grim past and reality come to a head. I was drawn in immediately and sucked into Chloe’s life an past. The writing is lyrical and eerie, really adding to the plot. I loved the narration by Karissa Vacker. Her voice perfectly embodied how I pictured Chloe and really helped enhanced the story. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for an atmospheric mystery!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook / audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

For a first book, this really hit it out of the park! Lots of twists and turns. Lots of questioning the characters actions and motives. Lots and lots. I'll admit to a few "stop, wait, what?" moments while reading the book where I thought the main character Chloe jumped too quickly at some things and it felt a bit out of character for her. But overall, I could feel her unsettledness and confusion at what was going on around her. It made for a good story to follow. I look forward to see what the author offers in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

Another thriller wherein I find the plot really interesting, but the main character annoying. I'm okay with the characters of thrillers being very flawed people (it's what I love about thrillers), but I really dislike when characters just make really dumb decisions and that's what Chloe does in the story and it takes away from what is going on in the story. I'm not going to give anything away, but I think that some things could have been done differently that would have made the suspense even greater. Overall, still an enjoyable read and look forward to more from this author.

A Flicker in the Dark is one of the best thrillers I have read in a while. The author had me fooled right up to the end!

Chloe is the daughter of a convicted abductor and serial killer. One of the victims was her best friend. She is now grown and is a psychologist, but this doesn’t mean she isn’t fighting her own demons.

It is now the 20th anniversary of her father’s conviction. Chloe is planning a wedding and dealing with her brother’s lack of approval, when abductions and murders start up again. She is being contacted by a reporter who wants to do a story on her family and these new cases. I didn’t see the end coming!

I loved the author’s attention to small details throughout the book and tying them into the entire story. The book is fast paced and suspenseful. I couldn’t put it down!

I also had the luxury of obtaining the audio copy as well. This allowed me to keep going even in the car or while cooking supper! There were two different narrators that did a fantastic job. There were two different male perspectives, and it would have been more helpful to have those voices separated. That has nothing to do with the performances though.

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillanaudio for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Talk about an impressive debut. This story follows Dr. Chloe Davis from age twelve, when six teenaged girls went missing in her small hometown, her father being arrested for five of the abductions/murders. Twenty years later a copycat killer starts where her father left off. Or so you’d think. Wow! In no way was this story what I thought it was, so be prepared going in that absolutely nothing is at it seems in this book. And was I ever SURPRISED by the twisty conclusion (in a good way!) I loved all the red herrings spread throughout that kept me guessing to the end. I had so much fun getting caught up in the storyline. A great book for psychological thrill seekers!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for kindly approving an arc in return for an honest review.

I read this in a few hours. I liked how this story was layered. I thought it was so many different things and turned out to be wrong ultimately, which is the best.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange fir an honest review

I was eagerly anticipating this one and it was such a solid debut thriller!

The writing is fantastic, mixing the past and present effortlessly, and the mystery kept me guessing and changing my theories every other chapter.

Can't wait for the tv series!

Thank you so much St. Martin's Press and Monotaur Books for my advanced copy of A Flicker in the Dark by stacy Willingham in exchange for my honest review. This book had me on the edge of my seat from page 1! The twist had me shocked and I loved how fast the plot moved! Very well done!

This is a well crafted thriller about the daughter of a serial killer who is haunted not only by the past but frightened by the present as another killer (or is it?) comes close. Chloe's father confessed to the murder of 6 girls and has been in prison for 20 years. She, along with her brother Cooper, were deeply scarred by this but now she's a (self medicating) medical psychologist who is engaged to Daniel and trying to plan her wedding. And then young women start to go missing and she's pulled in. How reliable is she as a narrator? Well, know that her story will come out slowly and that there are hints dropped along the way (I saw one early on but was wrong) about the people in her orbit. Chloe's an interesting and sympathetic character (except for the drug issue) - imagine this was your family- who has struggled to keep her head up. The pacing and story telling are both good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me - it's a page turner.

Thank you so much for the advanced readers copy of, A Flicker in the Dark, 4.5 ⭐️

I couldn’t put this book down, and that says something! I sometimes have a difficult time connecting to a book right away, but this did not take its time!

This story is so full of great characters, huge red herrings, twists & turns, that I truly did not see coming! I highly recommend this book, it’s excellent! Very well written; can’t wait to read more from this author!

4 stars

A Flicker in the Dark took me on some high highs and low lows, my friends. Go read it.

I have been trying to get back into the thriller genre after really getting burnt out on it during 2020 and I thought that maybe picking up something from a debut author would be a good way to ease back into the fray. It's a fairly paint-by-numbers plot with quite a few modern thriller tropes packed in for good measure. I admit that there were quite a few moments where I was rolling my eyes because I felt like the book was committing what, to me, is the cardinal sin of mystery writing: attempting to misled the reader so far in one direction that they actually project who the real perpetrator is.

However, Willingham subverted my expectations by using my own hubris against me. Following what I thought was the big reveal, she then delivered a series of subsequent reveals that had me gasping so loud that I concerned my mother in the next room. By forcing me to throw out any theories that I had come up with through her enthralling prose, she delivered the maximum impact to this slightly jaded reader.

I'm so happy to be proven wrong and I'm really excited to see more from Stacy Willingham in the future

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This book has been one of the most highly anticipated reads for me since I first heard about it - and it delivered everything I wanted y'all! Not only was it a highly suspenseful book but the descriptions and imagery were really well written and brought me right back to the South. I have attended crawfish boils and crawfish festivals and I felt like I was there with the characters, having been to similar events in my past.

A few of my friends told me they correctly guessed who had committed the crimes in this book but even as an avid thriller fan, I did not! There were too many suspects - all with seemingly rational motives - for me to know for sure. That is what makes a good thriller for me. I want the shock and surprise at the end!

This book really was a 10/10 for me. I highly recommend it!

One of the best thrillers I’ve read in 2022 so far! A Flicker in the Dark was such an intriguing story. It was intense and full of plot twists, family secrets, serial killers and unresolved childhood trauma. Chloe was an unstable yet compelling narrator. The other characters were very well developed and interesting. A lot of reviewers mentioned this book was slow, however I breezed through this book in two days. I thought this book was so well written. It’s hard to believe this is Stacy Willingham’s first book! Can’t wait to see what she has in store next!
A must read for 2022 and all thriller lovers!!
I will post my review on Instagram @thrillersandcoffee

Chloe Davis is a psychologist living in Louisiana about to get married when 2 teens go missing. She can’t help but think back to when she was 12 and the same thing happened to teen girls in her small home town. There are similarities but that can’t be possible because the man who was charged is still in jail. She knows this because that man is her father. Can Chloe find who is behind this new wave and still maintain her sanity?

This book was amazing! There were so many twists that I kept changing my mind on what I thought was happening. I loved how all the pieces fell into place at the end, so satisfying.

I love a good thriller that keeps me guessing and changing my theories as I read. A Flicker in the Dark does just that. I was still trying to figure out the plot up until the end. I enjoyed this fast paced thriller and recommend it to all thriller lovers.

Wow, wow, wow! If this is the kind of writing we can expect from Stacy Willingham- SIGN ME UP!

When Chloe was twelve years old several teenagers disappeared from her small town in Louisiana. By the end of the summer her dad has admitted to the crimes and is sent to prison for life. Fast forward to adulthood and Chloe is working in Baton Rouge as a psychologist. She has finally found happiness when a few girls from her new home in Baton Rouge go missing. Is it happening again? Is she imagining that parallels from her past?

Buckle up for a story where Stacy Willingham carefully drops breadcrumbs from start to finish.

An edge of your seat book. Goosebumps will dance up and down your spine. Your heart will ache for Chloe as she struggles to understand what happened and why didn't see what was right in front of her. Dad or Demon? That's for you to discover. Happy reading!