Disappointing - I'm really tired of the "unreliable narrator" mystery/thriller. I found this one very predictable. The ending did not surprise me at all.

When Chloe was 12, six teenage girls went missing from her small town. Her father was arrested and plead guilty to the crimes - leading police to where they had been buried.

It’s now 20 years later. Chloe has moved away and is a psychologist - determined to leave her past behind. But first a reporter reaches out to her about a story he’s doing about her father’s crimes. And then local teenage girls start to go missing. Is it a copycat?

This was a quick read. But the problem with reading a lot of thrillers is that sometimes I ruin books for myself by seeing the ending coming way too soon. That was the case for me with this one. There were still a couple twists I didn’t expect but no big surprise moment.

Thank you to Minotaur, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the advance reading and listening copies.

What a debut thriller! So masterfully written and well thought out. This story had me hanging on the edge of my seat. When Chloe is younger, six girls go missing in Louisiana. By the end of the summer, her father is arrested as a serial killer. 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist, preparing for her wedding, and still dealing with the aftermath of her father. Suddenly, girls start to go missing again and eerily resemble her father. Cannot wait to see this one on the big screen as it has already been optioned by HBO!

Thank you so much for this opportunity to read A Flicker in the Dark. This piece was an entertaining read; there were moments when it was captivating and gripped my attention like no other. It was a bit of a slow burn, though I appreciated the twists and turns. Overall, I would have to say that this novel was not one of my favorites, though it was a decent thriller and I look forward to checking out this author’s future works..

⭐️ 3.75

A Flicker in the Dark is a slow burning thriller filled with twists and turns that will surprise you up to the very last chapter.
Chloe Davis is a newly engaged, soon to marry psychologist in Louisiana. While she seems to have the picture perfect life, she harbors a secret. When Chloe was a child several teenage girls went missing in her town. She provided key information that lead to her father's arrest and subsequently, her mother tried to take her own life.

Now, 20 years later. Chloe is focused on work and her impending wedding when suddenly 2 girls go missing and are found murdered near her place of work. She is contacted by a NYT journalist and events quickly spin out of her control.

I enjoyed much of this book but found the scenarios and twists implausible. For me, the solution to the puzzle (of the murderer in this case) is as important as the writing. I would definitely read Stacy. Willingham again as I enjoyed the. characterization of Chloe and the settings were realistic.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

Chloe has rebuilt her life - although how does one ever recover from finding out one's father is a serial killer - and has a psychiatric practice, owns her own home, and an attractive and attentive fiancé. But when murders start happening again and one victim is her own patient, it is just a matter of time before the police believe Chloe has inside information.

A fast-paced and unusual thriller.

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Now twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. So when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren't actually there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer?

This novel kept me up late at night trying to figure out who the killer was.  The author brilliantly added so many red herrings to the story, I never guessed the ending.  From the beginning this story gripped me with its unsettling premise.  The unreliable narrator and so many twists and turns kept me interested until the end.  This is honestly one of the best thrillers I've picked up.  I hope more readers get a chance to enjoy it when it comes out next year.

A Flicker in the Dark had me turning pages all night long.

In the summer of '98, six young girls went missing in the small town of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and Chloe Davis' father was arrested for the crimes.

Twenty years later, Chloe lives and works in Baton Rouge. She understands trauma, so she became a psychologist to help others, and herself. But when a young girl goes missing, and then another, she begins to wonder if it's the work of a copycat killer.

I loved the author's descriptions of Chloe's childhood in the crawfish capital of the world. I kept changing my mind about who I thought the killer was, and was satisfied with the ending. This psychological thriller is a fantastic debut from Stacy Willingham.

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the DRC.

A good page-turner! The daughter of a convicted serial killer gets pulled into another series of kidnapping and murder cases. It's a great premise. There were lots of seeds planted from the beginning and I wavered back and forth on what was really true. I had some of it figured out, but there were still some twists that totally surprised me. The book moved at a good pace. It wrapped up with a satisfying conclusion. I will look for more books by this author. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really enjoyed the narrative of this story and the point of view it was told from. I totally thought it was going to be a predictable ending but boy was I wrong! The smaller ensemble made you question everyone at some point but I never quite got it right, which makes me love it more! I also really loved the mc! She was totally relatable in that we all have our demons and make mistakes. A quick read that was thoroughly entertaining!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Twenty years ago young girls started vanishing in Chloe’s small Louisiana town. The summer of terror put everyone on edge, until Chloe’s father confessed to the abduction of the girls. From then on, Chloe has been forever haunted by the actions of her father, being the daughter of a murderer. Now, years later, Dr. Chloe Davis is trying her best to move on, to help others with her physiatry clinic and to plan for her wedding. But the past has its ways of sneaking up on her, when now, in a new town and twenty years later, girls once again start to go missing. Is there a copycat? Or is this all just a big coincidence that Chloe is destined to endure?

A Flicker in the Dark was a quick moving thriller that kept me guessing. Written from Chloe’s perspective, woven between the present and flashbacks to her childhood memories- the story gradually unfolders revealing small bits of information for the reader to piece together. With each new revelation, I started to think I could make connections and figure it out, but really by the end I just did not know who to trust.

Along with a digital arc, I was also privileged to be provided with the audio version of the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the listening experience. The narrator’s voice was clear and crisp and afforded a listener to get into the story and feel invested with the characters through the narrator’s charisma. I will definitely seek out other books read by this narrator in the future.

I LOVED this. I kept jumping back and forth between what I thought happened and what was happening when the new evidence was presented. I kept second guessing myself. I feel like that is the best kind of mystery/thriller. I would recommend.

4.5⭐️

“…it made me realize that monsters don’t hide in the woods; they aren’t shadows in the trees or invisible things lurking in darkened corners.
No, the real monsters move in plain sight.”

I can’t believe this book is the first by this author. Bravo!! This book was one of those books that has you on the edge of your seat, holding on, trying to figure everything out, yelling “watch out!” I was sucked in and couldn’t put it down. So good! I definitely recommend!

At the age of 12 years old, Chloe Davis’s father was arrested for killing 6 girls. She lived her life, the daughter of a serial killer, a monster. Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychiatrist trying to move on from her past, but now girls are starting to disappear again, giving Chloe a sense of deja vu. Are these disappearances connected to her father? Is this the work of a copy cat?

This book had me guessing until the very end. It is full of twists and turns and due to her drinking and prescription drug use, Chloe can be a unreliable narrator, making herself and the reader second guess how she perceives things or if things were real or imagined. The pacing of the book is a little slow at first but takes off towards the end.

Absolutely incredible book — and amazing it’s a debut novel! Well written, twisty, surprising — just so good!

A Flicker in the Dark is the first suspenseful book that kept me awake in a long time. The idea of a father being a serial killer is creep enough but suspecting your fiancé of being a copycat killer was a whole other level. Although I knew Chloe had to have something wrong in her conclusions about her husband, I really dd not expect the final outcome. I got a bit muddled in some of the final chapters- almost like I was missing some information? But in the end, I was very satisfied.

History seems to be repeating itself in Louisiana. Chloe Davis is a psychologist in Baton Rouge, and 20 years ago in her hometown, teenage girls went missing, and Chloe's dad was eventually arrested and convicted for the murders. For her whole life, she's been known as the daughter of a monster. When girls start going missing again, Chloe fears the culprit is again someone a little too close to home.

Oh my gosh this is the most delicious thriller I have devoured in a long time. I was absolutely hooked from chapter one. I found Chloe unreliable as a perspective and questioned everyone in her life. I did dream up who I thought did it very early on... but I would later have several other guesses throughout the novel. UGH it was just so so so dang good! Stop whatever book you're reading and read this one now.

My one tiny complaint is I wanted more in the ending. There were so many characters I wanted to know more about and we don't get much in terms of an epilogue.

Read if... you loved When The Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham.

Chloe has been living her life as a pariah, and in constant need for absolution after her father was arrested for the heinous crimes of murdering young girls. Now Chloe is a psychologist, seeking to help and understand others who have been traumatized. But another girl has gone missing all these years later, and Chloe's road to recovery is quickly derailed.

This is a twisty moving suspense whodunit, with great underlying tension. The characters and their history are very three dimensional. My only complaint was the pace, it did tend to drag a bit. Otherwise, very fun read!

I couldn’t put this down! This is a beautifully written, well paced, character driven thriller. Chloe Davis is haunted by a summer when she was twelve years old. Six, teenage girls go missing from her hometown. At the summer’s close, her father is arrested for the murders. Twenty years later, her past comes back like an unwanted guest. Girls are beginning to disappear. Is it the work of a copycat killer, or is something more sinister at play. Compelling, heart wrenching and tragic describe this tale of lives lost and shattered. Looking forward to seeing the limited series. Amazing debut. This gave me the creepy vibes of Sharp Objects. Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for my copy.