Oozing with atmosphere, Stacy Willingham delivers a southern mystery about a missing young woman believed to be dead and her sister's quest to learn the truth! Unanswered questions and not knowing the truth about what happened to her sister, Natalie, has plagued Claire Campbell for years. After receiving a call from her father about her mother's ailing health, she returns home and, on a whim, takes a job at Galloway Farm, a local vineyard. It is the same place that her sister worked the summer prior to her disappearance.

At times this book was slow like a hot southern summer day. Usually, I take issue with slow moving books, but this one had enough intrigued that I didn't mind as much as I normally would. I enjoyed the aspect of Claire coming home after being gone for some time. She worked as an investigative journalist in the city and will use her skills to try and uncover what happened to her sister all those years ago. Not to mention a diary she finds which may lead her down a path - but will it be a path to the truth or to danger? Be careful when you go searching for the truth because you might just find it! Will Claire find the truth before it's too late?

This book had atmosphere galore. It also had tension, dread, an underlying current of danger and dread. Plus, a few twist and turns along the way kept my interest piqued and my finger swiping the pages of my kindle.

Overall, an enjoyable Southern mystery full of atmosphere, dread, and danger!

This book started off very slow and I almost thought I might have to DNF. However, it did begin to pick up around the middle of the book. I was able to predict most of what was revealed in the end of the book. However, there were a few things that still surprised me. This is a super clausterphobic thriller that will have you second guessing all of the characters!

4.5 Stars!

This is such a haunting and eerie story full of secrets that hooked me from the start! It is perfect if you love suspense and family drama/cult-like vibes in an isolated setting.

I found this one to be so bingeable- super intriguing premise, most chapters are fairly short and I flew through it while it kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved that it switched between the present timeline and then the diary scenes/past timeline. Although I was slightly confused why the diary chapters were told in 3rd person, but it didn’t take away at all- just seemed like it would normally be 1st person for those.

Overall this was a very gripping, beautifully written story and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Highly recommend checking this one out when it releases on August 26th!!💜

Thank you Netgalley and Stacy Willingham for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book is about an 18 year old girl who disappears and her little sister trying to figure out what exactly happened 22 years later.

This was such a fast paced plot. Definitely a popcorn thriller! At times I feel like it moved too fast and lost some of the plot, but it was okay. Still so enjoyable!

I did not guess the twists at all so that was awesome!

I do wish I could have gotten more about some side characters and their histories and why’s. I feel like it would have really brought the entire book together.

*will post on instagram closer to pub date* FORGET ME NOT by Stacy Willingham ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy! The atmosphere of this thriller is enough to suck you in! An old vineyard, no cell service, only 3 people living there… ah! This is definitely a slower paced thriller. The pacing worked for me, but it might feel slow to some. I was sucked in from the beginning and had a hard time setting it down at night. And the twist at the end 🤐

Claire returns home after 22 years after her father calls her. Hoping for a fresh start, she takes a job at a vineyard near her hometown. When she finds a hidden journal with details of a crime, she starts to wonder if her sister’s disappearance is somehow connected.

Pub. Date: 8/26/25.

Perfect if you like:
•Slow burn thriller (slower paced)
•Family secrets.
•Dark and twisty.
•Haunting atmosphere!
•Shocking twist!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Mood: 🍿🫗

🚪: 1ish (very minor details, but needed in story so probably don’t skip)
⚠️: explicit language.

Forget Me Not was super suspenseful and I loved it! 🙌 My first ARC ever, and I'm so glad this was the one! ❤️ From the very first page, I was pulled into Claire’s world, unraveling the mystery alongside her. The tension builds so perfectly, and the way the diary Claire discovers threads into the present-day storyline is brilliantly done.

The pacing was perfect, and the character development felt thoughtful and layered. So many small touches were clearly intentional, and it all came together in a satisfying crescendo that had me so excited that I couldn't finish quick enough! 😆

Willingham’s attention to detail and ability to craft a twisty, emotional thriller makes this one a standout. If you love a story that keeps you guessing and delivers on all fronts, this is for you.

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress and @stacyvwillingham for the advanced copy!

4.5 ⭐

4.25. Not GREAT but better than OK.
A bit better than your run of the mill 4 star thriller, but it was by no means perfect and if I'm being honest, I was slightly disappointed by an underwhelming denouement. It felt more like a natural ending, things clicking into their rightful place in the book's final pages rather than any big twist or surprise.

This is my 3rd book by the author, which is really quite random considering I did not particularly love the outcome/ execution in Willingham's other 2 books either. "Forget Me Not" drew me in with the blurb & subject matter, which also happened with "A Flicker in the Dark," & "All the Dangerous Things." Mysteries about siblings, scandalous or murderous family members, those types of stories tend to appeal to me, they feel a lil different than your typical husbands/wives/ neighbors/friends filled domestic thrillers & so naturally “Forget Me Not's" blurb mentioning a sister gone missing piqued my curiosity.

In "Forget Me Not," a family is fractured by the disappearance of Natalie, the eldest daughter. Claire, over a decade her junior, remembers a childhood marred by the tragedy of her sister's disappearance, & with a mother made distant by grief & guilt, Claire moves away to New York City first chance she gets, more than a lil eager to get away from the weight of all their shared memories, trauma, & responsibility. When her father (who is divorced from her mother) implores her to take some time off to visit her mother who's been injured, it's only bc she is in between jobs that she agrees to it, hoping to add some extra cash to her savings by subletting her apartment & then stretching out whatever meagre savings she has left for as long as humanely possible.

When she returns to her childhood home, she quickly realizes that even after all the time that has passed, nothing has changed. Her mother remains aloof, & detached. Remote. Unreachable. Their shared but unspoken tragedy generating tension so thick and palpable one could cut it with a knife. So many things between them are left unspoken, even after 2 decades (& then some) Claire's mother is a steel trap, either unwilling or unable to discuss the elephant in the room, so when Claire goes into town and eventually makes her way to a local farm & sees that they are hiring for a position that comes with room & board, she jumps at the opportunity to stay in the area without staying at her mothers house where she feels uncomfortable & unwelcome. It's there in her new digs that she happens upon a journal belonging to a girl named Marcia, unwittingly opening the floodgates to crimes & mysteries decades in the making.

Again, this wasn't a 5 star read but it was a solid 4+. The writing was well above average and flowed nicely & compellingly from the beginning, the pacing worked well for this particular story, despite feeling like the ending was a tad anticlimactic. This had the feel of like, a thriller lite. All in all, I'm not def not angry that I spent the tine reading it, but whether or not l'll pick up another of Willingham's books remains to be seen 🤷🏻‍♀️

This book follows a woman (a journalist) named Claire whose sister went missing 22 years ago. She returns back to her hometown and visits one of the last places she remembers being with her sister, a farm out on an island about 3 hours from her childhood home. She ends up staying to help with the grape harvest and uncovers a bunch of hidden secrets while she’s there. The atmosphere of this book is fantastic, I could absolutely picture myself on this farm in the sticky summer heat. I also really loved the story line for most of the book. I thought it might be a 5 star read for me until about 85% of the way through the book. As I reached the end it felt a bit disjointed and rushed, I kept having to reread paragraphs because I was confused about what was happening. I wish the ending had felt cohesive, if it had I would have rated this book so much higher! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for my advance copy!

4.5/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham releases on August 26th.

This was a GREAT thriller. I loved the FMC and her backstory. I also really enjoyed the dual timelines. I thought the diary entries were super well done and added so much to the story.

Honestly, this book really creeped me out at times. Some parts had me so stressed out for the FMC, I was on the edge of my seat. The creepy farm vibes were immaculate.

I was also surprised by the multiple twists. Most of them I didn’t expect at all, and I loooove when a thriller surprises me.

This was my first book by Stacy Willingham, and I’m so excited to read more from her because I loved her writing style.

You should read this book if you like:
- Creepy farm vibes 🌾
- Unsolved mysteries/disappearances 🔍
- Dual timelines/ diary entries 📔
- Multiple twists 🤯
- Slow building suspense 🔪

I would say this is more of a slow mystery than a thriller. There really isn't much suspense and the mystery itself felt very basic. I think this would have been better if there had been more of a exploration of the past and our MC didn't make so many foolish mistakes.

It’s a propulsive. I’ll give Stacy Willingham that. And she usually gets you back in the story by the end, but I just wish her novels didn’t have SO many girls making ridiculous choices.

This Southern thriller hooked me early with its eerie atmosphere and strong sense of suspense. The setting—a muscadine vineyard with a haunting past—was richly drawn, and the mystery surrounding Claire’s sister kept me turning pages. While I questioned some plot points , there were a few well-executed twists that made the journey worthwhile. A solid read for fans of slow-burning, atmospheric thrillers.

I went into this expecting a thriller, but it felt more like a mild mystery. I figured out part of the twist halfway through, and it never really had that edge-of-your-seat intensity. It was interesting enough to finish, but not especially gripping.

Forget Me Not is another gripping thriller by Stacy Willingham—this is the third book I've read by her, and it might just be my favorite. The story is packed with twists and turns, and I never could have predicted the ending.

The characters are well-developed, and the subtle connections between them really enhanced the plot. I especially appreciated the cult-like element that was woven into the story—it added depth without falling into the clichés that are common in many other mystery thrillers.

Overall, a suspenseful and satisfying read that kept me hooked from start to finish

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I requested this because I usually enjoy Stacy Willingham’s mysteries (I absolutely LOVED Only if You’re Lucky). This gave me Midnight is the Darkest Hour vibes - both in the setting and in the fact that I found it a little slow at times! I enjoyed it in the end, and I did end up finding it compelling enough to finish, but I kept picking it back up and not remembering a damn thing about it.

Our main character is Claire, yet another semi-disgraced journalist (I feel like I’ve read several books lately featuring out of work journalists). She spent years chasing a cold case and ended up getting passed over for a promotion - the beginning of this book is fuzzy, for some reason, but I think she ends up sort of rage quitting and deciding to go freelance. But before she can really do anything on that front, her father calls - Claire’s mother took a bad fall and broke her leg and needs help getting around. Her parents are divorced, so her mother doesn’t really have anyone to help her. Claire’s sister Natalie disappeared as a teenager - her body was never found, but her presumed older boyfriend was arrested for her murder after her bloody shirt was found in his car. There are some indications that Claire was maybe over-identifying with the cold case she’d been chasing because of Natalie’s murder, but all of that happens off-page, before the story even begins. I would take issue with that, but it ends up not really having much bearing on what happens later, so it’s not too big of a deal.

Anyway, Claire comes home and as she expected, her mother is less than thrilled to have her there. They’ve never had a great relationship, and after Natalie’s death it was even more strained. She makes it about a day before deciding to leave and head back to the city. But before she goes, Claire decides to visit Galloway Farm, where Natalie worked the summer before she died (I think she finds an old picture at the house that jogs her memory). Since Claire was so young, there are still a lot of blanks around Natalie’s life and death and she visits Galloway hoping to fill them in. She gets a tour from Liam, the only full-time employee…and lucks into a summer job. The guy who was allegedly coming to interview that very day being a no-show. For Claire, it’s perfect. She’s on a tiny island, helping with the grape harvest, living in a cute tiny little cabin, with zero contact with the outside world (because of the terrible WiFi).It’s a classic running away from your problems escape - I do wish we had a *little* more sense of Claire’s current problems, because most of what she’s dealing with here is related to her sister. I wanted a tiny bit more development on what would lead her to decide this is a good idea in the first place, because it’s more like she wants the escape first, and THEN realizes it’s a chance to learn more about Natalie, not the other way around.

The farm is run by a couple named Mitchell and Marcia, and while they seem okay on that first night, there’s definitely something off. Marcia’s…quiet. To the point of concern. Then Claire finds a diary in her cabin that seems to belong to Marcia and she begins piecing together the story of the farm, and Natalie’s connection to it. And it doesn’t take long for Claire to start making connections and realize that she’s maybe not so safe out here.

It’s hard to say more without getting into spoiler territory, but the stories do all come together in a satisfying way. I like it when seemingly odd character choices are logically explained once all of the pieces come together (that’s a vague way of saying there’s a very different reason for Claire’s parents’ divorce than she thinks!).

One formatting piece I found…not strange, really, but notable -- Claire reads Marcia’s story in diary form. But we see flashbacks to Marcia in the 80’s just as…regular flashbacks. They’re narrated in 3rd person rather than written as a diary. I do sometimes find it strains credulity when someone is reading a diary from the past and the entries are *insanely* detailed and include full conversations written out in dialogue. I’ve always been terrible at keeping a diary myself, so maybe there are people out there who have both perfect recall and all the time in the world to write out entire conversations. But now that I’m writing this out, I think I kind of LIKED the choice to present the flashbacks in this way. It’s more fleshed out than a diary would have been, and I guess you could quibble with whether or not, again, the real diary would have been this detailed. But it’s a good way to bridge the credulity gap, I guess!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Stacy Willingham and the publisher for the opportunity to preview this uncorrected proof in exchange for my honest review. As a fan of Stacy Willingham, I was thrilled to be offered this opportunity. This book hot all the marks for a good psychological thriller, mystery and suspense., I loved the peeling away of secrets throughout this story that kept the pages turning.

22 years ago, Claire Campbell’s sister Natalie disappeared and was presumed dead. Circumstantial evidence pointed to an older guy she was seeing who remains in prison for her murder. Claire has now returned to her hometown to help her mom and decides to take a summer job at the vineyard Natalie worked the summer she disappeared. While there she finds an old diary belonging to one of the owners and believes the vineyard may hold some answers to Natalie’s disappearance.

This book was a very slow burn. It took awhile to really get into it but once it picked up it was a great read. Very satisfying and unexpected ending.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s press for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. Publication date Aug 26, 2025

This was such a fantastic thriller. I thought I knew who the bad person was but I was mistaken! This definitely kept me on my toes and I liked how they author made the diary be much like the book. We wanted to keep reading the "diary" so we could find out the truth! I think it was a well written story and I enjoyed the main character.

Now that I've read the book I can fully appreciate the cover art. Overall I liked this, but at the same time it didn't quite grab me. I don't know why, because all the elements were there.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely breath stealing. Willingham is one of my favorite thriller authors, this one might be my favorite. Surprisingly, tensely plotted, and emotional.