Absolutely loved this debut thriller. I saw the twist coming, but that's more of a result of me reading so much in this genre. It was twisty, I liked the main character, and rooted for the love story. Perfect read for winter vacation.

Edge of your seat thriller!
Let's start with the background. When Chloe was twelve six teenage girls disappeared, and by the end of that summer, her own father was arrested. He was tried and convicted of being a serial killer. This of course was a difficult time for Chloe and her family to have to face what happened and to deal with the aftermath.
Now skip 20 years later and Chloe is a psychologist at a private firm, while she seems to be having a few issues like getting a prescription under her significant others name. Along with getting ready for her own wedding, she seems like she's having anxiety and pressure about it all.
Then another teenager goes missing and brings back all the memories and feelings about what happened 20 years earlier.
I enjoyed this novel immensely! Then because of the narrator Chloe I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time because she is very unpredictable and you never knew what she was going to do next! In the beginning, Chloe lets her paranoia about her past kind of color how she sees things and she begins to hesitate about who she can trust. Then as things progress there are soo many twist and turns but while some of them are expected many are not so this author really knows how to keep you on your toes!
If you love twisty psychological thrillers then this should be your next read! Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I knew I needed to read A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham after reading a glowing review of the story posted by my friend on Goodreads. This review is -still- months later receiving compliments and more discussion. I requested the ARC not truly expecting to get it and then surprise! I was approved by the publisher. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for making the title available to me.

Chloe Davis's hometown of Breaux Bridges, Louisiana, was the terrifying territory of a serial killer who targeted teenage girls in 1998. Her father was later convicted of the murders, although their bodies were never recovered. Twenty years later, Chloe has somehow, against the odds, managed to make a decent life for herself, earning a living as a psychologist in Baton Rouge. She's engaged to a wonderful man. Life seems good. Then local teenage girls begin to go missing near her new home, and she can't help but see parallels between now and then.

This novel is like an unraveling ball of yarn. If character depth could be described with color, Chloe and a couple of the more important minor characters would be deep Louisiana swamp green with occasional glimmers of fluorescent firefly yellow-green. She is definitely a flawed, unreliable narrator, and I felt like I was losing my mind right alongside her at moments. I could see the end of the unraveling yarn from a ways away, about a third of the way through actually. However, there were knots I was not expecting at all. The humid, ever present (in the back of one's mind) swamp was the knitting needle stuck through the yarn before it began to unravel. There is something about a mystery/thriller having a Louisiana setting that just works and works well. Maybe it's because the humidity would drive me crazy and does drive people crazy there. Maybe it's the alligators. My money would be on the bayou and the limitless potential for body disposal -- Forgive me. The setting works.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked that there were some knots in the yarn, but I didn't like that I did figure out the true core of the story before it was told to me. Unfortunately, that's a side effect of reading so many thrillers. One starts to have a sense for what the author may do. Even though I did figure things out before I was intended to, the story was never boring. It was a fun journey to be on getting to the end, proving my theory right, and filling in some of the little details.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers, you'll enjoy this one for sure and I definitely recommend it to you.

I’m not a professional in any way shape or form. I can’t pick out the finer points or analyze the correct way to write a story. I can’t tell you if it’s laid out properly for a psychological thriller. I just know what I like and I liked this. A lot! It kept me glued to my chair to the very last page. It thrilled me every single minute.

Past

When Chloe was 12 years old, they arrested her father for the deaths of 6 teenage girls. From then on, her life was never the same.


Present

It has been 20 years since her father was arrested. It has taken a long time, but Chloe has finally found some happiness in her life. Chloe is working as a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge. She is also busy with planning her wedding! On the outside she looks like a girl who has finally put the past behind her and in some ways she probably thinks she has, but pictures can be deceiving.

When a local woman goes missing, Chloe’s life is sent spinning. You see, this isn't just any girl, this is one of Chloe's patients and she was the last person to be seen with her! Could it really be a copycat?

A Flicker in the Dark is creepy, dark and filled with twists and turns! The writing in this book is fantastic! The character building is just as wonderful! The author did an amazing job with all the different layers that made up the characters! In the beginning, the pace is great and then it slows down and at the end everything just comes at once. It's chaos, but it’s good chaos! I am proud to say that I could guess some of the end, but I was not expecting that one twist! You guys are going to love this book when it comes out this winter! Happy reading everyone!

Thank you St. Martins Press and Minotaur Books for sharing this book with me!

I'm always down for a good thriller, especially one that has a couple of twists with it. A Flicker in the Dark not only has the suspense and twists it also has the beauty of an unreliable narrator. Chloe has had a rough life but things have been looking up in the past year since meeting her fiancé Daniel. The wedding is only a couple months away but it will also be the 20 anniversary of her father going to prison for kidnapping and murdering six teen girls. Girls start to go missing again and Chloe finds herself in the middle of it all. While its not SUPER obvious who the killer is in this story it was fairly easy to narrow it down. I had thought of the twist at one point during reading but had dismissed it as being too far fetched. While I enjoyed the plot and story the writing was lacking a little. There were a lot of scenes that were repetitive. For instance I'm pretty sure Chloe speaks about and describes the scene between her and Lena with the bellybutton ring AT LEAST three times. There were other instances like this which just really dragged down the pace of the story. Overall it is a decent thriller and would recommend.

A woman who was traumatized by her serial killer father becomes a psychologist to help others deal with trauma. When young women known to her begin to disappear, she wonders whether there is a copycat killer targeting her for some reason.

A thriller set in my neighboring state of Louisiana? A main character who is the adult daughter of a serial killer and may or may not be unraveling? A chance to read it during spooky season? Yes to all of the above please!

A Flicker in the Dark is intense and atmospheric, and I was fully engaged from the first page to the last. I especially loved the complex characters and the masterfully layered plot. I thought I had guessed the ending, but the final twist got me.

If you love a good edge-of-your-seat suspense read, I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR. I predict everyone will be talking about it in January when it’s published.

It’s hard to believe this is Stacy Willingham’s debut novel. I will be waiting with great anticipation to see what she writes next. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the HBOMax adaptation of A Flicker in the Dark. Emma Stone will be producing and acting in the starring role.

But you’re definitely going to want to read the book first. Trust me on this.

My thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before its January 11, 2022 publication date.

4.25 – 4.5 STARS

“A Flicker in the Dark” is a gripping psychological thriller, one that drew me in right from the start and held me captive right up until the very end. Even though I was able to piece together the truth long before the actual reveal, I remained engaged from start to finish. I always enjoy a darkly riveting story and this debut novel by Stacy Willingham didn’t disappoint! I look forward to reading any future books that this author writes!!

Stacy Willingham has penned a great psychological thriller! Chloe Davis is a 32 year old psychologist in the present with her own practice. She has issues herself stemming from her past where her Dad was arrested as a serial killer in the cases of teenage girls who disappeared from their small town in Louisiana. In present time, girls start missing in the town of Baton Rouge where Chloe now lives and works. The cases are very similar to the disappearances in Chloe's past.

I was impressed with the writing. While the seriousness of the killings was conveyed, the grisly details were not front and center in this book. The plot was well-paced and kept my attention throughout. The tension built as the book progressed. The characters well fitting and well fleshed out. Settings were lyrically described and interesting.

Chloe was the narrator, and was definitely unreliable. Red herrings abound and there were great twists and turns.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on January 11, 2022.

Whew! A Flicker in the Dark might be one of the more intense thrillers I’ve read in some time! Stacy Willingham does an impressive job with this debut psychological suspense novel featuring psychologist Chloe Davis as the unreliable narrator.

When Chloe was twelve, teenage girls in her small Louisiana town began disappearing, one by one. Imagine the horror she, her brother, and mother felt when her father was arrested and charged with the murders! The family was harassed and left to pick up the pieces of their lives with that stigma of being related to Dick Davis following them wherever they went.

Twenty years later, Chloe is Dr. Chloe Davis, a practicing psychiatrist. Once, while she was in college, she mistakenly tried to impress a boy at a party by telling him she was going to go for her doctorate, then hopefully, her masters. I assume this was the author’s error. Chloe also believes that there are only three states that permit psychologists to prescribe medications. This surprised me, as I didn’t think they were allowed this at all. However, I learned that there are really five: Louisiana, New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, and Idaho. This data is from August 2020. Chloe takes full advantage of her prescribing privilege; in fact, she abuses it. She self-prescribes, using her fiancé’s name
obtain Xanax and other medications to take the edge off her anxiety. She tells herself that she’s not hooked, but she’s careless with her drugs, frequently combining them with alcohol. This is one of the main reasons why she is an unreliable narrator. The reader simply cannot trust that her judgement of a situation or of any person is sound.

However, she is engaged to a wonderful man, Daniel Briggs, who seems perfect in every way. Is he too perfect? He ticked my radar. He seems overly attentive, overly protective – when he is there. He is often gone on business trips for his job as a pharmaceutical representative.

Then there’s Chloe’s brother, Cooper. He’s super protective too. He doesn’t like Daniel, doesn’t seem to trust him. Is he jealous? Or is there another reason? Chloe is bothered that Coop feels this way because she really wants her brother to be part of her wedding. Why can’t he accept Daniel?

The plot intensifies when a girl goes missing. Chloe just happens to join the search and finds an earring. Now, suddenly, she is involved in a police matter. One thing leads to another. A body. A mysterious reporter. Another missing person…Chloe’s interest in these affairs intensifies as well because she’s sure it’s a copycat killer, someone who’s familiar with her father’s case. Is she somehow a target?

Despite my lack of emotional connection to Chloe as a person, or to any of the characters, really, I couldn’t help being drawn into the story. Ms. Willingham effectively weaves in memories from Chloe’s past with her present situation. The author also does a superb job building suspense, creating red herrings, and casting doubt and suspicion. I changed my mind several times and still got it wrong! As a debut novel, this is quite well done. And, to credit Ms. Willingham, Chloe does change and grow by the end of the book.

A Flicker in the Dark was an ARC from NetGalley and Minotaur Books. My thanks to them and to the author. Opinions expressed are my own.

Wow what a rush. This book was extremely well written. It grabs you from the first chapter and clenches you in it’s horrifying fist till the last page. I love books where you just know things are not exactly what they seem. Twists and turns and fear throughout. Amazing characters that make you feel depth in this book. Absolutely terrifyingly perfect

I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful thriller. Chloe Davis is a 32 year old psychologist, still trying to put her traumatic past behind her. When she was 12 years old six girls disappeared from her small Louisiana community; her father was subsequently convicted of the crimes and is serving multiple life sentences in prison. Flash forward to the present - Chloe has completed her studies, moved to Baton Rouge, set up a private practice and is engaged to marry a guy who she thinks may be too good to be true. When several girls disappear in a similar manner with similar signatures, she dramatically tries to solve the cases on her own, but her own past keeps haunting her so she is way less than an objective investigator.

Very well written, especially for a first novel. The main characters are well drawn and complex. The book had me turning the pages at a breathless pace right to the very end.

Thank you #NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. I predict great success for this book and hope for a prolific writing future for the author.

I really wanted to love this one, especially because that cover is one of my favorites and the snyopsis sounded amazing. It just didn't quite hit me as hard as some other thrillers have. Don't get me wrong, I did still enjoy it but it didn't wow me.

I felt like this had a lot of slow and repetitive parts. Once we find out about Chloe's father murdering six girls when she was young it seems we keep discussing it. Over and over again the author discusses how the dad murdered those girls. Chloe just seems to be stuck reliving those moments. Now as an adult she fears everything and when girls start going missing again she can't help but think is there a copy cat killer out there?

As I said before this isn't my favorite thriller book, but I was still intrigued and felt myself wanting to keep reading. I needed to know who was killing these girls and why they seemed to all be connected to Chloe. I wasn't jaw dropped shocked when the twist came, but I still enjoyed it and thought it was clever.

All in all, I think this is a good thriller! Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur books, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent story! Totally engrossing!. Looking forward to reading more by this author! Could not put this down!

When Chloe was 12 years old, her father went to prison as a convicted serial killer of teenage girls. Twenty years later, Chloe is reliving the nightmare her mother and brother experienced when a copycat killer starts taking girls who are somehow connected to her. Chloe begins to suspect her fiance and tries playing amateur detective with the help of a NYT reporter. The police don't trust her and dig into her past to prove that she's been unstable before and suggest that with the pressure of her upcoming wedding that she is not in her right mind again. As Chloe digs into her fiance's past, she draws her own conclusions and acts upon them with deadly results. "A Flicker in the Dark" keeps the pages turning and the identity of the killer becomes a part of the puzzle that both readers and Chloe must solve.

Great debut novel! I love suspense books and this one was a quick read. The first chapter was strange and made me think the book was headed in an entirely different direction but it got better as it went on.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me an early read of this book in exchange for an honest review. I've become somewhat jaded in my reading lately, always looking and failing to find something challenging, interesting and immersive. Ok, I found it. This book is completely what you would expect but also gives readers like me a big dose of humility. I thought I had it all figured out, then I got confused and backed off only to be flummoxed again and again. To make matters even better, the narrator is unreliable, you have no clue where she's going or what she might do. Some of it seems obvious and allows the reader to be smug in their intelligence at figuring it out but around the next bend is confusion. Great read! Highly recommend with one caveat, don't make assumptions!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4283001992

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a sample of this book I really loved it and would love to purchase and add to my collection.

4.5 for me. I am so glad to have gotten an advance copy of this debut novel by Stacy Willingham from NetGalley. Starting in the Prologue, I was already uneasy . As Chloe said, she used to think of monsters as “mysterious shadows lurking behind my hanging clothes, under my bed, in the woods. And “learning to fear should be a slow evolution—a gradual progression from the…boogeryman under the bed; from the rated-R movie a babysitter let you watch to the man idling in a car behind tinted windows, staring at your for just a second too long as you make your way down the sidewalk at dusk.” But, at the age of 12, Chloe learns the monsters are in plain sight.

20 years later, Chloe is a practicing psychologist, looking forward to her upcoming wedding, when she is forced to relive that summer when girls from her town started to go missing. Her father, who she has not seen all these years, is in prison having confessed to the crimes. You never know how close to you the monster is. This is an unnerving and suspenseful mystery that kept me going from the very beginning. For anyone who appreciates a really well-crafted psychological thriller, mark your calendar for January when this is scheduled to be published.