I love a good thriller/mystery with a serial killer subject. This book makes you think you have it figured out, confuses you, then brings it all together at the end. I loved the storyline, loved the narrator, and couldn’t be happier about all aspects of this book. The hype for this new novel did not let me down!

What a fantastic debut novel. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
When Chloe was 12 several teenage girls went missing. Turns out it culprit was her own father. Life has been extremely difficult for Chloe since then.

20 years later Chloe is engaged and finally getting the life she deserves. Or is she?
Chloe's life is about to become hell again when local girls start to go missing once again.

Everyone becomes a suspect in her mind. Is this a copycat killer? Is it someone she may even know? So many questions that need answers NOW!

Read this one and find out for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

I listened to the audio version and felt the narrator was great. You may need to increase the volume as she sometimes whispers. But this only added to the ambiance.

Many thanks to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy.

This was a great, fast-paced read. The story kept pulling you in, and the narrator has a clear voice that conveyed true emotion.

A flicker in the dark is such a wild ride! I guessed where the book was going by chapter 11 but I kept thinking other things throughout the whole book. I had the BOTM copy and was also approved by Netgalley for the audiobook so I listened to that and followed along. I listened to it in one sitting and was so happy with how it ended!! I actually felt guilty for some of the thoughts I was having about certain characters. I’ll read whatever Stacy Willingham publishes, that’s for sure!!!

What an amazing debut novel!
I seriously could not put this down.
Dr. Chloe Davis suffers a horrible life event at only 12 years old when her father is arrested after confessing to murdering several local teens. Years later she's now a psychologist working with teenage girls and preparing for her wedding. Suddenly, young girls begin to go missing again and she struggles to come to grips with the similarities from her past. Are these cases related? Is it a copycat?
Will she find out who is responsible before it's too late?
Each time I just knew I had to story figured out, another twist would get me.

What a brilliant and twisted psychological thriller! This book centers on Chloe Davis, a psychologist with a successful private practice and has a seemingly perfect relationship with her fiancé, Daniel. She is also a daughter of a serial killer who presumably killed six teenage girls twenty years earlier. When two more girls goes missing in present day, Chloe needs to figure out if it is just a coincidence or something more terrifying and disturbing.

I am still blown away that this was a debut novel. The book kept me guessing until the end and I could not stop listening. As soon as I thought I figured everything out, another twist happens. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This was my first official read of 2022 and it will be hard to beat.

Thank you to Netgallery and to Macmillan Audio for giving me a copy of the audiobook for a honest review.

This is the best book that I have read in months! I listened to the audio version and not only did I love the narrator (I’ve listened to her before and actively searched for books that she narrates, which is how I originally heard of this one) but I couldn’t not get enough of the writing, storyline, characters…everything!! This was the perfect book for me and I cannot believe that this is the author’s debut novel, I’ll be impatiently waiting for her to write another!!

I was so excited to read this book when I first heard about it since I’m from a small town near Baton Rouge and I love a book about a serial killer.
All in all, the overall writing was good and I did enjoy the story. I did find it missing a little pizazz though. For others, the atmospheric development that took place in the story is something I can see that many people will gravitate to and love. However for me, the correct and real atmosphere in south Louisiana is much more rich and and could’ve been given a much better realistic creepy feeling.
I did figure out the twist early, but it did keep me doubting myself.
I do recommend you read this book and please note that my review is from my own personal bias based on the locality. 3.5 ⭐️

The narrator did do a terrific job!

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.

I'm so glad I decided to pick this one up! I'm looking forward to recommending this one to all my mystery readers at the store. I imagine people will compare it to Girl on the Train and Woman in the Window but I think it is so much better than those two books. To be fair-- I didn't finish either one because the main characters annoyed me too much. The main character in A Flicker in the Dark self medicates but it was handled well and didn't make the character whiny or frustrating in the way The Girl on the Train or Woman in the Window did. Please still read this one if you didn't like those and hear the comparison. This book was such a fun read that I read it in three days. As a retail manager. During the holidays. It's that kind of book. I can't wait for you to read it.

I Painted, read, and listened by candlelight.

Sipping wine and not knowing what the heck I was doing.

This might be one of the MOST INCREDIBLE reading experiences I’ve ever had.

This was the perfect book to do it with. Atmospheric, dark, tense. The writing reminded me of Karin Slaughter, taut and chilling.

It was a BOOK OF THE MONTH (link in bio/affiliate) pick last month and it comes out January 11.

Don’t miss this one! This so far its the best thriller I’ve read of the 22 releases.

Thanks to @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for the listening copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chloe Davis's father is a serial killer. He was caught and sent to prison when she was a child. Now, 20 years later, girls are going missing again. She can't help but feel that the missing girls are connected to her father. A copy cat? She frantically tries to figure out who is causing history to repeat itself.

The best suspense book I've read in a while. And by a debut author! This was definitely a page turner. Early on, I felt like I had it figured out (and I did), but there were so many red herrings that I really doubted my instincts! This one is definitely worth checking out. I'm looking forward to future books by Stacy Willingham. (And the show when it debuts!!)

I listened to the audiobook. While the narrator, Karissa Vacker, is not one I am familiar with, she did a good job. I listened at 1.25 speed and everything was clear.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this thriller and found it to be riveting through most of the story. I read it super fast as I was eager to find out what was going to happen. I had a few theories, and some of my theories ended up being correct, but it was fun to read how the story ended up there.

This story is about Chloe, whose father was arrested for kidnapping and murdering 6 girls when Chloe was just 12 years old. As an adult, Chloe is still dealing with the trauma of having a serial killer as a father. She is shaken to the core when young girls in her town start go missing and it feels like her past is coming back to haunt her.

One thing I didn't love in this story is Chloe's unwillingness to talk to the police. It drives me crazy (and it happens so often) in these stories, when the main character refuses to seek official help and instead decides it would be better if they just solved the whole mystery on their own. I had to suspend my disbelief a few times as this story drew to an end, but by the time I finished, I was willing to just go with it and not ask too many questions.

This book is about missing and murdered girls, so it's a bit dark and tough to stomach at times. But I thought it was a good read!

I'm very surprised that A Flicker in the Dark is a debut novel. It is written very well with a gripping story that had me second guessing myself constantly.

Being the daughter of a serial killer, Chloe Davis has had a lot to overcome in life. 20 years later, she still struggles to put her past behind her but when local teenage girls start to go missing around her, she can't help but fear a copycat and get involved.

I had my suspicions early on and then changed them and then changed them again. While I ended up not being overly surprised with the ending, it sure had me guessing for awhile.

The narrator was also great.

2.5

Twenty years ago, Chloe Davis's father was arrested for the murder of six teenage girls who went missing from her small Louisiana town. Now she's living in Baton Rouge and it seems like the same killer is back, except her father is still in prison.

As soon a I heard the premise of this book, I knew I had to read it as I love the idea of questioning if there is a copy cat serial killer or if they got the wrong person the first time. Unfortunately the execution of this one really failed in my opinion. It was pretty clear from the start who the culprit was, and while I don't usually mind figuring out the twist early on, aspects of the how/why didn't really make sense. I'm also incredibly tired of pill popping/alcoholic protagonists.

That being said the pacing was well executed and the writing was nice, if a little flowery, so I would be interested to see what Willingham does next. And I seem to be in the minority on this one, so if the do think the premise sounds interesting to you definitely pick it up.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Being from south Louisiana near Breaux Bridge, I can attest that the setting is authentic to Louisiana and the culture which I really appreciate. This story is full of twists and turns. Just when I thought I had the mystery solved, I was surprised again and again. I loved the pace of this book as well as the character development. Definitely recommend!

This was a true psychological thriller and I did not figure out the twist! I had to listen to the end twice to make sure I caught every twist and turn.

Chloe Davis, a psychologist specializing in teenage girls has lived through a lot. She was a teenage girl herself when her father was sent to prison for killing multiple teenage girls, just a few years older than her. Things are going well for Chloe, she has her own practice and a new seemingly perfect fiancé. However, everything starts to go sideways when girls in her new city start to go missing,

I love the unreliable narrator trope because it doesn’t allow to trust what the narrator is showing and telling you.

I felt like there were a few ends that were not tied up at the end but overall it was a good rollercoaster ride.

4.5 Stars!

It's hard to believe A Flicker in the Dark is a debut novel. Stacy Willingham masterfully executes this storyline of Chloe Davis, who is the daughter of a serial killer. Chloe's dad's crimes still haunt her even 20 years later. She is now an engaged 32-year-old psychologist, but she still carries the trauma with her each day. She holds tight to the happiness she has found, but when local teen girls turn up missing, Chloe falls right back to how she felt as a scared 12-year-old She sees so many similarities to what happened in the past and feels an obligation to get involved with finding the killer.

This book had a lot of turns and deals with the anatomy of evil and the intricate dynamics of family. There are quite a few red herrings and twists that kept me guessing and ultimately we aren't sure how reliable of a narrator Chloe is with her abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. The atmosphere of this book was eerie and kept me in suspense throughout its pages. This book was such a strong debut and I look forward to reading Stacy Willingham's next!

This was a spectacular thriller. The author did an excellent job setting up several different "suspects" so that the ending was not completely predictable. While I did guess the ending at one point, I had several other theories so I was still pleasantly surprised how it all played out. This is true suspenseful writing that I find lacking in a lot of other thrillers, so A Flicker in the Dark was very refreshing to start 2022 reading. I will highly recommend this book to my family/friends/followers.

Rating: 5/5

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Stacy Willingham's " A Flicker in the Dark " seizes the readers' attention in a way rarely achieved by a debut novel.

Chloe Davis was only 12 when, one by one, the girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. The town was terrorized as the killer took his victims. The killer ,who turned out to be Chloe's beloved father, Convicted and sentenced to life, Chloe was left with a brother, who tried his best to protect her, and a mother who retreated from reality under the stress.

Twenty years later, Dr. Chloe Davis is now a therapist with an amazing fiancee and wedding fast approaching. Her brother, Cooper, still her rock, and her mother, uncommunicative in a home. The damage that Chloe suffered from those early years cannot be concealed or mended through self medication.

A reporter reaches out to her to wanting an interview on the 20th anniversary of the murders. She wants nothing to do with this, Then a teenage girl is found dead in the alley behind her office building right after her first session with Chloe. Horrifying coincidence or the beginning of a copycat serial killer?

Willingham's writing is evocative of the hot Louisiana days - you feel the humidity as you read. The anxiety of the main character is transferred to the reader. Although she is an unsound narrator, you feel for her. Suspicions change as more information is discovered. Will she be able to put the pieces together before it is too late for her?

I would definitely add " A Flicker in the Dark " to your reading list. I will be waiting to see what Stacy Willingham serves us next. My thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and HarperCollins UK for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.