LIKES:
📝 chilling, ominous writing
🦐 set in Louisiana
👩🏼 single pov (Chloe, a psychologist!)
🧠 psychology + mental health vibes
💊 explores the experience of substance abuse
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 examines family dynamics
🔪 SERIAL KILLER murders
🕵️‍♀️ an investigation
📰 + journalism vibes
🌪 ALL the twists and turns!
🤯 a mind-blowing ending! (I thought I had it figured out but NOPE 🤣)
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DISCLAIMERS:
😶‍🌫️ has an unreliable female narrator (a thriller trope I don’t love)
🦥 a lil slow in the beginning
⚠️ dm me for TW!
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VERDICT: a chilling, twisty psychological thriller examining the life, love, & family dynamics of a serial killer’s daughter as she witnesses and investigates another serial killer in action - SHOCKING & so good!

Chloe Davis is a psychologist in Baton Rouge. She became a psychologist to deal with the trauma of being the daughter of a serial killer. She has a loving, doting fiancé, Daniel. Then one of Chloe’s patients is murdered and she’s once again haunted by her past when six teenage girls were killed. Chloe is determined to not let the past repeat itself which makes her quite the heroine with compelling vulnerability. Her brother, Coop, disagrees with Chloe’s choice of fiancé and is quite vocal about it. Chloe’s mother is in a semiconscious state in a nursing home but has answers Chloe needs not just to the past murders but also to the current ones. Chloe resorts to denial and abusing prescription drugs when she can’t cope. It doesn’t help when a reporter calls because he’s doing a 20th-anniversary story of her father going to prison for the original murders. I guessed the ending pretty early in the book so I didn’t see this as any big twisty book. There were also way too many times when the red herrings were repeated. I did love the small Louisiana town feel with the Crawfish festivities. I also loved the realistic way in which the detective dealt with Chloe and her paranoia. Overall this is a good read.

A Flicker in the Dark was a story about a woman coming to grips with her family's past and attempting to finally move ahead with her bright future. This book started well and I was really excited to jump in. There was tension and a hint of mystery in walking through Chloe's past. She is a broken character that seems to have put her demons behind her on the surface. As you learn more about her, you realize it is just window dressing and that her past is reaching out to pull her back into the events that are still driving her life.

As this story unfolded, I was less concerned with the mystery of it. I had it pegged right away for some reason. Something in the way it was laid out told me everything I needed to know, but I enjoyed the way everything was told for a good portion of this book. Where I started losing
concentration with this was in the end game which continually spun mystery out of nothing and attempted to tie me up in odd details. I didn't hate this book, and after the big reveal, I really liked the way that it ended. For me, the constant spin towards the end and the misdirection actually detracted from my enjoyment a bit.

I was given this review copy for my unbiased opinion.

I loved this book. I don't really enjoy thrillers much but the audio was well done and it really engaged me while I was listening to it.

I really enjoyed this book. I love mystery and suspense books and so I usually can figure out the ending before i get there. At first I thought I had this plot all figured out but then something else would happen and then I just started suspecting everyone, heh. I highly recommend it!

My sincere thanks to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for letting me preview it.

It has been 20 years since Chloe's father went to prison labelled a serial killer. Six girls went missing that summer in her small Louisiana town. Now Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge, engaged, and with her life mostly together, at least on the outside. When teenage girls start to go missing again, Chloe can't help but wonder if it has something to do with her. Is she just being paranoid, or for the second time is she about to unmask a killer?


I originally chose this audiobook because of the Louisiana setting. I don't think I've read a book, at least not a book without vampires, set there. I stayed for the story. A Flicker in the Dark is a great debut that includes many things that make it a solid thriller: serial killers, family drama, unreliable characters, glimpses into the past, and more. You'll find yourself making excuses to keep going so you can get to the next twist. I cleaned my apartment everyday to listen. I laid in bed holding a pillow, just staring at the wall to finish at 12 AM on Sunday. While I did guess who the killer was pretty early on, there were enough twists to keep me interested in the story. Avid thriller readers will see it coming, but there are surprises along the way.


Our MC Chloe....you're probably going to want to shake her...or give her a little smack. BUT she's been through a lot. I generally do not enjoy an unreliable narrator, but I felt for Chloe. I also wanted Chloe to "please don't do that" and "please just talk to someone." You know, the fun demands you make of a character as you cringe away on your morning commute.


Karissa Vacker does a great job narrating this story. I'm positive that she is the real reason I connected with it. Karissa gave emotion to every character. I'm going to need more books read by her ASAP. Highly, recommend the audio version of A Flicker in the Dark.


A Flicker in the Dark is out now! Pick it up if you're looking for a strong debut, or you like to be in the know about tv adaptations! It has already been optioned to become a limited series for HBO Max!

This is one of my favorite thriller books ever! I cannot believe this is a debut book!
I absolutely could not put this book down!
I was not sure who to love and who to hate! I thought I figured the plot out only to be proved wrong time and time again! These twists had my jaw on the floor!
Must read!!!!!!

This was good, but I guessed the real culprit way too early on in the story. Also, the numerous flashbacks which only served to tell us things we already knew slowed down the pace. But overall, the writing is very readable and the main character is easily empathized with.

I really enjoyed this debut by Stacy Willingham. The writing was very smooth, which made it easy to stay engaged.

I have to admit that I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, so I expected some of the surprises. However, it was well-written and I wasn't 100% certain of how some aspects would come together. Regardless of my guesses, I wanted to continue reading to see what would happen.

I am impressed with Willingham's writing skill and how I was drawn into the story. The dialogue, relationships, thought processes, and behaviors rang true even if I did need to roll my eyes at a couple of the things people did. Those were decisions that people might really make if they were under stress, so even though they were frustrating those moments were still believable.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker. Vacker did an excellent job and I'd certainly listen to more of her work. I did look to see what else she has done and she has a large body of work to enjoy.

Overall, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to seeing what Willingham comes out with next. I would recommend this to someone looking for a less graphic mystery-thriller, particularly someone just starting with the genre.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Ok, I hated this book. Like I didn't even want to finish it. Why? because first of all, it was boring. Like, shoot me nothing is happening-boring. Like, I didn't want to turn another page, boring. Second, it was so overly descriptive it was ridiculous. The police procedure, what little there was, was inaccurate as well. I felt that the author should have done more research, or editing should have caught the fact that county corners can't do hair follicle drug tests in ten minutes, and I'm expected to believe that hair grew enough in a week to tell not only that there were drugs in the system, but what it was and when it was taken.
No. That's not how that works.
So, besides that, we spend the majority of the book along for the ride on the main character's pity party, delving deep into emotions over and over again regarding her father's past and how it messed up her life. Nothing was happening.
I'm sorry, I don't give reviews like this often, but come on.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator was perfect for my usual 2x speed. The author did a good job keeping you guessing about whether the main character was unreliable or not. At one point I thought I had the story figured out and boy am I glad I didn’t. Will check out more from this author

Who doesn't love a good serial killer story? This one had me on my toes from the very beginning. I liked the southern setting. It set the creepy vibe and fit in well with the story. While I ultimately guessed right, which I normally do, in the book’s defense, there weren’t a lot of suspects to choose from. But I did not know how we would get to the conclusion. And there were enough twists, turns and red herrings to make me doubt what I suspected.

I didn’t love Chloe at the beginning. I wasn’t sure how reliable she was and then based upon her drug habits, I became sure she wasn’t to be trusted. But by the end I was rooting hard for her.

I listened to this one and thought Karissa Vacker did a great job as the narrator. In slower paced books my mind can wander a little and that didn’t happen in this one.

There were a few scenarios along the way that seemed a little implausible and the ending is wrapped up quite nicely, but I think this is a great debut thriller. And I’d recommend this to all thriller lovers as it kept me engaged.

I listened to the audiobook of this one and really enjoyed it. I thought the narrator did a great job of bringing the story to life.. I found this story to be compelling and I had a hard time pulling myself away, but I didn’t find the mystery to be as mysterious as I would have liked. I also am a bit tired of the mental health/alcohol and drug use making a narrator unreliable but it was fairly well done here. Chloe’s father is in prison for murdering young girls 20 years ago. She feels like she has finally been able to move past it and create her own life when girls start to go missing for the 20th anniversary, Unable to stay away she investigates becoming suspicious of the (admittedly questionable) men in her life. While I did guess the bad guy correctly from pretty early on I was glued to the story to get to that ending. A great debut and I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next,

✨A Flicker in the Dark✨
▪️Read January 2022▪️🎧 Audiobook
Thank you @netgalley!

Chloe Davis is no stranger to missing girls. When she was 12, her father was out in prison and sentenced to life for abducting and killing 6 local girls. Now, 20 years later, Chloe is a successful psychologist in Baton Rouge, helping to treat a variety of patients with their emotional states.

Until, girls go missing again, and this time near Chloe’s office. Could they be connected to her dad? Of course not, he’s in jail…but then who is causing this new havoc on her new town? Chloe feels like she sees similarities with every girl that goes missing and can’t help but think it’s similar to her father’s crimes 20 years ago.

This debut novel gave me vibes of so many wonderfully similar authors and psychological novels! This book had me thinking who did it?! Until the very end! Even when I thought I had the mystery solved, boom, another twist!

4.5⭐️ This one was fun. The whole time you think you know who it is, but at the back of your mind you know a good thriller never makes it that obvious. When it's finally revealed, you will definitely be shocked, but it all makes sense. I flipped back and forth between a hard copy and the audio. The narrator's voice when reading Chloe was soft; almost timid, which was a perfect portrayal of Chloe. Imagine growing up as the daughter of a serial killer. Never trusting anyone completely. Not even your fiancé. And then more girls go missing and turn up dead on the 20th anniversary of your father's murders. What would you think? Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read a thriller set in Baton Rouge! And then I was listening to it while walking at night in the dark and waiting to be attacked and realized maybe that wasn’t the best idea. Because the writing is extremely atmospheric and convincing! I don’t read many thrillers anymore after burning out of the genre, but I enjoyed this one with all its twists and turns, and found Chloe a compelling narrator. Cheers to the audiobook reader for not doing a cheesy Southern accent as that would have been unbearable.

I really enjoyed this one. Chloe was a great character with a ton of depth. She has quite a few flaws, which makes her relatable and also believable. I really enjoyed the story from her point of view. I was able to guess a couple points of the ending but there were still a lot of twists I had no idea were coming. I think the angle of Chloe as a psychologist worked really well. This book is quite a bit more character driven than most thrillers though and some readers may not resonate with that. I listened to the audio version and felt that the narrator was a great fit.

This was such a great thriller!! The twists and turns just kept coming - and the ending was so unexpected! Will definitely read more novels by this author in the future

This was really well narrated and I enjoyed that aspect a lot. However, I felt that the suspense part of it was pretty predictable. I guessed early on who was the actual murderer and I found a lot of it to be just something I was waiting to finish it.