🪻Forget Me Not, Stacy Willingham – Pub Day 8/26🪻

I’ve read a lot of thrillers over the past five years, but this one definitely stands out. Let’s talk about why👀

This story follows Claire, who is haunted by the disappearance of her older sister, even 20 years later. When her mom suffers an accident and needs help around the house, Claire is pressured to return home to South Carolina. While there, she’s drawn to a coastal winery where her sister worked right before her disappearance and when she visits it, she, out of the blue winds up with a summer job. Very quickly, Claire becomes fascinated by the owners and gets sucked into their orbit, which has her questioning everything about her sister’s disappearance.

This story, in my opinion, had a bit of a slow start, but OH BOY does it pick up. About halfway through I was hooked, and I read the last 40% in one sitting and couldn’t put it down.

Out of all the thrillers I’ve read, this one was the most tragically devastating and also felt the most realistic. It’s so reminiscent of stories that we hear all the time from the 80s: of young women who are lonely, abandoned, or lost in life being preyed upon by men who just want to take advantage of them. I don’t know if I’ve ever cried at a thriller before, but the stories in this book broke my heart.

When it comes to the twists, they were definitely there! I guessed two of them, but the biggest twist at the end was one I certainly didn’t see coming! The audible gasp that came out of my mouth was VERY dramatic.

I felt so deeply for some of the characters in this book. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll keep it vague, but I just wanted to give these poor women a hug. I wanted to tell them that they deserve more. I just wanted the best for them.

Because of the suspense, the sadness, the anger, and the… dare I say pride for the main character that I felt while reading this (aka all the emotions) I’m giving this book 4/5⭐️s

If you like:
🔪 True crime
👥 Cult vibes
💔 Heartbreaking twists
🕵️‍♀️ Investigative journalism that feels like a whodunnit
❤️‍🩹 Complicated family dynamics
Then you might enjoy Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham!

Ok Ms. Stacy Willingham, I’m seated (again)! I think this is my favorite book of hers so far after having read the last three. I was throughly hooked, reading far into the wee hours of the morning and certainly past my bedtime.

Claire is a journalist, down on her luck when her Dad calls and urges her to return home after an accident involving her mother. The problem? Claire hasn’t been home in over a decade, thanks to the emotional trauma associated with the assumed death of her missing older sister. While someone was arrested for her murder, there was questionable behavior leading up to her disappearance and a nagging feeling for Claire that she is missing the biggest pieces to the puzzle while also simultaneously blaming herself for various reasons.

Claire ends up in the place that had drawn her sister into its clutches the summer she disappeared- but why? What was so alluring about the vineyard she once worked at? As she unravels the mystery, questions are answered and the just dredge up more questions. When the truth finally comes out, it may be too late to fix anything.

I found myself guessing bits and pieces of the story going along but then those little bits turned into more questions as I tried to figure out how those bits and pieces fit into the big picture. It never really came into full comprehension until the end, which of course was quite scandalous. Can’t wait to read the next one!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the chance to read this e-book early and provide an honest review.

Being a South Carolina girl (and a fellow Stacy), I have read and really enjoyed all of Stacy Willingham’s books. This book, by far, is absolutely my favorite of her catalog. It’s filled with well developed characters and a story that had me intrigued from very early on. If you love mysteries add this to your TBR now!

~ Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Advanced Reader’s Copy. Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham will be published in August 2025 ~

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

2.5/5

I'm still chasing the high from Willingham's "Flicker in the Dark" and unfortunately "Forget Me Not" falls short. The plot is paper thin, and relies almost exclusively on a journalist reading a secret diary to propel the story forward. Protagonist Claire returns to her hometown and ends up working on a farm her late sister worked on summers ago. There, she discovers a diary that reveals the farm's patriarch may be hiding secrets and could even be implicated in her sister's death. The lack of any real suspense or investigating rendered this story so slow and uninteresting. The characters are one dimensional, especially the villain's. Once their mask falls off, it is entirely unclear what their motives were beyond a simple "bad people do bad things" rationale.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

If you are looking for a book that has so many twists that you question everything that is happening, then you have to read this book! Claire decides to take a job for the summer at the last place her sister went missing the Galloway Farms. Claire finds a hidden diary written by a former houseguest that unearths so many secrets of the family that owns the farm. How are they connected to missing girls? What really is being hidden ? This book definitely keeps you guessing. Absolutely loved it! Literally couldn't put it down it was so good!!

After losing out on a big promotion, Claire leaves her career in investigative journalism and returns home for the first time in 15 years. Haunted by the murder of her older sister, Natalie, she finds herself unable to resist digging into the past. Claire takes a job at Galloway Farms, a former workplace of Natalie, that is still ran by Mitchell and Marcia. There, she stumbles upon a hidden journal belonging to Marcia. As Claire reads Marcia’s entries, she uncovers disturbing details about the farm’s cult-like beginnings and chilling hints that could finally reveal the truth about Natalie’s fate.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Forget Me Not is another amazing thriller/mystery by Stacy Willingham. This story features Claire, a Journalist in New York City, who returns to her small hometown to visit her mother after an injury. While there, she discovers some new information about her missing sister from 2002.

Twists and turns throughout the whole book keep you wanting more at the end of each chapter. This is a true page turner and definitely a must-read 5 star book!

I have been a fan of Stacy Willingham from the beginning, so I was excited to get an early release copy of this book!

As in all her books, there a suspense and mystery. Claire, twenty two years later is still feeling unsettled about her sisters disappearance. Having to return home to take care of her mom after she breaks her ankle, it ends up opening a whole new can of worms about the day her sister disappeared.

I enjoyed this book and as always, when I thought I had it figured out- I didn’t.

This book encompasses every reason why I love reading. I’m fairly new to this author. I have Flicker in the Dark, but I haven’t read it. I saw this arc and the description checked all the boxes of what I look for. Suspense, twists, secrets, and thrills. It kept my interest from page one. I raced through this book and I was sad to see it end, actually.

It centers around a woman haunted by the death of her sister and her unexpected trip back home where she faces her trauma while discovering the truth of who really killed her. The writing is exceptional as I could place myself in the locations, and in the situations with characters. I look forward to future works and will go back and read her prior books. Very satisfying reading experience. Highly recommend and I gave it 5 stars- which I rarely give. Grab this one and devour it like I did!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the gift of the arc.

4/5 ⭐️
In Forget Me Not, Stacy Willingham delivers a gripping psychological thriller that masterfully intertwines past trauma with present-day obsession. Claire Campbell has spent years trying to move on from the devastating disappearance of her sister, Natalie, but when an unexpected call brings her back home, she’s forced to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget.

Willingham’s atmospheric storytelling shines, the twists and turns, especially in the last 20% of the book, deliver jaw-dropping revelations, keeping readers on edge until the very last page.

Verdict: A must-read for those who love twisty psychological thrillers with an atmospheric Southern setting.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Stacy Willingham is one author I'll always read, and this new novel is delightful. Mystery, intrigue, deception and more all wrapped up in a great book.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham.

This was a fantastic thriller - Stacy never disappoints! Claire's sister was murdered more than two decades ago and she's been running from life ever since. When she's finally forced to come face to face with all that has happened, what she finds is far different from what she thought happened. Great suspense, pacing, puzzle solving...a great read!

🔥🔥 ARC Review 🔥🔥

PUB Date: Aug 25th 2025

My Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫3.5 Alluring Stars

Forget Me Not is a slow burn , that will pull you in with its atmospheric tension!

Fans of Willingham are going to devour this one , with her crafty alluring atmospheric writing and compelling storylines , Stacy has done it again with a unique thriller !

Claire is a struggling journalist who lets her families past haunt her and lets it affect her every day life .

When her mother has had a bad fall , she goes back home to help take care of her , but things don’t go well and Claire is compelled to visit Galloway Farms a place where her sister seemed truly happy many years ago before her sister just vanished 👀

With Claire’s background she finds herself invested into finding more about the farm and the disappearance of sister and can’t shake this feeling that something happened on this very farm to her sister and she won’t stop digging until she has answers…but if she’s not careful she could find herself in the same situation as her sister 😮

This layered read slowly reveals itself with the little red herrings and the dual timeline with the hidden journal Claire finds hidden in a floorboard and questionable characters and southern isolated setting will be sure to keep you gripping its pages until the very end !!

Although I’m not a huge fan of slow burn mysteries and there were a few things that were not working for me I left a little underwhelmed after finishing this one , BUT I know sooo many of you will love this one 💜

Thank you NetGalley , St.Martins Press & Stacy Willingham for this ARC!!

Forget Me Not is Stacy Willingham’s gripping new thriller about a cold case that hits close to home for Claire, a journalist whose sister has been missing for more than two decades. Natalie’s alleged killer was her much older boyfriend who has been in prison since her bloody shirt was found in his car. Claire leaves her job in New York to spend the summer with her mom and is drawn into life at the farm where Natalie spent her last days. The people at the farm seem eager to hire Claire to help out for the summer. Do they hold clues to the past that will give her closure or will more unsolved mysteries come to light?

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Forget Me Not, an unputdownable thriller that lives up to its title.

5 stars OF COURSE for my girl Stacey! She really never misses for me, I ate it up in like, 10 hours?! It was so so good. The perfect amount of mystery with a lil spooky vibe and of course crazy twists

5 stars OF COURSE for my girl Stacey! She really never misses for me, I ate it up in like, 10 hours?! It was so so good. The perfect amount of mystery with a lil spooky vibe and of course crazy twists

I was really excited to get back into thrillers after being on a short romance kick and this book definitely had me hooked from the start. Claire is a journalist in New York who spends her days writing about murders, after having left her hometown where her own sister had gone missing and presumed dead over 20 years ago. After her mother has an accident she reluctantly returns home to help out. Naturally she starts to reminisce thinking about her sister and starts to go digging into her disappearance.

This book has a dual timeline which I always love to read and it genuinely had me on the edge of my seat at times which I always love! I really enjoyed the writing and the storytelling definitely kept me engaged. I liked being able to connect to the dots along with Claire while having my own theories while reading. This was such a fun and entertaining book I really enjoyed reading it!

Stacy Willingham has done it again. I love everything she writes and this was no exception. I devoured this book in under 3 hours and I was hooked the entire time. There were so many twists and turns in this book that I never knew where it was going and I never could have guessed the ending. This is a must-read for fans of small southern towns, mysteries, and crazy family dynamics.

I devoured Forget Me Not. From the very first chapter, I was hooked and couldn’t tear myself away. Stacy Willingham has once again proven herself a master of crafting atmospheric, psychological thrillers that get under your skin and stay there. I loved every second of this dark, immersive story.

The book strikes a perfect balance between haunting mystery and emotional depth. Claire’s return to her hometown to confront the ghosts of her sister’s disappearance is layered with tension, nostalgia, and a creeping sense of dread that builds with every page. The setting—Galloway Farm—is beautifully described, with its muscadine vineyards and Southern charm, but beneath the surface, something sinister simmers. You can feel the weight of the past pressing down on Claire as she unearths secrets long buried.

Willingham’s writing is compelling and sharp, and the pacing is flawless. I tore through this book in just a couple of sittings—it’s that good. Forget Me Not is everything I want in a thriller: gripping, atmospheric, emotionally resonant, and just a little bit chilling. Absolutely loved this. Highly recommend for anyone who craves a twisty, emotionally-charged mystery that lingers long after the last page.

Thank you Netgalley and SMP for an advanced copy of Stacys newest novel! I couldn't put this book down! Claire's sister Natalie went missing over twenty years ago and is declared dead. She has distanced herself from her family, left her job, and decides to head back home after learning her mom got injured. She ends up at a vineyard by happenstance and feels an immediate draw the the occupants and the property. As she gets settled in, she finds a diary buried on the property and from that moment on, everything she thought she knew changes. While some of the plot twists were a tad predictable, there were surprises after surprises. Bravo Stacy on another insane thriller!