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!

*Thank you to Minotaur books, Stacy Willingham and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six girls went missing in her small town in Louisiana. They charged her loving father with murder when Chloe finds a piece of jewelry in her parent's closet that belongs to one of the missing girls. She has never fully recovered from the implications of that summer, though she and her brother have moved on to another town.

20 years later, Chloe is now a psychologist, but has many secrets and repercussions related to the murders, including a pill addiction. She is engaged to Daniel Briggs, who is holding his own secrets. But when the 20th anniversary of the murders comes, young girls start disappearing. It feels like déjà vu. Then one of her patients is murdered outside her office and Chloe realizes every girl that is taken has some connection to her.

A Flicker in the Dark is atmospheric, suspenseful and as the reader, I suspected everyone in Chloe's circle.

In reading this book, I found it hard to believe that this is the debut novel of author Stacy Willingham. I was drawn in from the first page and found it hard to put down. There are so many surprises, twists, deflection that I kept second guessing myself as to who the culprit was.

This was an excellent debut and I can't wait to read more from this author.

A Flicker in the Dark was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. I felt quite lucky to get my hands on a copy prior to the book making its way into everyone’s hands.
What I enjoyed about the book was the urgency to keep flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen and also the authors writing style in which it made easy to do so. What I struggled with was the basic plot line that was oh so obvious to me from the very beginning. There didn’t really seem to be an element of surprise in this book labeled “suspense/mystery/thriller.”
When Chloe Davis was 12, her father was arrested for serial crimes committed on 6 girls from their hometown. Twenty years later as Chloe is preparing for her wedding, a copycat murder has left Chloe re-living her youngers years and looking for answers.
I am excited to watch the adaptation once it comes out and still plan to recommend this book to all of my friends as it is pretty loved throughout the reading community already!
A big thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book!

Fast paced, excellent thriller. Just when I thought I had it figured out, there was another crazy twist. Stacy Willingham has a knack for telling these sorts of tales and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a powerful debut novel from Stacy Willingham!

This book is an emotional story combined with both a psychological thriller and police procedural. I am not a huge fan of crime fiction, but the author deftly weaves together a gritty, tense plot with domestic drama elements.

Chloe Davis is now a medical psychologist who has tried to keep her dark family history well hidden. When she was young, her father was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of six teenagers in her hometown of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. )I need to give major kudos to the author here for setting the book in the "Crawfish Capitol of the World" and if she isn't a Louisiana native, you'd never know it.)

Chloe obviously never saw the dark side of her father, and she has spent her life trying to reconcile that monster with the caring parent she knew. Her family broke apart after his conviction. All of this has (justifiably in my opinion) led her to self-medicate her own anxieties. She is certainly not a perfect main protagonist.

She is finally looking forward to the future with her upcoming marriage. But when local teenagers go missing, the police think there might be a copycat killer at work.

I loved the back and forth timeline of the book, with Chloe's childhood alternating with present day events. This book has already been optioned for the small screen by Emma Stone's production company and I can see why! This story is dark, moody, fast-paced and very atmospheric. I loved the tense conclusion and can't wait to read more from this incredibly talented author!

(Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Definitely in the minority here- although this was an entertaining read, it didn't captivate me, and I've already forgotten some of the major plot points. Slow to start and quick to wrap-up, an average thriller with little to get me excited to recommend.

Well it has been a long time since I sat and read a whole
Book in a day! This one was super good! Chloe was twelve when six girls go missing in one summer in her small town. Her father is soon arrested and sent to prison for the murders of these girls. Twenty years later Chloe has rebuilt her life in a new town as a psychologist and planning a wedding to the man of her dreams. While she is finally happy for the first time in years, a copy cat killer reappears and is bringing back memories and flashbacks from her past. Is she being followed, is this just all a coincidence? Is there a connection to her? This book was one I just could not put down! Highly recommend this one friends.

3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a pretty good mystery/thriller that is a quick and easy read. When Chloe was 12 years old six young girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. Chloe's father was ultimately arrested for the crime and sentenced to prison. Twenty years later Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and engaged to get married.

Chloe has tried hard to get her life together and be happy, but sometimes it still feels out of control. Then a local girl goes missing, and then another. Chloe doesn't know who to trust, and starts seeing inconsistencies with everyone in her life. She starts to see parallels to her dad's case in the new ones, but she doesn't know if she's paranoid, or if she's about to unmask another serial killer.

I feel like I'm in the minority about this book. Most reviews I've seen thought this book was fantastic, and I can see why they felt that way, but I thought it was just ok. It's well-written and Chloe is well-defined, but Chloe's constant self-doubt and waxing and waning made me lose interest about half-way through. The twists and turns were fairly predictable and I figured out the mystery ahead of time, but it was still interesting to see how the author got there. A lot of people will enjoy this book and I recommend you read it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

It's hard to believe this is Stacy Willingham's debut novel. The writing is excellent and the numerous twists, turns, and red herrings left me breathless. I guessed who the killer might be right at the beginning. Then I changed my mind. And changed my mind again - a couple times. Each time, the new 'candidate for killer' seemed totally plausible. Until they weren't. The ultimate revelation proved me right - but boy what a ride getting there!!

A good thriller that I totally enjoyed.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book.

Dr. Chloe Davis is a psychologist with her own private practice, is preparing for her upcoming wedding, and is hopeful that her life is finally truly coming together. For the past 20 years, she’s been dealing with the aftermath of her father’s arrest following the disappearance of 6 teenage girls from her hometown. Now, Chloe is forced to remember her past when a local teen goes missing, and she begins to see many parallels to that summer so long ago when her father’s secret was discovered.

From the very beginning, this novel sucks you in. The writing is fantastic and engaging. The story alternates between events occurring in the present, and Chloe’s memories of her childhood and the events surrounding his arrest and conviction. There are so many twists and turns when you think you may have things figured out, but the conclusion was worth the wait. This was one of the best thrillers I’ve read recently—a page turner for sure!

Chloe Davis is a psychologist. She understands trauma. She is on a first name basis with it. When she was twelve years old, her father was arrested for the murders of six young women. Chloe, her mother, and brother were left to pick up the pieces and move on.

As she prepares for her wedding, a local girl goes missing. It brings back memories, then another girl goes missing and the past comes barreling full blast into her present. Is this a sick blast from the past? Everything feels and looks similar. But is it?

While reading, I did my own super sleuthing. I didn't find it too hard to do. While wondering "what if" and "hmm, I wonder" I guessed early on, one of big twists/reveals. I think most readers will. I enjoy when I can figure things out, but I love when I am shocked. I would have loved to have been shocked here. But there were more twists and reveals along the way -not as big as the one I figured out. But they are there. While I enjoyed this book, I wasn't as wowed as other readers. For me the pacing was a little off and I hope to not read the word "flicker" for quite some time!

Again, I enjoyed this book but I wasn't as wowed as I had hoped to be. This was a debut book and I see great promise and I will be reading what she writes next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was awesome!
If you read enough thrillers, you will probably figure out many of the pieces in this puzzle.
Though I don't think even the author knew how this was gonna end till it popped out of her head.
There is much misdirection here to put you off the scent, but I felt like there was too much misdirection? I don't know how else to describe it without giving spoilers.
All in all a fantastic debut! I look forward to seeing what else she puts out in the world.
I was switching between ebook and audio and I would highly recommend both.
Much love to St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio for my DRCs.

Imagine this: You are a 12-year-old girl enjoying summer in your small town when teenage girls start to go missing. How do you move forward with your life when you find out your dad is responsible for killing these girls? For Chole Davis, that's life.
Twenty years after the events of that terrible summer, Chole is 32, a psychologist, and is about to be married. But Chole is still dealing with the demons in her past, second-guessing everything she knows and self-medicating with pharmaceuticals mixed with alcohol some nights.
So, when teenage girls begin to go missing in Baton Rouge, Chole becomes obsessed with figuring out the truth.

First off, I loved A Flicker in The Dark, and it is one of the better thrillers I have read recently. One of my favorite things about this book was the writing style. Instead of separating the past and present by chapters, A Flicker in the Dark combines both timelines seamlessly.
Other elements of A Flicker in The Dark I liked were:
The story was fast-paced and kept my interest throughout the novel. It is always a good sign when I stay up past my bedtime to try and finish a book!
Even though Chole was an unreliable narrator, I loved her character development and relatability.
A Flicker in the Dark kept me guessing until the end. I have read some reviews where they said the twist was an easy guess. But for me, I thought entirely wrong for the book ending twist.
A Flicker in the Dark is Stacy Willingham's debut novel, and I am looking forward to reading her more in the future.

A Flicker in the Dark. A serial killers child. Again. Can Stacy Williams do it any differently? It turns out she could. However, different isn't always better.

There have been a lot of books about grown up kids of serial killer stories. They are often pretty messed up and for some reason the families of the victims act as if a little kid is somehow responsible for the actions of their dad.

So this book does a few things differently. Chloe knows the victims, both of some of the previous crimes and the copycats happening now. Because there are always copycats. Usually on the 20th anniversary. Chloes is the problem here. She is pretty dumb. She has what I saw amongst my fellow psych students. That shadow of a person who may be doing this because they are pretty messed up.

The culprit here was very obvious for most of the book, as were the red herrings. At one point Chloe says something like, "It's as if the answers have been right in front of me the whole time." Yeah. Yeah, they were.

Twists and turns, and the word *flicker* aplenty. Seriously, if I were playing a drinking game and took a shot every time the word flicker appears I'd have been as disoriented as Dr. Chloe Davis after several stolen pills.
Chloe Davis was twelve years old when her father was arrested after six teenage girls went missing from their small Louisiana town. Fast forward twenty years and she is now a successful psychologist, engaged to be married, and living a seemingly perfect life, but her past is coming back to haunt her and it's coming in hot! When a teen girl comes up missing Chloe begins to question the connection, everyone in her life, and most of all herself. If you're looking for something that will keep you guessing until the very last page, look no further!!
This book is definitely a slow burn, but I was nonetheless sucked in so deep and had so many theories that my mind stayed spinning the entire time. In fact it is still spinning!! As a huge movie lover I feel like I can often imagine a book coming to life on the big screen as I am reading, but this is one that I feel like truly deserves it! I am in awe of the fact that this is a debut novel and look forward to anything Stacy Willingham writes in the future.

Four solid stars. Thank you to Minotaur Books
and NetGalley for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This was definitely a fun, quick, and escapist read. While it was a bit predictable and there were a few minor plot holes (and loose ends that aren’t tied up)- I still had a good time reading this book. I enjoyed reading a thriller from a psychologist’s perspective- following along as the protagonist questions if her thoughts are legitimate or if she’s thinking too hard. This is an impressive debut with a very strong sense of place, and I look forward to seeing what the author does next!

Small shout out to the great title and its call-out in the book.

Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for the review copy!

A Flicker in the Dark
by Stacy Willingham
Pub Date: January 11, 2022
Minotaur
I did enjoy this book however there are flaws I cannot overlook.
* Self-medicated unreliable narrator

- Serial killer(s) murdering young women

- Civilian main character that inserts herself in a police investigation

- Plenty of controlling, potentially evil men as suspects
Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for the ARC. I did enjoy reading this book but as a jaded thriller reader my expectations were too high for this debut author.
3 stars