Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. This story starts out feeling like many other "Southern thrillers" I've read. I was able to guess a few of the twists, although I wouldn't say they were easily guessable, I was just paying close attention. The plot was entertaining enough and I wanted to know what would happen enough to read the book in less than two days. There were a few small plot points that didn't feel truly wrapped up to me. All-in-all, not bad but not spectacular. A solid 3/5.

The beginning was a little slow for me. By 40%, I was hooked. By 75%, my heart was racing and everything I thought I knew was destroyed. The way every single character connected was truly mind blowing.

Thank you to Net Galley & St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

Willingham is a solid four star writer for me, except for her last title Only if You're Lucky which fell short (rated 2 stars). Forget Me Not was a return to form; interesting characters and setup, great use of a diary to flip POVs and set up the mystery. I stayed up way too late to finish this book. Highly recommend. If this is your first Willingham, definitely check out her first two books.

Forget me not is a suspicious novel. It is page turning as you’re trying to figure out who is responsible. The main character returns home where her sister disappeared many years ago. She puts the pieces together but does this put her in danger?

Note: NetGalley Advanced Reader Copy Review - Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books

Claire is an investigative journalist who left her small town when she graduated to get away from the ghost of her sister’s disappearance. 15 years later her mother needs her to come back and she must face the past.

She seizes the chance to feel closer to her sister by taking a seasonal job where her sister worked that fateful last summer. What she hoped would be a walk down memory lane soon turns into her investigative senses tingling when she comes across an old diary.

This is one of my favorite thrillers I have ever read. I loved the diary entries interspersed. The ongoing eeriness, the pacing of the story was spot on, and the plot just kept twisting.

If you need a thriller this fall then make sure to add this one to your TBR.

You’ll enjoy this book if you like suspenseful stories and family drama. The setting itself influenced me more than the characters, and it definitely gives the creepy vibes.

I didn’t fall in love with any of the characters and couldn’t relate to them. It took me awhile to get invested in the story, but the ending has some good twists before bringing it to a close.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

"Galloway Farm" follows Claire Campbell, who returns to her hometown after her sister Natalie vanished 22 years ago. Now an investigative journalist, Claire takes a summer job at a vineyard in South Carolina to escape her past.

Initially, Galloway seems like a peaceful retreat, but Claire discovers an old diary that reveals unsettling details about unsolved crimes. As she dives deeper into the diary, Claire becomes increasingly isolated, convinced her sister's disappearance might be connected. This suspenseful tale blends nostalgia with mystery, keeping readers hooked until the last page.

Stacy Willingham, you’ve done it again!!!!! She really is a writer who can do no wrong for me, at least in her catalogue so far. Forget Me Not continues her repertoire of mysteries that are perfect little puzzles full of emotion and tension. The main character is smart and likeable. She makes mistakes, but they’re understandable and don’t come from stupidity or recklessness. The plot unfolds a little slowly at first so it took a second for me to understand what the main setting was and who the main characters would be, but once we got settled into the world of the novel everything started unraveling at a nice pace. I enjoyed the hot Southern setting and how the landscape impacted the main character’s headspace. The connections between the past and present and the surprising twists made this a five star mystery. At one point I thought everything had been revealed and I knew what was going to happen, but then another reveal came and it was just a delightful Stacy Willingham moment. I definitely recommend picking this one up when it comes out later this summer.

I am such a fan of Stacy Willingham's stories and writing style and her latest -- "Forget Me Not" -- was just as bingeworthy as I'd hoped. Definitely one of those books that goes quickly and is hard to put down, trying to get to the root of what's really at play. The FMC wasn't my favorite and some of the drama and conclusion felt a tiny bit lackluster but I loved the twists and journal as a device to move between two time periods. I can't wait for her next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

read if you like:
🥶 cold case disappearances
🚜 farming
🪒 grooming of girls

summary:
I'm such a big Stacy Willingham fan that I couldn’t wait to dive into this book! It follows Claire Campbell, whose sister Natalie vanished after her 18th birthday in their South Carolina hometown. Though someone was arrested and convicted, Claire has never stopped wondering what really happened—or why. Years later, when her father asks her to return home to help care for her ailing mother, Claire seizes the chance to confront the past she once fled. While back in town, she stumbles across old photos of Natalie working at a nearby vineyard. On a whim, Claire takes a summer job at Galloway Farm, harvesting crops and picking grapes. There, she meets the farm’s only three residents: Marshall, the enigmatic owner; his wife, Marcia; and their overly inquisitive farmhand, Liam. As Claire settles in, she begins to uncover unsettling secrets—starting with Marcia’s childhood diary—that may finally reveal what happened to Natalie… but at a dangerous cost.

As with her previous novels, Willingham excels at crafting characters so vividly drawn, they feel like people you’ve known for years. The setting of Galloway Farm is equally striking—so richly described that you can almost feel the sweltering heat, smell the ripening grapes, and sense the quiet tension simmering between its residents. The story kicks off with a strong start, slows briefly in the middle, but builds to a well-timed climax that ties the threads together in a satisfying way. While some of the underlying themes—such as kidnapping and grooming—can be heavy, they’re handled thoughtfully and feel authentic within the world Willingham has created. I’m always drawn to thrillers with a distinctive setting and a compelling cast, and this one more than delivers. It will make you question who is who, who you can trust and who has Claire’s best interests at heart.

Thank you so much to St Martins Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy. If you’ve loved Stacy Willingham’s books before, check this out when it releases on August 26!

This is a topsy turvy novel. I thought I had "it" figured out several times, but, nope! Very enjoyable read.

I was so happy to receive an ARC of this book.

I have been a big fan of Stacy Willingham and this book exceeded my expectations.

A journalist returns home to help her mother and a search for information about the disappearance of her sister 22 years ago.

You follow the story of Claire as she navigates loss, acceptance and solving a slew of crimes older than her.

This book is a quick read. I read it in 3 days. I recommend it for a not so scary thriller, but also keeps you on the edge of your seat. Perfect rainy day, beach day or in flight read.

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this advanced copy for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Stacy Willingham for the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4 Stars

This was a pretty great thriller! I had a lot of fun reading it, and it definitely kept the pages turning for me. I saw some twists coming, but there were a few that really got me. Would definitely read more of her books!

Stacy Willingham does it again.

One of the things I love best about Willingham’s writing style is her creative and thoughtful use of similes and metaphors throughout her books. It’s what instantly drew me in when I read A Flicker in the Dark and I was pleased to discover that her poetic prose remains consistent.

I think the hardest thing about being a thriller writer is surprising the reader with the unexpected and she did such a great job with all the twists and turns in this novel. As much as I loved A Flicker in the Dark, as a parent reading the book, it was easy for me to predict the twist. I felt like Forget Me Not was more layered and there were so many more twists and turns in this book, which kept things unpredictable and exciting.

Willingham builds webs when writing her stories, where seemingly unrelated details are all woven together and are part of one big story. She’s of a master of her craft and has become one of my favorite thriller writers. I love her ability to create complex, relatable characters whom I care about, despite (or maybe because of) their flaws. I admire her ability to suck me in with her immersive storytelling techniques and the way she not only creates a place, but puts you in it.

5/5 ⭐️

What a gripping, heart pounding story! I loved the atmosphere and setting of this one! It had such an eeriness to it. Pacing was great. Was it slightly predictable? Yes. Do still enjoy it? Yesss. Would i recommend it?? Yessss!!

Thank you Minotaur Books for an ARC of this novel!!

Claire’s sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her 18th birthday, believed to have been murdered but her body was never found. 22 years later, Claire, a reporter in NYC, returns home to her small South Carolina town and can’t stop thinking about her sister. She decides to take a job picking grapes at a winery her sister worked at one summer and somehow gets sucked into a past full of twists and turns, some you will be able to figure out ahead of time and others will surprise you. Overall, the story was entertaining and a solid mystery/thriller. I felt like it was very random that Claire ended up figuring everything out but it is a book. I give it a solid 3.5 ⭐️. I hope one day Goodreads will add half and even quarter star options!! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC for an honest review.

This thriller kept me guessing, that’s for sure! I kept thinking I knew where the book was going and then I’d find out the book was going in a different direction. This book was engaging and kept me wanted to read more. Some parts I found a bit confusing as I was reading, but I enjoyed this book overall.

A twisty thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. Characters that you are invested in and a story line that hooks from the start.

I enjoyed this book. Character development was excellent with the main character. Twists I did not expect and definitely had me at the edge of my seat. Thank you!

Claire, a journalist living in NYC is going back home for the first time since she was 18. 22 years earlier her sister Natalie was murdered in her small town in South Carolina. The crime is solved and someone is serving time for it but her sister's body was never found.
While visiting home Claire decides to go visit Galloway Farm, a vineyard her sister was working at the summer she died. The vineyard has an opening position for the summer. A feeling Claire has makes her take the jobs and live on the farm for a month. On her first day Claire finds a journal from Marcia the wife of the owner of the farm and from there she gets caught up in finding out what drew not only Claire but her sister to this place all those years earlier.

This story was fast paced and engaging. Although the story is not at all what I expected going into it I could not put it down. I needed to figure out what was going on on this farm and what really happened to Natalie. The suspense had my heart racing at times not sure if Claire would make it off the farm herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.