Thank you netgally and Macmillan for the ARC of this book!

Wow! WOW. Serial killer. Families torn apart. Paranoia and doubts at every turn. What a debut. It was so captivating, I finished it all in one sitting. The audio narrator was fantastic, which helped me be drawn straight into the story. There were so many times I felt sure I knew what was going to happen, and I’d be proven wrong again and again. The plot was heart wrenching as much as it was suspenseful, and the twist at the end left me clutching my chest.

I can’t wait to read future books by this author!

A Flicker in the Dark got off to a slow start, but then just kept pulling me in more and more. The suspense was delicious.

At the same time, the plot ultimately left me disappointed. Not only did I see the ending coming from a mile away, many of the elements felt stale. I think this is one that may work much better for those who don't often read/watch the genre.

Sometimes I find myself really enjoying a book regardless of its plot's predictability, but I think A Flicker in the Dark was too long for that to be the case -- after hanging on for so long, I wanted some sort of payoff. I also had my hopes up for the story to go in any number of directions, (besides the one I expected), and thus was disappointed when that didn't happen.

The narration by Karissa Vacker is well done. (You may recognize her voice from The Banker's Wife; A Good Marriage; or Olympus, Texas, to name a few.)

I recognize that this was a debut -- perhaps Stacy Willingham's next novel will be a better fit for me!

A FLICKER IN THE DARK is a solid debut for author Stacy Willingham. She did an excellent job at misleading the reader into believing that one character could be the serial killer and ended the book with a jaw-dropping moment. The only flaw was Chloe. It is hard to believe that a woman with her experience and line of work, would be so naïve. Otherwise, it was a good psychological thriller and worth the read.

The narration was awesome and perfect for this thriller.

I absolutely flew threw this and was ALL over the place trying to solve the case. I had company in town and even stayed up late to read after they went to bed because I had to know! I am such a sucker for coming of age stories, and while that was only a small portion of this book as she goes through memories, some of the writing describing Chloe's youth was absolutely beautiful and transportive giving me those vibes I have when watching "Now and Then".

"In my mind, this place seems to be separated by a crisp, clean line: before and after. On one side of the line, the memories are bright, happy. A small town childhood filled with gas station snow cones and consignment store rollerblades; the bakery I used to duck inside every day at 3 p.m., picking up a complimentary slice of sourdough, still warm from the oven. Melted butter dripping down my chin as I walked home from school, jumping over cracks on the sidewalk, picking a bouquet of flowering weeds that I would present to my mother in a cloudy juice glass."

^^Tell me that doesn't make you feel things and reflect on your own innocence and coming of age era. I also loved how the author used the word Flicker from the title in the last chapter. The main character was well developed and worth the emotional investment. I am looking forward to the adaptation Emma Stone will be starring in as well!

A Flicker in the Dark is a remarkable debut novel that is the true definition of a page turner. Chloe Davis is a psychologist who's father was arrested as a serial killer 20 years ago when a slew of teenage girls are killed in a small Louisiana town. The past comes back in a terrifying way when girls begin to go missing again. Chloe and her family were already struggling trying to keep their life on track, and now things are even worse. Chloe is an unreliable narrator and a user of drugs and alcohol. The story is full of twists and turns and will keep you intrigued until the very end.

The new star DEBUT author Stacy Willingham delivers a knock-out smashing psychological thriller— A FLICKER IN THE DARK, both haunting and compelling.

Series adaptation news: Emma Stone’s Fruit Tree, A24 to Develop ‘Flicker in the Dark’ Series at HBO Max.

Trust no one!

If this is a debut, I cannot wait to see what comes next. This small-town thriller gets under your skin— with a twisty creepy vibe and atmospheric setting.

Meet Chloe, protagonist — a medical psychologist living in Baton Rouge, LA. Chloe had had a rough life and experienced PTSD due to her tragic childhood when she was twelve.

Her father (Richard) was convicted of murdering six girls in the small rural town of Breaux Bridge and currently serving time in prison.

It is approaching the 20th anniversary of the killings, and girls are missing in much the same way. A copycat killer?

Chloe is engaged to be married to Daniel, and instead of planning the wedding, she is caught up in the new murders and has to re-live her past over again.

She is responsible for turning over evidence against her father, which drove her mother (Mona) to attempt suicide. She has been incapacitated since, and Chloe still visits her.

Chloe is self-medicating, dealing with her anxiety and nightmares, and keeping it from Daniel (pharmaceutical sales) and her soon-to-be husband.

Cooper, her brother, is worried about her and does not care for Daniel. Daniel also has a past with his younger sister, who went missing 20 years earlier. They both are keeping things from one another.

When she is contacted by a journalist who wants to interview her for an anniversary story—things get stressful for her, and another girl is murdered.

So was her father possibly innocent? Is this someone new killing again? What about the trophies from the victims?

Smartly written, the author keeps you on the edge of your seat as the suspense builds to the explosive ending where all is unraveled. From past to present, we learn about the murders and how they connect with the present.

Dark and twisty, with nail-biting tension and jaw-dropping surprises. There are several red herrings and twists which keep you guessing.

Complex, richly atmospheric, and thoroughly riveting fans of authors Mary Kubica, Heather Gudenkauf, and Kimi Cunningham Grant These Silent Woods will enjoy this gripping debut and newfound author's lyrical prose.

A special thank you to #NetGalley and #MinotaurBooks for an ARC digital copy and from #MacmillanAudio an audio ARC performed by Karissa Vacker for an award-winning performance!


Blog Review:
@JudithDCollins
#JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/of 5 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 11, 2022
Top Debut 2022

A bit predictable but I still really enjoyed reading this one and look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

The main character, Chloe Davis, has a dark past; when she was in her teens her father became a convicted serial killer. When similar murders start to occur again, Chloe starts to link more and more clues, uncovering several suspicious characters, who are personally close to her. I had some hesitant moments while listening to this murder mystery thriller. While I tried to sympathize with the foolish choices she made within the plot, making an excuse because of her horrible past, I wanted to go into the book and shake her after one to many choices that seemed poorly throughout. Chloe wasn’t a character I respected nor really liked; but, her choices, her past, and her suspicious mind hooked me to the plot and drew me into the insanity and anxiety of her situation and had me constantly doubting her reliability as a narrator. This was a well-told story that threw in lots of twists and turns leading to an ending that was satisfying with some surprises and some elements that were not surprising, but were not a disappointment while uncovering the truth.

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath. Twenty years have passed, Chloe is a psychologist in a private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She thinks she has finally found a future to embrace when her world is turned upside down. A local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. 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?

A FLICKER IN THE DARK is a debut thriller from Stacy Willingham that feels like anything but a debut. This book is an absolute masterpiece in plot, pacing, and character study. From the first few chapters I found an easy bond with our main character, Chloe. She’s got a complicated past and is trying to live with a trauma that she can’t seem to put to rest. When teenage girls start going missing, the similarities are far too strong to her father’s crimes of the past for Chloe to ignore and soon she is immersed in the hunt for the truth. What a ride that hunt is! I suspected almost everyone at some point and while I was able to make a few predictions that turned out correct, the last quarter of the book was simply shocking reveal after shocking reveal. A FLICKER IN THE DARK is the binge-worthy thriller we’re all looking for in our lives!

A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy!

This was a good thriller to read over the holiday break. It was intriguing to find out the “real” serial killer and if it was her father or not. I enjoyed the plot and this was a quick read thriller that kept me going until the end.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5, I loved this one! Such a twisty, can’t-put-down thriller that has one of my favorite troupes, being related to or in love with a serial killer. 20 years after going through the trauma of discovering that her father is a serial killer, Chloe Davis discovers there are girls going missing again in her town, leaving clues that all lead back to her fathers doing. What is really going on in Baton Rouge?

I LOVED this thriller and it was a perfect way to end the 2021 reading season! It was twisty, surprising, and suspenseful! I had no idea who was lying, who was truthful, who was deceitful, who was right and wrong, all the things. I couldn’t decide who was reliable or who was wrong.
Definitely a 5 star read!!!

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audiobook.

This was all that I expected and more! A good amount of suspense and plot twists, likeable characters. The narrator did a great job as well. I would absolutely recommend giving this book a try!

Have you ever thought about how a family member of a serial killer handles the situation and the lifelong mental ramifications of living with that connection? Well you definitely find out with this great book! When Chloe was 12 she found evidence that lead to her father’s conviction (the monster) for killing several girls.

Dealing with those issues have left Chloe with psychological and emotional issues, as well as difficulties trusting anyone. When the 20-year anniversary comes around for the deaths of those girls, several girls start to go missing and found dead. Are these deaths tied to her father?

While the beginning was a bit slow, the narrator did a great job at captivating the audience. When you think you know who the murderer is, boy are you wrong! There are so many twists and turns that you just don’t see coming. The plot was a great build and you don’t find out who the murderer is until the end, which was a complete surprise! I highly recommend this book and debut author! This was an invigorating read.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, narrator, and the author, in turn for my honest review.

Hard to believe this was a debut!!! All the buzz is well deserved for this twisty, twisty thriller!! If you like lots of twists without a lot of graphic violence this one is for you. I swear my head got whiplash for the number of times I thought I had this book figured out only to have the author do a complete 180 and turn things into a completely different direction. Compulsively readable and great on audio this is sure to keep you entertained to the very end. Highly recommended!! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC!

CW: drug addiction

I listened to this audiobook while following along in the physical copy. It is something I do often when I read these days, and finding that books in print don't match up to the audio versions can be a real bummer. This book matched up perfectly, which made me so happy. The audio enhanced the story so much more. I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I was just reading the physical book. The narrator di an excellent job of conveying emotion, differentiating between characters, and keeping the listener just as suspicious as the Chloe as she learns new information throughout the book and not giving away the ending with her emotions.

The story itself was captivating and it kept me guessing as to who the real killer was - her dad, her soon-to-be husband, her brother, the "reporter." It was really well crafted and Chloe was just enough of an unreliable narrator to make the story work but also allowed us to trust her when the final reveal happened.

Who doesn’t love a fast paced, short chapters, thriller about a serial killer, that constantly has you second guessing who the heck the killer is?!⁣
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Gosh, I love when I can’t figure it out til the end.⁣
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What an excellent debut by this author!⁣
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Chloé is a psychologist, who’s father is in prison for being a serial killer, when she was a kid; and now 2 more girls are missing and so many signs lean toward a copy cat. She’s paranoid and doesn’t know who she can and can’t trust. ⁣
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Chloé is an unreliable narrator, who sucked me in from page one and I blew through this story so I could have all the answers. This was tense. I felt her anxiety and paranoia in my bones. ⁣
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The narration on this was wonderful too, and so well done. I went back and forth listening to the audio and reading my gifted copy.⁣
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Thank you @minotaurbooks for an audio and physical ARC! ⁣
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I was so intrigued by “A Flicker in the Dark” when I read the synopsis. And boy was I correct!? This book was so well written and kept me hooked the entire time. I audibly gasped at the major twist!!! Such a great book.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook arc! 4 stars. The book had a some great characters and plot twists. The narration was a little echo-y but overall the narrator was good.

I really enjoyed this book. From someone who reads lots of thrillers, the story kept me turning the page but the outcome was relatively predictable. I think this author has a lot of talent. I can't wait to see what she puts out next.