Forget me not was an interesting discovery from start to finish. Families come in all different varieties and Stacy Willingham shows the types you just might want to stay clear of. My how the secrets can make you check behind you. I received a complementary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a very moody and layered thriller that I could not put down! Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.

A Mosaic of Fear and Obsession
Claire Campbell is our narrator. She's not just remembering trauma—she’s living inside it. Twenty-two years ago, her sister Natalie disappeared after her eighteenth birthday. There was blood. There was an arrest. And there was the kind of closure that never actually closes anything. Claire did what so many survivors do: she buried the past and built a life on top of it, becoming an investigative journalist, chasing other people’s truths to avoid her own.

But trauma doesn’t stay buried. Not really.

When Claire receives a call from her father, everything fractures. Home is calling. Not for comfort, but confrontation.

What’s brilliant about this mystery thriller is the illusion of quiet. Galloway Farm—where Claire impulsively takes a summer job—feels like an escape at first. A vineyard on the coast of South Carolina, thick with nostalgia and slow mornings. The kind of place you go to forget. But Claire isn’t there to forget. Not really. She’s there to remember—she just doesn’t know it yet.

And then she finds the diary.

Marcia Galloway—wife of vineyard owner Mitchell Galloway—is the original author of this forgotten voice, buried in a vent like something shameful. And her words? They start out tender. Human. But they turn. And suddenly Claire is tangled in stories of unsolved crimes, secrets, and the feeling that what happened to her sister Natalie wasn’t isolated. That maybe Marcia's truth was the one no one ever asked for.

This is where Willingham’s genius as a thriller author shines. The narrative isn’t linear. It spirals. It breathes. Claire and Marcia’s stories bend toward each other like shadows at dusk—never quite touching until it’s too late to look away. And the entire time, the reader is caught in the eerie overlap of memory, instinct, and unraveling identity.

"I suppose it's because the dam has finally burst— this house, her room, two decades of pressure steadily building— and now I can't stop the memories from pummeling through."

Let’s talk pacing. This is not a book that sprints. It walks you to the edge and dares you to jump. The tension is surgical—clean, precise, deliberate. You don’t realize how deep you are until you try to pull away. Willingham’s writing feels like walking barefoot over glass. Gorgeous. And painful.

There’s a rhythm to it—what I call the psychological thriller lullaby. You start reading, thinking you’ll do a few pages. Suddenly, it’s 2 a.m., your responsibilities are on mute, and you need to know if your instincts are right.

The plot doesn’t just unfold—it lurks like a phantom buzz in the back of your mind. You know something’s off. You just can’t name it. That’s the thrill. The hook. That’s why I read.

Imperfect People, Unbelievable Decisions
Let’s get into character. Because while I was captivated, I was also deeply annoyed by Claire—and I mean that as a compliment.

She’s reckless. She finds what she’s looking for and still pushes further. She puts herself in danger repeatedly—even when she knows better. No phone battery. Miles of vineyard. Suspicious eyes were watching her every move. And still, she walks into it like she’s got something to prove.

And maybe she does. Maybe her recklessness is the point.

Grief makes you impulsive. Guilt makes you brave in ways you shouldn’t be. Claire is believable because she’s flawed. And while it sometimes strains credibility (like, girl… why are you walking into danger like a final girl in a slasher?), it also anchors her in a very real kind of trauma logic. This isn’t a perfect heroine. This is a woman barely holding it together.

And honestly? That’s more compelling than perfection.

"The child in me still starved for affection, a burning thirst that could never be quenched."

Here’s the thing that stayed with me long after I closed the book: the way Marcia and Natalie’s stories intertwine. It’s subtle at first. You can’t quite connect the dots. But you feel it—like static in the air before a storm. These women are bound by more than place. They’re bound by history. By the silence that surrounds women’s stories. By the way, no one listens until it’s too late.

It’s not just about Natalie. It’s about every woman who’s disappeared, been dismissed, been told she was dramatic, troubled, too much.

This book review isn’t just about a thriller—it’s about the pain women carry and the secrets they’re forced to keep. That’s what elevates Forget Me Not above the noise of every other thriller on your TBR pile. It’s about women remembering what the world tried to erase.

Final Thoughts: This Thriller Book Will Leave You Gutted (In the Best Way)

This is not a cozy mystery. It doesn’t wrap up with a neat little bow. Doesn’t protect you. It challenges you. As a reader, you’re left breathless, eyes wide, heart pounding, grasping for the last few pages, hoping for relief but knowing resolution won’t come easily.

Willingham’s writing is a siren song. She builds psychological thrillers that feel like confessions—dangerous and tender at the same time. Forget Me Not is a standout in a genre flooded with twists that try too hard. This book doesn’t need shock to thrill you. It uses emotion like a weapon.

It reminds you that not all ghosts are dead. Some are still walking. Some are still waiting.

If you loved:
Verity by Colleen Hoover
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

Overall a good mystery. I enjoyed the surprise cult like twist that was connected to a lot of the other woman’s stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange of an honest review. Creepy, twisting and suspenseful, Forget Me Not follows NYC journalist Claire as she returns to her small hometown in South Carolina to care for her estranged mother. What follows is a mostly tightly woven story of lies, disappearances and painful secrets. Despite a few minor plot holes, this is a very good, pulse pounding read.

FORGET ME NOT ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Release date 8/26/25. Claire left her small town South Carolina town as soon as she turned 18. When she was 11, her sister was murdered and her family never was the same. 15 years later, she returns to her small town and begins to uncover what really happened. The first half of the novel felt sluggish for me, it was a bit slow in holding my attention. I read the second half in one sitting, with lots of unraveling twists. With short chapters, I can see how addicting this one is! If you’ve read other novels from Willingham you know there’s is a lot of unreliability in her characters, and same is true for this one. I’m sure it will be a hit, it was just wasn’t for me. Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for ARC!

This is my favorite book by Stacy so far!
It started out a little slow but one comment by someone made everythinggggg start to unravel. There was even one part that I felt my heart racing and was so nervous to keep reading because I didn’t know what would happen. It was incredibly well written and twist after twist after twist just kept coming.

You should definitely add this to your TBR!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early in exchange for my review!

A southern thriller about a young woman struggling to cope with the death of her sister that happened 20 years ago. After returning home, she decides to take a seasonal job at a farm her sister worked at before her death. After finding the diary of a woman living on the farm, Claire starts to learn the true history of the farm and is determined to learn the truth about what happened to her sister all those years ago. This was a fast-paced southern thriller with alternating timelines and point of views. If I had more time, I could have easily devoured this book in a day. I highly recommend Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham and plan to read some of her older work asap, as this was my first novel by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an uncorrected digital advanced reader copy of Forget Me Not. I will definitely be recommending this book to others closer to publication.

4.5 stars

This is the first book I read by this author and I loved it. I could not put this book down. I wanted to keep reading to see how the story was going to end. It felt very suspenseful and had some twists along the way that surprised me. I liked how we saw a different perspective from one of the characters through her journal. It took us back in time. I haven’t read a book like this in a while and am looking forward to reading more from Stacy Willingham.

Holy cow, this was one of the best books I’ve read in a while.

A woman quits her big-city journalism job and returns to her hometown as an adult, 22 years after her beloved older sister disappears. Unable to abandon the journalistic itch, she starts digging into the past as she suspects that her sister may be connected to other missing women and mysterious happenings.

I’ve always enjoyed Stacey Willingham’s books, but this one far exceeded my expectations. The ended was so well done. I have no complaints at all.

This book had me on the very edge of my seat the entire time! It was atmospheric and creepy tok. I never saw the twists coming and at times, the story felt so real! This author is amazing!

The newest book by Stacy Willingham tends to get bogged down by tropes of the genre but the plot is enough to shine through the small instances of repetitions we often see in thrillers.

Before discussing the shining moments, let’s get the few negatives out of the way. For reference, I did just come into reading this right off the back of Sharp Objects and was worried it was so similar but not as well done. But getting through to about 20% the similarities ended so quickly that all the comparison in my mind were immediately lost and this was a relief! There were a lot of tropes throughout as well that did slightly bog this down. It was the usual you typically get with this genre- out of work writer struggling for a job, unhappy nostalgic revisit back home, mysterious sister’s secrets, and the list goes on. I also didn’t love that the POV of the journal entries were not in first person. This was the thing that threw me off the most and don’t really understand the choice and think the execution was lacking. The POV switch could’ve kept me better on track with a first person entry instead but I won’t lament it forever.

However many tropes or downfalls I listed above there are a lot of things about this book that also shine and don’t be turned off, they don’t tarnish this book more than taking off a single star for my review. The plot took off quickly and was extremely intriguing and held my interest throughout. There weren’t any extreme plot holes that forced me into suspending my belief. I absolutely loved the twists and turns with the cult-like aspects that elicited my love for other media like Pearl and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. And although I didn’t love the choice of third person in writing the journal entries, I did thoroughly enjoy that perspective.

I would still highly recommend this book to anywho who enjoys a good thriller. The issues were slight and very personal to my taste, but it still achieved all of the things it set out to do and I will forever read anything Willingham puts out.

This is a mystery about a woman named Claire that is trying to find out what happened to her sister years ago.
The first half of the book is very slow, it pucks up in the second half. There are many twists and turns in the second half that kept the story interesting.


Thanks to Netgalley for this eArc

Maybe my favorite Stacy Willingham book to date?! I loved this! The setting was eerie small town farm vibes and there were so many twists that I did not see coming. I loved the dual timelines and diary entries and how it all came together at the end. I highly recommend!!

My Stacy Willingham rankings:
1) Forget Me Not
2) All the Dangerous Things
3) Only if You’re Lucky
4) A Flicker in the Dark

Stacy Willignham is a staple thriller author so OF COURSE this is going to be 🔥 🔥 🔥!

A Southern thriller following a journalist Claire who is still not over the murder of her sister Natalie 22 years prior. After returning to her home down everything starts to unravel and I was here for it! If you love a fast pasty twisty thriller you won’t be disappointed! A must read could not put down!

I generally enjoyed Willingham’s latest novel. I thought it was an interesting plot and had some really intriguing twists along the way. Some things were slightly predictable but not enough to discredit the story. Overall a really solid book!

Stacy Willingham has been a favorite of mine and I’m so glad that her new book lived up to expectations. I always think I can figure out the twists but I was definitely not correct this time around-and I love that! I really liked the dual timeline of this story through the diary entries and current timeline. Overall really enjoyed this one!

Stacy Willingham strikes again with Forget Me Not - a thriller filled much intrigue that captivates the reader from the start. The main character, Claire, has an interesting motive of moving back to her hometown where her sister had mysteriously disappeared over 20 years ago. This story had me on the edge of my seat as the story quickly unfolded, tying all of the interconnecting pieces of the story into a satisfying end. I would recommend this book as your next fun thriller read.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC copy.

This is Stacy Willingham at her best! Each book she writes gets better and better. I did not see the twists and turns coming and enjoyed every second. Willingham is a must for any thriller fans.

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge with its smart pacing and layered characters. The mystery unfolds with just the right balance of suspense and emotional depth, making it both engaging and thought-provoking. Willingham’s writing is sharp and atmospheric, drawing readers into a world where nothing is quite as it seems.