Book: Forget Me Not
Author: Stacy Willingham
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub Date: August 26, 2025

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and it didn’t disappoint. While it’s not my favorite book by this author it is still a four-star read. I did feel like it dragged at times and was a little slow. There were a few loose ends that I thought were too neatly tied up and easily fixed and the twists were good but not necessarily shocking. Beyond that it was a fast and easy read and easy to follow. It is a very enjoyable who-done-it. This will make a great summer beach read.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 26, 2025.

This book held incredible promise, and I specifically picked it up due to being from South Carolina. I wanted to feel immersed in the small town southern environment and knew it would make for a pulse pounding mystery. However, I found the book lacking in immersion. It felt very surface level, with opportunities to grow the environment and the characters. I DNF'd at 50% as I was struggling to stay interested in where the story was headed.

I've loved other books by Stacy Willingham, but unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. It didn't feel like a thriller to me.

It begins as a great story of what happens to a family that has experienced the murder of a child. It does a great job at really diving into how that family deals (or in this case - avoids dealing with) the aftermath of such a horrific event. It's slow start, but at about the 35% mark, a mystery is introduced in the way of a diary our main character, Claire, has found. First, this didn't feel like a diary at all since it was written in the third person. Who writes a diary in the third person? Most importantly, it really didn't feel like a big enough mystery to suck me in. It just felt like Claire was intruding on these people's lives. I was really hoping that the big hook would be that she was completely wrong and there was no mystery here.

Those who enjoy slow-burn mysteries will enjoy this, but if you are looking for a thriller, this isn't it. There is a climactic ending, but for me, that was too little too late. I didn't love it, but I can see that there are readers who will.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this advanced review copy.

Claire Campbell’s eighteen-year-old sister, Natalie, disappeared 22 years ago. After moving away to forget about it all, an unexpected call from her dad brought her back to town for the first time in 15 years. With nothing to do for the summer, she starts a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, where her sister once worked. It seems like a tranquil retreat…until Claire finds a diary from one of the vineyard’s owners. She has this unsettling feeling that Natalie’s disappearance may be connected to this place.

This new Southern thriller from Stacy Willingham starts off a little slow, but once you get into it, it’s hard to put down!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

While I enjoyed the last two Stacy Willingham books that I read, this book was just too frustrating for me to enjoy as much as I enjoyed the other books. The mystery sounds very intriguing and and there are thrilling aspects to the story but the main character made me want to stomp my feet and throw my Kindle at her. I think I shouted at her a few times, too!

Thirty three year old Claire Campbell is heading back home because she's been asked by her dad to go take care of her mom. Long ago they split up about the time that Claire's older sister, Natalie, started all kinds of suspicious behavior. Then Natalie went missing and because of things found, was declared dead. Claire's mom won't allow her dad to help her but really, Claire's mom doesn't want anything from Claire either, so Claire finds a job at the place her late sister used to work before she went missing.

Claire's sister was seventeen when she was doing unwise things and then went missing. I'd like to think that thirty three year old Claire would have gained something from her years of experience as an adult. But no, Claire doesn't seem to have any situational awareness, no ability to say no when she most certainly should say no, and no ability to keep her electronics charged and in working order. As I've mentioned before, I'll never get to be a MC in a mystery/thriller because I never let my phone's battery get close to 0. In fact, I carry mini portable chargers with me to totally ruin that plot twist for me getting into huge messes.

Once again the author has filled the story with twists and turns and just as I would think I had something figured out, I'd find out I was wrong. There is a lot of enjoy here and I just wish it could have happened with a more alert, clear thinking MC. I always look forward to the work of this author and will be waiting impatiently for her next book. I was able to buddy read this story with Jayme, Mary Beth, and DeAnn so I was able to rant to them about my gripes, always fun when reading a perplexing mystery/thriller.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Once again, Stacy Willingham did not disappoint! Thriller with all the thrills. I really enjoyed how the POV was written. Multiple POV always makes it more enjoyable to me. Then the twist...Yes!!

What a great southern mystery - I loved the description of all the scenery! This book follows many mysteries over the course of a few decades, with a handful of plot twists thrown in. I thought this book was a quick, captivating read!

Many thanks to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I have to give Stacy Willingham many thanks for getting me back into reading with A Flicker in the Dark a few years ago—that book was what made me realize that I enjoy thrillers and suspenseful books! I was extremely excited to see Forget Me Not available on NetGalley and even more excited when I was granted an advanced copy! The book is slow to start but still suspenseful, riveting, thoughtful, and surprising, too! It has everything you would look for in a Stacy Willingham novel! Enjoy!

What happens at Galloway stays at Galloway…

Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday, and although a body was never recovered the case was quickly closed.

Upon graduation, Claire moved to N.Y. to become an investigative journalist, and she hasn’t returned to her small town since. But after getting passed over for a promotion that should have been hers, she resigns from The Journal” to freelance. So when her mom is hurt in an accident, she is able to return home to help, since she can write from anywhere.

Claire finds that her sister’s room has remained untouched, and while looking through her belongings, she comes across a photo of Natalie taken at Galloway-the Muscadine vineyard on Wadamaw Island where Natalie worked the Summer before her death.

Claire impulsively decides to visit and when she learns that they are looking for seasonal help and that the position comes with room and board, she applies for the job, since Freelance writing hasn’t exactly been paying the bills and her Mom doesn’t seem to really welcome her assistance.

Perhaps it will nice to spend time at the last place where Natalie seemed so happy?

However, soon after settling in, Claire she finds a hidden diary which seems to detail various unsolved crimes, and as a journalist, she feels compelled to investigate, making one reckless decision after another.

Could her own sister's disappearance be tied to the events from the past chronicled in the diary?

Had I known the direction that this book would take, I would have passed on it, as it isn’t a favorite trope of mine (no spoilers) even though I have enjoyed two out of three of the author’s earlier books.

But, the “trope” wasn’t my only issue with it.

I was often taken out of the story with the purple prose, especially in the first half, as the story sets up. And, the last 25% felt longer than it was as we listen to drawn out confessions.

This wasn’t a bad book, despite these drawbacks, but for me it rates just an average three stars.

But, now that I know the secrets, I noticed something in the intriguing book cover that I hadn’t noticed prior…

Available August 26, 2025

Thank You to Minotaur Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up!

This was reeeeeeaaaally slow to start. The story is very slow moving for a majority of the book, then starts to pick up in the last quarter. Definitely not the page turning thriller that I was expecting, but still with twists and an unexpected ending. Everything wrapped up really well in the end, and I felt satisfied with the story. Just wished the pace was a bit faster!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC in exchange for my honest review.

Immediately got very excited when I saw this was a Stacy Willingham thriller! I absolutely adored A Flicker In The Dark, All The Dangerous Things and Only If You’re Lucky! So I went into it with high expectations and they were definitely met! I love when the main character returns to their small hometown. It sets the tone and I automatically know it’s about to get creepy and crazy! I loved the format of the story and getting to experience the scenes that Claire was reading in her sister’s diary. Can’t wait to listen to the audiobook when it comes out!

Stacy Willingham is one of my auto-read authors. After A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things (both 5-star reads for me), I had high expectations—and this one delivered.

This Southern thriller had perfect pacing kept me turning pages late into the night. My only complaint? I didn’t want it to end! I was left wanting more—in the best way.

What a page-turner!!!!! This was my first book by Stacy Willingham and I feel like I need her ENTIRE collection. If I could recommend a next thriller to everyone, it would be this one! I enjoyed reading the diary entries and the switch in POV. The writing allowed me to vividly imagine the scenes and what was occurring. The plot twist was unpredictable and I wish I could read it again for the first time!

Many thanks to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Loved this book! All of SW books are page turners. Sad I have to wait a year or more for another one!

After loving Willingham's first few books, I was disappointed to find Forget Me Not lacking a bit. I loved the South Carolina setting, and I was initially very intrigued by the premise. But it simply moved too slow for me and the mystery didn't seem that mysterious. I feel like this story suffered from me not caring too much about any of the characters; if I had, I surely would have enjoyed this more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I had the chance to read an advanced copy of Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham (coming August 2025), and I’m still not over it. This book completely consumed me—in the best way. I’ve loved all of Stacy’s books, but this one? Next level. Easily my favorite read in a long time.

It’s packed with tension from the start and doesn’t let up. Twist after twist, and every time I thought I had things figured out, I was wrong. I loved the way the story jumped between past and present—it added so much depth and urgency to Claire’s search for answers about her sister’s disappearance.

The setting, the atmosphere, the pacing—everything just worked. And that slow creep of realization as the diary starts to reveal its secrets? Chills. I tore through it in two sittings and didn’t want it to end.

If you're into thrillers that keep you on edge and hit you right in the gut emotionally, add this to your list immediately. You’re going to want this one the second it drops.

This was such a great thriller! It took me a few chapters to get into it but once I did, I was hooked! Although there weren’t any shocking moments or jaw dropping twists, the suspense in this book kept me at the edge of my seat! It was cult-y, and a bit creepy, both in a good entertaining way.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense/mystery/thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Forget Me Not is a moody, slow-burning thriller from Stacy Willingham that blends mystery, family drama, and buried secrets in the heat of the South Carolina lowcountry.

The story follows Claire, who returns to her hometown after years away. She's hoping for a fresh start, but things take a dark turn when she finds an old diary that seems connected to her sister’s long-ago disappearance. As she digs deeper into the past, Claire is forced to confront painful memories and a family history full of lies and secrets.

Willingham’s writing is atmospheric and emotional, with a strong sense of place. The mystery builds slowly but steadily, and the twists—though not always shocking—are satisfying. Some readers may find the pacing a bit slow at times, but those who enjoy character-driven thrillers will likely be drawn in.

Verdict: A thoughtful, haunting thriller that’s perfect for fans of stories where family secrets and unresolved trauma take center stage.

Stacy Willingham is one of my all time favorite authors, so when I saw her new book on netgalley, I knew I had to request it!

In this gripping thriller, Brooke is struggling with fragmented memories of a tragic event from her childhood - the death of her childhood best friend, Lily. Willingham focuses on both past and present elements to further push the story along.

"Forget Me Not" is one of those reads where you think you've pieced everything together, only to have another wrench thrown at you.

Big thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

amazing I loved every second! another cult thriller that will make it as a book of the year. I had to know the ending