Chloe Davis is a medical psychologist with a dark family history. Chloe is currently happy and in love, engaged to Daniel. But history seems to be repeating itself. With A Flicker in the Dark Stacy Willingham manages to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy to review.

Completely immersive read. Very atmospheric & dark. I love when i can completely picture the world within the pages and feel myself there and this one did that for me. It was gritty and heart pounding at times. Very detail oriented as well which helped you draw the picture but not overly done. I loved how the chapter ends left this little hook that dropped your jaw and made you think, ok just one more chapter.

There were plenty of red herrings. Definitely made me question so many things and people. I had an inkling of who it was through a good bit of the book but kept questioning myself on it. There were some surprises & ultimately i did have it figured out but wasn’t sure so it wasn’t bothersome. Very twisty & a book that will suck you in.

This book was gripping and addictive…and so full of red herrings that you have no idea where the story is going at any given moment. It’s beautifully written with a plot that flows like water - the type of book that sucks up hours of your time without you even noticing.

This is an incredibly well done debut that kept me on the edge of my seat. Stacy Willingham crafted a main character I liked and felt empathy for, despite some of the choices her past traumas lead her to make. In stories like this, it's standard to find suspicious behaviors in just about every character, and the author does an excellent job making everyone worthy of suspicion. The sticky heat, the bits of back story, the horrifying discoveries- this book creates an atmosphere and sets up the story in a very immersive way. This author is absolutely one to watch.

A Flicker in the Dark

By: Stacy Willingham

Chloe is a psychologist who is simultaneously preparing for her upcoming wedding and trying to forget about her past. A past where several teenage girls were murdered and the murderer turned out to be her father. Just as Chloe has started to find happiness with her fiancé, Daniel, teenage girls begin to disappear again close to her new home. The new murders seem connected to her past and Chloe sets out to find and stop the new killer.

This is one of those excellent whodunit thrillers where you 1) are unable to put the book down, and 2) find yourself suspicious of nearly every single character in the book. My original suspicion turned out to be correct, but I questioned myself up until the very end. This author did a wonderful job keeping the audience engaged with twists and turns and I can’t wait to read more from her.

I will post my review to Goodreads, my book blog and Amazon closer to the publication date.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars. What a FANTASTIC debut! I plowed through this book in a day - could not stop reading.
Very intense thriller about Chloe, a psychologist whose father is a convicted serial killer, and the copycat crimes that start around the 20th anniversary of his conviction. Chloe is a mess - a fully realized character with flaws. Is she crazy, paranoid, or unfortunately close to a killer once again?

"When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren't really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?"

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars: This is a great example of a really well told thriller that may not be the most innovative in its plotting or character types, but the writing itself is so solid that it takes the story to the next level. Particularly for a debut, I was really impressed with the writing quality. This is a trope I enjoy (e.g. is there a new serial killer copy cat or did we get the wrong guy the first time around?) and all around, I had a good time in this one!

I am absolutely amazed that this was a debut! Absolutely amazing!

This story takes place in Louisiana, where six girls go missing. Chloe, the main character is 12 years old when her father confesses to the crimes.

Now, twenty years later, Chloe is a grown woman and Psychologist and who is also soon to be married. Suddenly, girls that are connected to Chloe start going missing and Chloe is having horrible feeling like she did when she was 12. Are these crimes connected somehow to her past or to her father? A must read that will keep you on your toes with all the twists.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stacy Willingham and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. I love seeing characters who experience something dark trying to do better in their adult lives by helping others. I also love seeing main characters trying to solve crimes on their own and getting into all sorts of bad situations; so this book was perfect for me. I suspected all the characters in this novel at one time or another and although I wasn't surprised by the ending, I really enjoyed it!

I received an ARC of this book. A dark mystery that kept me guessing until the end. Every time I thought I knew the answer a new twist would come up that changed everything. Intriguing and addictive, I couldn't stop reading this page-turner. Highly recommend!

Lots of surprises in this book even though it started out as a very slow read for me. I had a hard time getting into it since the female protagonist, Chloe, had a lot of demons in her past that she kept referring to but not really telling me what was going on. I also did not care for the unethical way she obtained prescription drugs to take. The second half of the book was a lot better than the first half and I ended up really enjoying it.

Thank you NetGalley and that publisher for the ARC of this very interesting book.

A great debut thriller! This is the story of Chloe, whose father was convicted of being the serial killer of quite a few young girls when she was 12. Now years later, Chloe is a psychologist who is trying to trying live the most normal life she can, young girls start disappearing around her, and she is she is once again thrown into the center of the investigation. Although for whatever reason I found it a bit slow going in the beginning, things picked up a lot — definitely by the halfway point — and this became a real page turner for me. I thought I had all figured out, and at one point was congratulating myself for having done so, but more twists and turns occurred so that my self-congratulation was definitely premature! The plot line is well-scripted, the writing is very good, and the characters are well-developed.

Overall, this was a great read, and I look forward to more from this author.

This book did not capture my attention within the first 50%, and as such I was unable to finish. This may be better suited for another reader

I couldn’t put this down! It was a really fast read. It’s the story of Chloe who is dealing with growing up as the daughter of a serial killer. It was easy to slip into Chloe’s mind and feel empathy for her. I did feel like some of the mystery was a little predictable, but I really liked reading this!

**Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur/St. Martin's Press, and Stacy Willingham for an ARC of this book!**

A sizzling and scintillating debut!

Chloe Davis has been trying to escape her demons since the tender age of 12. See, this is the year that six young women went missing...and one man was deemed guilty for their disappearances. The one man a girl should ALWAYS be able to depend on...Chloe's own father. From the minute he is put behind bars, life isn't the same for Chloe and brother Cooper, who cannot escape the ominous cloud of mystery that hovers over them in their tiny Louisiana town. The two struggle to move towards a new normal and Chloe's mother never quite recovers, carrying a unique burden all her own.

Twenty years have passed and Chloe is deeply embedded in her 'new' life. Swoony and safe Daniel has come into her world, and the two are due to be married any day. Chloe is a psychologist now, putting her struggles aside to help others, and one day a teen girl comes to her practice who reminds Chloe of her own teenage self. Is it fate that the two should meet? Flickers of her past quickly ignite into a flame she can't ignore when the very same girl she counseled turns up missing...just like so many years before. These echoes become a roar that even Chloe's pills can't drown out, and when the killer's actions mirror her father a little TOO closely and a journalist comes a-calling, Chloe starts to question how her father's reach could extend through prison bars and out into the real world...and exactly how well does she know Daniel? Why are so many patches of her own memory hazy? And could she be so much CLOSER to the crimes than she ever imagined?

My expectations were pretty high coming into this read, but the premise hooked me and I got easily caught in the web of Chloe's thoughts, which at times was a pretty tangled jumble. Willingham tied past and present together in a clever fashion, straying from the "Now" and "Then" format so many thriller writers lean on and instead having Chloe's flashbacks or memories appear mid-paragraph, leaving the reader even more baffled as to fact vs. fiction and of course, never knowing whether or not to trust Chloe as a narrator. Add in the requisite pill-popping and muddled thinking, and Chloe's tale wound every which way, leaving me scratching my head at times and FRANTICALLY flipping pages. This is the first book in a while that I've been compelled to pick up (and the first I've finished in 3 days!) so that's the hallmark of addictive, keeps-you-guessing writing. I was so sure this would be a 5 star read for me and it nearly was...

UNTIL I realized I had guessed the ending...from quite early on, surprisingly (most of all to me!)

This is not to say that Willingham doesn't hide the truth fairly well, because I think she did a fantastic job, and although my hunch was correct, that didn't stop me from taking a journey down every open ended path she presented and questioning my instincts over and over. Do some plot elements fall a little too neatly into place? Sure. But I didn't mind that aspect too much, and I was able to suspend my disbelief without feeling too disappointed.

This book is a little bit serial killer exposition, a little bit unreliable narrator psychological thriller, and a whole LOT of exciting and thrilling writing sure to put Stacy Willingham on the map in the genre. I am already excited for next book and would wholeheartedly recommend this read to thriller buffs new and old (although newbies might be a bit more shocked by the ending.)

If from a tiny spark may burst a mighty flame...then Willingham is poised to set the genre ABLAZE!

4 stars, rounded down from 4.5

This is a well written book. A daughter of a serial killer is now a psychologist, except girls are going missing again and her father is still in prison. Chloe finds herself in the middle of a huge drama. I figured out who the real killer was fairly early on. It’s a good read for suspense and thrill.

The summer that Chloe Davis was 12, six teenage girls went missing in her small town. By the end of the summer, Chloe's father had been arrested as the man who had killed all six of those girls.

Now, 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and a month away from her wedding to the handsome Daniel. She's tried desperately to move on from her past, but with the anniversary of her father's crimes coming up, she can feel the darkness starting to creep back up. Then, a local teen goes missing. And then another. It's all starting to feel a little too familiar.

This book. MANNNNNNNNN. Stacy Willingham. #1 - do you want to be friends? #2 - how is this your first book? I was pretty sure I had it ALLLLL figured out. And then I was like, YES! I knew it! And then, I didn't and then, I did, and didn't, and did, and this a twist, and then...It just kept going. This is excellent thriller writing. Character and atmosphere building are perfect. I was in the swamp with Chloe. I could hear the mosquitos and taste the sweet tea.

Thank to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Omg! This is my favorite book of 2021. There is so many twists and turns. When you think you have it all figured out there is a new twist. I can’t believe this is a debut novel, it feels like a veteran author writing their next bestseller.

5 out 5 star!!

On the outside, Chloe Davis has her life together: she is a successful psychologist with a picturesque house in an upscale Baton Rouge neighborhood. She has the perfect, caring fiance and is planning her wedding. But on the inside, she is a hot mess. Chloe’s father is a serial killer. 20 years ago, her father was convicted of murdering 6 teenage girls in Breaux Bridge, LA. With the emergence of a copycat killer, Chloe’s fragile existence is at the point of shattering. When one of her patients goes missing, she is pulled back into her past.

This is a gripping read. Chloe is an unreliable narrator with a compelling voice that sucked me in from the first pages. She is high-strung, tense, and often sees things that are not real. Chloe also self-medicates to keep the past at bay. As a reader, she had me guessing what was actually happening versus what she believed to be happening. At the same time, Chloe makes some dumb choices and doesn’t see what is in front of her face. There were times when I wanted to shake her and others when she took me by surprise. The reader never really knows what Chloe is going to do; she is off-kilter and keeps one on their toes.

The first half of the book is tightly wound. However, it wanes a bit at a certain point, and Chloe and the plot get a little old. The last third of the book gets a little messy. Events happen quickly, parts are glossed over, and others feel contrived.

However, the strengths outweigh the flaws. Chloe is a complicated narrator who commands the plot. In addition to Chloe, Willingham creates a tense atmosphere that gave me the creeps. I guessed part of the ending, but there was one twist I didn't see coming.

All in all, A Flicker in the Dark is a suspenseful and satisfying thriller. This is Willingham’s debut, and I look forward to reading her next book.

A Flicker in the Dark, Stacy Willingham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🙏🏼 Gifted eARC copy from @netgalley and @minotaur_books

READ IF:
* You’ve ever had a “flicker” of deja vu.
* As a kid, you had one of those jewelry boxes with a twirling pink ballerina.
* You binge watched “Mindhunter.”

SYNOPSIS: As a psychologist, Dr. Chloe Davis is adept at helping her patients navigate trauma. And it’s no wonder - as a child, she watched as six girls went missing in her Louisiana town and then had to deal with the aftermath of own father admitting to killing them all.

As the 20th anniversary of his arrest fast approaches, a girl is found dead not far from Chloe’s office and another girl goes missing, a patient whose last sighting was attending her weekly appointment. What should be a coincidence feels too much like deja vu and Davis is compelled to find out if there is a copycat serial killer lurking in the bayou.

REVIEW: My Netgalley shelf did not disappoint, yet again! So thankful to have the opportunity to preview these amazing books - this one hits the shelves January 11, 2022. I went into this pretty blind and could not put it down! Debut author, Stacy Willingham shares all of Chloe’s neurosis in a first-person narrative that masterfully builds a tension filled plot from beginning to end. So many twists, none of which I predicted, kept the pace racing to the finish. I was perpetually on a see-saw of thinking I had it all figured out and then being proven wrong. Extra points for anyone who can count how many times she’s uses the word “flicker”, which I thought was such a cool touch. Have a feeling this one will be flying off the real shelves come 2022 - add to your TBR today!