This was a good and interesting thriller. I enjoyed reading about Claire and following along on her journey. Still wishing she could find answers to her past and the murder of her sister Natalie all those years ago. Of course something happens and now it's time for Claire to return to her hometown which she really isnt sure is the greatest idea but decides to do it anyway.
Once arriving home at her mother's house, she discovers an old roll of film that was never developed but once she did she discovers the Galloway Farm which was the place where Natalie worked before her death. With Claire wanting more answers about natalie she ends up taking a job at the farm. What's even crazier is once she arrives she finds a hidden diary which was from one of the people actually still there, Marcia and well of course Claire had to read it too. So what will this diary end up revealing?? Even more secrets from this mysterious farm.

This book definitely gave you that suspense and mysterious feeling along with of course just being a great thriller read that I am sure many will enjoy!

Forget Me Not is a standalone thriller written by Stacy Willingham

*Journalist FMC
*Family trauma
*Cult vibes

After returning to her hometown to check on her mother, Claire finds an undeveloped roll of film to leads her to the last place her sister was seen alive.

After arriving at the rundown farm/vineyard she meets three individuals who live and work there year round. From there this book turns into an almost cultish horror story based on current day events, and events that took place in 1983, told through the POV of another young woman who went missing after her family stayed at the farm/vineyard.

Very well written, ends with a HFN for the main character.

Format: NetGalley ebook
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Overall score:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level:🌶️
Characters: Claire (FMC)

I looove Stacy Willingham and this one was really good!! I couldn't put it down and was really intrigued the whole time, but some of the MC's decisions really pissed me off, especially with her mother. The unsolved crimes also seemed very convenient.

Overall though, I would recommend this!!

Stacy Willingham does it again! 👏🏼 👏🏼

I needed a good thriller to get me out of my reading slump and this was it. This one had Verity and The Last Housewife vibes for me. The first half can be a bit slow, but stick with it because once you get to the second half, you are in for a RIDE. Every chapter felt like a new revelation with so many twists and turns. This will definitely be a must have book this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this eARC!

A slow burn southern thriller perfect for summer. I have devoured every Stacy Willingham book and this one was no different. Thank you so much for the ARC! The story was compelling, the characters were interesting and the twists were surprising. This book had everything I was looking for and more. If I were you I would read this book!

“I dream of you sometimes. Erratic and impulsive, just like in life, I never know when you might show up. When I might close my eyes, attempt to lose myself in the merciful black, only for your face to click into existence like an intrusive thought. Like an unwelcome visitor, your foot wedged in the door, coercing your way inside my mind the way you always did.“

From the opening line to the very last sentence I was locked in. Willingham delivers her signature haunting southern slow burn and I think it might be her best one yet! Those final twists and reveals? I totally didn’t see them coming and I love that for me 😮‍💨

Once the story got going, I had a fun time trying to piece together the mystery. The problem was, it took until 30% for anything to happen. The beginning was slow background and lead up that could have been summed up in a much shorter way. After that though, I enjoyed the journey this took! I was constantly trying to figure out “who done it” and making guesses as to what the twist could be. I figured out some, but not all. After the slow start, it really is a fun book that keeps you guessing.

Thank you to SMP/Minotaur Books for the arc.

Claire Campbell has been dealing with the loss of her older sister's death for the last twenty years when she disappeared at her window one night and was killed by her older boyfriend. Claire's parents divorced her mother seemingly forgetting about raising Claire and her father moving out. When Claire was finally able to she moved as far away as she could to New York City becoming a journalist, until one day she gets a call from her dad asking her to come back home. Secrets are dredged up and the past comes alive again hauntingly taking Claire with it.
A perfect thriller that you will not want to put down!

FORGET ME NOT BY STACY WILLINGHAM

Stacy Willingham does it again! Author of the fabulous A Flicker In the Dark serves up another deliciously dark and atmospheric Southern thriller with Forget Me Not.

As you meet our protagonist, Claire you learn why the young journalist has made herself a loner with only one friend to her name. She is mostly estranged from her parents. Her 18 year old sister disappeared when Claire was only 11. Having been recently passed over for a promotion she quit her job. All this piled up to carve Claire into quite a forlorn individual. When called back home from New York City to help her injured mother she begins to have to face all the issues which have been hanging over her.

All thriller readers expect a GOOD twist or two in their reads and believe me you will not be disappointed!

In her incredibly written ending the author artfully unravels all the mysteries we encounter along the reading of this story. The ending was absolutely phenomenal. In fact I have to say it is the best written ending I have read since I started reading thrillers in earnest two years ago.

I highly recommend Forget Me Not.

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.

Stacy does it again! This suspense thriller had me on the edge of my seat until the very end! I loved all of the plot twists leading up to the biggest one of them all. There are many characters mentioned, but every single one plays a role in this thriller. The author does a great job tying it all together in the end. A must read by one of my favorite thriller authors!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this is advanced copy!

4.25 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for getting the chance to review this ARC

(Hands clapping rapidly) YESSSS, Stacy! A must read book by a must read author.

This was the perfect Southern summer psychological thriller. Forget Me Not is set in a vineyard and the mysteries that lie within those 50 acres will have you at the edge of your seat. Filled with complex characters, decades long secrets, and cult-like culture, this book is sure to keep you guessing.

Claire's sister Natalie went missing 22 years ago. For the first time in 15 years, Claire is back in her hometown in South Carolina and desperate to find answers to her sister's disappearance. As she starts to unravel the mystery of her missing sister, she becomes entranced by Galloway Farms (the vineyard Natalie worked at the summer of her disappearance) and the mysterious couple that resides there.

I was able to guess a few of the twists, but was left shocked at the end as Claire unfolds the mystery of the farm. She was relentless is discovering the truth and I felt so much angst and hope for her during her journey.

An absolute must read for psychology thriller fans! Pick it up when it's released in August 2025

Another book from Stacy that I loved! Claire was such a relatable character from the beginning, and the trauma and feelings she internalized when her sister went missing so young was heartbreaking. Although I found a large portion of the story line to be predictable, the flow of the story made it impossible to put the book down. It was a slow burn in the beginning, but everything has meaning and as you reach the climax of the story, you see all of the little details in a different light. Stacy is a wonderful author, and I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a slow burn, uncomfortable, thriller/mystery.

W O W! This is my first Stacy Willingham book, I do have A Flicker In the Dark but was blessed with the digital copy of Forget Me Not so I had to jump right in before getting to the book I already have.

If you are looking for something to suck you in, this is a read for you. It’s fast paced and loaded with twists. If you are a Freida McFadden fan you’ll love this read) It didn’t take long to get into the book - definitely a page turner.

The end did get a little complicated when the pieces started coming together. Lots of characters and names thrown around - somewhat hard to follow but not impossible. Ultimately, I rated this at 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley + St. Martin’s Press for
the opportunity to leave an honest review.

My third book by this author. Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed the plot of the story and found the characters enjoyable and engaging. I was immediately drawn into the story from the beginning and found myself trying to guess what would happen next. There wasn’t a dull moment. I will recommend this to other people who enjoy the genre.

Stacy is back!! This story brought the same excitement as All the dangerous things & A flicker in the dark and is filled with layers of buried trauma, family secrets, and culty passion.

I found myself hooked immediately. The pacing of this story was perfect with Stacy continually feeding us just enough to be surprised but still wanting more.

This was one of the best thrillers I have read in a while. I read in one sitting. The page were just turning and I did not see any of the twists coming. This is a must read this summer.

Not only did Stacy Willingham avoid the stock characters of the small town southern crime genre, but she also pushed the boundaries with the creep factor!

I love having the thrill of fear without the actual danger. Willingham kept a great balance with her setting (Galloway Farm) and thoroughly intriguing characters such as Mitchell, Liam, and Marcia. The uniqueness of it all is so different from anything I’ve experienced that it added to what was already a compelling read. I wasn’t reading just to figure out a crime, I was reading to understand the motives and connections between her eccentric characters.

Stacy Willingham kept me in a constant tug of war; sometimes ‘not knowing’ won and I’d skip a few lines and then ‘wanting to know’ won and I’d go back and read what I realized I needed to know. Our world is full of fearful things and people, but I loved how Willingham (1) shows us how to live with being afraid, how to fight back against the fear, how to keep going and (2) challenges us to look beyond the incomprehensible choices her characters make and try to understand that it’s more than inherent weaknesses that drive them. She doesn’t just throw the creepy and gruesome out there, she holds our hand through her exploration of the darker sides of human nature.

Willingham’s attention to detail meant that it was a slower read for me, but this also meant that I could picture it. The secrets and the mystery kept the pages turning and kept me hooked.

Need some good scream therapy? You need this book.

Note: Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I was lucky enough to meet Stacy Willingham last year during the release of her third novel, where I gained insight into her writing process and sources of inspiration. As a fan of A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things, I had high expectations for her latest book—and she did not disappoint.

Willingham once again crafts a chilling, atmospheric thriller steeped in Southern gothic allure. Her signature blend of psychological tension and richly drawn characters pulls readers into a dark and unsettling narrative, where past traumas and buried secrets unravel with each turn of the page.

I absolutely enjoyed this book and I am a huge fan of Stacy’s books! This southern thriller gave an eerie atmosphere vibes and this book definitely got me out of my reading slump!

A stellar, exceptionally written masterpiece that is sure to be a top read of 2025!! If I could give more than five stars I would. This outstanding, slow-burn thriller had me biting my nails with the turn of every page. Its dark, claustrophobic atmosphere clung to me like a wet blanket, causing this suffocating sense of dread and foreboding that enveloped me throughout the entire book. I had no idea who I could trust. I thought that I had it figured out, but I should have known better with Willingham. She threw a couple curveballs in there that totally struck me out. I really enjoyed the dual timeline and the author providing us with Marcia's diary entries from the past. I feel like this added more layers to the story and created even more intrigue. The mystery was slow to unravel, but this book was a non-stop pulse pounder. I flew through it in less than a day. What a phenomenal story! I was hooked from the start and loved every minute of it. I highly recommend!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for granting me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!