I really enjoyed this quick, fast paced thriller. I know that many of the reviews have referenced early red herrings and twist reveals but I found these to add to the reading experience. While I recognized the early reveals, I felt like they were nestled in the plot in a way that still kept me questioning if I really had figured it out until everything was confirmed in the end. I really enjoyed this one and recommend it for a quick, fun suspense/thriller.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinPress #MinotaurBooks for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is the first book I have read by author Stacy Willingham and I am really impressed!

There were lots of twists and turns, suspense, a great thriller about a serial killer.

The author keeps your attention and keeps you guessing from beginning to end. I loved this book and would highly recommend it!

5 Stars

I was a very tense fly on the wall during this mystery/thriller.

Chloe seems like she has things together, but looking closer you realize she has major childhood baggage and sometimes copes with it in illegal ways. She also has a history of calling "murderer" when something doesn't add up, which means it's harder to go to the authorities when she becomes sure that someone in her life is killing the way her father did 20 years ago. I loved how the misdirects all made sense and added up to a situation where anyone would be jumpy.

I've been excited to read this one ever since I first heard of it - and when it was selected as one of the December Book of the Month club options, I was even more excited to read it! And it's solidly entertaining - and certainly a strong debut noel. Chloe Davis narrates here - a psychologist with her own practice, a wedding coming up in a few months - and the 20th anniversary of the crimes that put her father in prison for life. Soon Chloe feels overwhelmed by the past when girls start going missing again in an uncanny echo of the murders and disappearances from 20 years earlier. The stresses of the past bring back unhealthy coping mechanisms, making Chloe a somewhat untrustworthy - and unlikable - narrator. I am not sure that the ultimate twist will surprise every reader, but I am sure every reader will be satisfied with the way the pieces fit together. I wish that the ending had a bit more to it.. Chloe's character growth is left a bit unfinished... and there were a few scenes that I expected that the ending did not deliver. But, I appreciated the Baton Rouge setting. I can see why this was a BOTM pick - I think it's sure to start some lively discussions! I do sort of wish that I had kept a tally though of how many times the word "flicker" appeared in the text though! I am curious to see what Willingham will write next!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. This was a juicy, fast paced thriller that was easy to read in 1 or 2 sittings. I did guess one of the twists, arguably the the biggest, from the beginning. But I did not anticipate all of them. A good read for psychological thriller fans, but nothing really special.

This was an impressive debut novel from Stacy Willingham. There is a lot of suspense and unexpected twists and turns. At times I found the writing to be overally flowery and repetitious. However, this did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

A Flicker in the Dark is the debut of author Stacy Willingham. When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge, the Craw fish capital of the country and were never recovered. One of the girls was Chloe's friend. By the end of the summer, Chloe had found damaging evidence. Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison where he's serving back to back life sentences. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Her mother escaped into herself, doing less and less for herself and her family until she can handle life any longer. Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding to Daniel Briggs. In reality, Chloe is a mess. She self medicates with prescription drugs and alcohol. She rarely visits her mother, who lives in a care home after trying to commit suicide. Her older brother, Cooper, is dealing with their past in his own way, staying close to Chloe but also adding more stress to her life.

For some reason, Cooper dislikes Daniel and he's always at her that Daniel isn't who she thinks he is. To make matters worse, a local teen named Audrey is reported missing. Then one of Chloe's own patients goes missing. 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? To make matters even more cloudy, an alleged reporter named Aaron Jansen contacts Chloe asking questions about what happened 20 years ago. Could Daniel somehow be involved, or is it the mysterious reporter with an agenda, or could it be someone else entirely?

What makes this book twisted is Chloe herself. Chloe is your classic unreliable narrator. She often difficulties separating what's real from what isn't, which isn't helped by her pharmaceutical habits which she sometimes uses Daniel to avoid people asking too many unwanted questions. She's paranoid, convinced that these new victims are someone specifically toying with her, setting her on her own amateur investigative path to find who's copying her imprisoned father's past actions, since virtually no one else believes her suspicions.

This is a fairly impressive debut by the author and I look forward to see what she creates next.

Who would you be if your dad was accused (and found guilty) of murdering multiple young girls, your mother checked out on you and your brother, and your the one who put your dad away? What kind of person would that make you, who would you become? When murders start happening again the stakes become higher. The writing of this book is spot on. I couldn't put it down.

A Flicker in the Dark is a thriller by debut author Stacy Willingham, it's a book that grabbed my attention initially with its cover - one can almost feel the creep factor.

With a unique POV - the daughter of a serial killer. While sympathetic to her plight and all she and the family went through 20 years ago she was an unreliable character. An reliable character is good, it leaves me wondering and at times second guessing my predictions.

This was a well written story going back in time to see what happened and how these crimes were committed. As history begins to repeat itself, opening the door to either a copy cat or maybe, just maybe they got the wrong guy - but he didn't confess, or did he? I enjoyed this book, the suspense, the clues and the not knowing who to believe.

Hats off to Stacy Willingham for this solid debut, definitely will be on the lookout to see what she comes up with next.

My thanks to Minotaur Press (via St. Martin's Press and Netgalley) for a digital copy in exchange for a honest review.

“I fear all situations when I’m not in control.” -Stacy Willingham

From the moment I started this debut book by @stacyvwillingham I couldn’t help but be reminded of one of my all time favorite Criminal Minds episodes. Like in the episode, the female lead Chloe has tried so hard to move on from her past & the trauma that comes from having a serial killer for a father.

Chloe and her brother escaped the small town where they lived, abandoning everything behind as they were practically driven out of that place by people who blamed them for their father’s actions. With a mother that is comatose after giving up not being able to take the pain of what her husband did.. Chloe and her brother try their hardest to move on but their horrifying childhood left it’s mark in so many ways ranging from alcohol to drug abuse.

Chloe, now a psychologist with a seemingly perfect fiancée is nearing the 20th anniversary of her father’s first murder when two girls go missing only for their bodies to be found a week after each abduction. When the cases get more and more similar to those of her father, Chloe can’t help but think that this copycat killer is much closer to her than she’d previously believed.

This book was my first unputdownable story of 2022 and trust me when I say, you’ll be holding your breath right through the end!

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham is about Dr. Chloe Davis, a medical psychologist in Baton Rouge. When she was 12 her dad was arrested for the murders of several teenage girls in their small town of Breaux Bridge. Chloe has struggled for years to get by and escaping her dark past. She is now engaged to Daniel, a pharmaceutical sales rep and seems to be very happy. Her older brother Cooper went through the same things as her and they are still closed. He does not approve of Daniel and does not like their relationship.
When teenage girls start going missing again ahead of the 20 year anniversary of her dad being arrested, Chloe can’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Why do these crimes seem similar? Is someone copycatting her dad or was her dad not really the killer?
This book was so interesting and fun to read. Chloe is the narrator and the book takes place in present day and flashes back to her childhood. As she sifts through her memory for clues to what is going on in the present, dark secrets come to the surface. I kept thinking I knew what was going on but then I will change my mind and in the end I was wrong every time. I can’t wait to read more books by the author. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Book 5/52 for 2022. When I first finished this one, I thought “mmmm okay like 4 stars probably.” I figured out the murderer super early, but I was still invested in getting to the why of everything, and I did have moments of doubt.

But then I sat with my thoughts for awhile and it’s definitely more like a 3 star. I mean, I think most reviews I’ve seen, the reviewer has said they figured out the murderer right away. So that’s not awesome. But also, this is another thriller that really leans on the main female narrator using/abusing drugs as a center point of the story. And honestly I’m just a little over it. ESPECIALLY when there weren’t any “holy shit I had no idea” moments.

IDK, it was okay. I did read it fairly quickly and was generally invested. But it was by no means amazing.

As always, if the synopsis sounds good to you, PLEASE read it! A lot of folks have loved it. It just missed the mark for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! This one just recently published, so you can check it out for yourself!

In her debut novel, Willingham proves to be a very good suspense writer. Told from the POV of Chloe, who’s father is arrested for the murder of several teenage girls when she is only twelve. Lots of twists and characters of questionable behavior. The novel could have been a bit tighter in storyline, especially in regard to her mother, but overall very good.

“I’m feeling almost nostalgic for last week, yearning for that moment-- standing in my hallway, back against the door-- when the line between good and bad was so clearly defined.”

(3.5⭐️) A serial killer and an unreliable narrator. The makings of a good debut.

As a teenager, Chloe shared a house with a monster. Not the kind that hides under your bed. The kind that walks around in plain sight acting completely normal even after killing someone the night before. For the last twenty years, her father has been in prison, and she’s lived with the trauma from that summer. And just as Chloe finally starts to relax into the downright normalcy of a new house and an upcoming wedding, a copycat killer emerges.

Willingham held my attention as I quickly digested this story. The premise was completely unique to me… following a serial killer’s daughter as she watches copycat killings. Getting that deep dive into her confused psyche, laced with terror and drugs.

While I truly enjoyed the premise, I did find the story to be completely predictable and slightly implausible. The way Willingham presents the information made me even more skeptical than I generally am in thrillers. I found myself scrutinizing *every* single detail. I believe I would’ve figured this one out even so, but with the heavy-handed delivery, I figured it out much, much quicker. The storyline would’ve benefited greatly from a more subtle approach.

Even knowing how the story would end, I still enjoyed the journey. This is a solid debut, and I’m interested to see what Willingham does next.

Thank you Stacy Willingham, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Overall, I liked a lot of things about this book the first being the short chapters. It appears that the main character has anxiety but the short chapters and consistently switching timelines as well as places in the book make it seems more realistic. I also personally LOVE short chapters.

The twist and turns this book took was amazing overall! I kept thinking I knew what was gonna happened then another clue or perspective would come into play and completely changed what I thought and I still did not see the ending coming. There were parts that were predictable but even then I didn’t get it all right.

Also the ending was great the epilogue perfectly ended the book so there was still some mystery but a nice end to the book and wrap up, as sometimes I absolutely hate the ending of thrillers but this book was not one.

Overall so was very impressed with this book and a HUGE thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for a free e-copy of the book in exchange of an honest review!

I was so excited to read a thriller set in Baton Rouge! And then I was listening to it while walking at night in the dark and waiting to be attacked and realized maybe that wasn’t the best idea. Because the writing is extremely atmospheric and convincing! I don’t read many thrillers anymore after burning out of the genre, but I enjoyed this one with all its twists and turns, and found Chloe a compelling narrator. Cheers to the audiobook reader for not doing a cheesy Southern accent as that would have been unbearable.

Thank you, Stacy Willingham, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book!

“Because for the first time in weeks, someone believes me. Someone is on my side. And it feels so good to be believed; to have someone look at me with genuine caring instead of suspicion or worry or rage.”

A FLICKER IN THE DARK
When Karin Slaughter speaks, you listen. She told her readers to read A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. I am so glad I did! What an incredible debut! Chloe Davis’ situation is unique. She is the daughter of a serial killer. When she is 12-years-old, six teenage girls go missing in her small town. She is the one who discovers the evidence police need in her own house. Now twenty years later, she is a psychologist. When one girl goes missing, there is concern, and thoughts from the past begin to haunt her. But then one of her patients goes missing, Chloe starts spiraling. Her father is in prison, so is this a copycat?

Trigger Warnings: drug addiction, kidnapping, PTSD, anxiety, murder, sexual assault, suicide

This book is addicting. We often get fictional books that revolve around serial killers or journalists and detectives investigating serial killers–but this book is about a daughter who is directly affected by the actions of her family. This book is suspenseful and filled with tons of twists and turns. Stacy Willingham is great at misdirection! But what really surprised me is that this book is incredibly gut-wrenching and emotional. Chloe had to deal with the realization of her father’s crimes at such a young age. She had to deal with people lashing out against her. She couldn’t have a normal relationship, she felt like she always had to hide her identity. But the guilt eats her alive. She obsesses over the fact that if she did something different, maybe the girls wouldn’t have died. She blames herself—even more so when her patient disappears. My heart absolutely broke for her.

I also love the moments when she claims her voice. She often mentions that she feels that people aren’t listening to her. There is one scene where she is talking to a detective and he keeps interrupting her and she finally shouts, “Will you stop interrupting me!” I wanted to scream, “YES!! Take back your voice!” As a woman, I felt that. Overall, this thriller is setting a very high bar for the rest of the year! I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Chloe Davis has turned a bad situation into a good one. After suffering a childhood traumatic experience with the arrest of his father for murdering six missing girls she has turned her life into one of doing good. Chloe escaped her childhood town, graduated university and is now a psychologist helping young girls.

Close to the twentieth anniversary of her fathers arrest two girls go missing in her her town including one that was her patient. It seems her past is seemingly back to haunt her. Chloe starts to become suspicious of everyone she comes into contact with and life is spinning out of control. The race is on to find the missing girls and find out who took them.

I had read many great reviews on this one prior to reading it and it did not disappoint at all. I thought Chloe was a fantastic main character who certainly had her flaws but always believed in the good in people. I also thought the writing was amazing and the story had many twists and turns that kept me guessing. Every time I thought I had everything figured out I was completely wrong. This is one I will be recommending to others and will remember for a long time.

Chloe Davis grew up in a small town in Louisiana during a time when girls were going missing. 20 years later she has moved to a larger town in Louisiana. The anniversary of the missing girls is coming up and girls start to go missing again. Is this the same murderer? Is this a copycat? Is someone taunting Chloe?

I saw the twist coming pretty early on (around 45%) and that's the only reason this book isn't 5 stars. I think it's still worth the read even knowing the twist. The author wraps everything up nicely.

I went into this book blindly and I'm so happy that I read it! I can't wait for future books by Stacy Willingham!

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the galley of this book!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This was an absolutley fantastic debut. It started out a bit slow, however once I hit the 20/25% mark I could not put it down and I was looking for every opportunity to finish. I will definitely be recommending this to my thriller loving friends and keeping an eye out for more books by Stacy Willingham!