My review for Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
3.75 ⭐️

In this story we are following Claire who is born & raised in South Carolina where her older sister Natalie went missing. Natalie goes missing in the middle of the night her blood found in a man’s car causing the case to immediately be closed, though no body was ever found.

Claire wanting to escape a traumatizing childhood moved to New York City after graduation & becomes a investigative journalist. She then gets laid off her job causing her to become a freelancer cutting her any real ties to staying in NY.

So when her father calls her asking for help with her mother who got hurt she decides to go back home after years & visit her mother, visit the town & memories she has tried to forget.

She then stumbles upon a summer job in a small town named Galloway. Free housing, free food & gets to spend the summer away from home working at a vineyard. Can’t get any better than that right?

In her new picturesque home she finds a diary with entries written 40 years ago about a teenager falling in love or so we think. She soon realizes it’s something much more sinister than an innocent girl falling in love for the first time.

The story takes off from there, twists & turns I didn’t see coming. I found myself picking up the book any chance I had to find out what will happen next. The plot itself is brilliant.

With that being said unfortunately when finishing the book I found myself wanting more. Wanting more answers I wish I would have been told. I would have more enjoyment in the story if I knew more of the motives of these characters. We are guessing why the whole time but after finishing the book I still have questions. Nonetheless I enjoyed reading this book, looking forward to more releases by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley & Stacy Willingham for the opportunity to read this story because it’s released! Release date is August 26th, 2025!

Starts slowly and bit by bit she builds a complicated, twisty story. Well written and full of heart and love ultimately. Loved it!

A deep moving poweful story, starts slow and builds, twisting it's way around to uncover more pieces and heal alot of hurts from the past. Claire, feels drawn to work at this vineyard and feels a connection to her sister, who went missing many years before. She finds a diary and gets pulled into the story of one of the owners. Told both in diary format from the past, 1980's with an authentic old fashioned feel and present time with Claire's story.

This was book grabbed me but had more of a slower thriller pace to it. This novel delivers and blend of suspense and mystery as she finds more pieces to the puzzle of her sisters disappearance. There were defiantly aspects that were very creepy, but I enjoyed the book the entire time. Note this book has aspects that resembles cults and is does flash back from past to present (so if you're not a fan of multiple/different times lines this may not be the book for you).

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was I entertained? Yes. Was it kind of predictable? Also yes. Was there suspense? Hell yes.
I really enjoyed the way in which the story was written and how the two different timelines were brought to life. However, I feel like the ending was a bit rushed and predictable. This could also be because we were given so many bread crumbs along the way which some readers really enjoy! If you are new to the genre, I think this would be a great read but if you are a seasoned vet when it comes to suspense and thrillers this one might not be for you.

It’s been over 20 years since Claire’s older sister, 18 at the time, disappeared and a suspect convicted, but her body was never found. Present day, Claire returns to her childhood home to assist her mother who had an accident, and accepts a seasonal job at a secluded winery, which also happened to be where her sister worked before she vanished. As Claire starts her new job, she finds an old diary which may unlock secrets concerning her sister’s disappearance. Forget Me Not starts off on a slow, meandering path short on substantive action but long on descriptive prose. But as the plot ploddingly progresses, the story takes shape, then takes off as Claire stumbles upon clues that lead her to believe that there’s an evil presence at the winery, and her family may be intricately involved. This slow-burn thriller turns into a raging inferno as Claire tries to decipher the clues while battling her own grief and guilt over her sister’s disappearance. Slow start, but worth the wait! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here's the thing--this is not a bad book, but it's being marketed as a SOUTHERN thriller and it isn't. You could move this location to the Pacific Northwest, and the story would not be out of place, although maybe not quite as hot. I love a Southern novel. I grew up in the Northeast and relocated to Virginia in part because of my enduring romance with southern literature, so I was expecting a lot more from this book. It's fine, not great. There are many better things out there, more worthy of your attention..

I’m really enjoyed this book! Another great one from Stacy Willingham! The book was a little bit slow to start but once I started to read about Marcia’s story and learn more about Galloway, I became very interested and devoured the book. The ending was fantastic with lots of unpredictable events and revelations. I would have appreciated Marcia’s diary being written in first person, but I still really enjoyed her characters telling of the events.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to review the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

After her mom has accident, Claire returns to her childhood home. She hasn’t been home in a long time. It hasn’t been the same since her sister Natalie went missing two decades ago. The case was quickly solved and Natalie was presumed dead. After her mom tells Claire she doesn’t need her there, she gets a summer job at Galloway. It’s the same place her sister worked the summer before she went missing. It’s not long before Claire stumbles upon an old diary of one of the owners that makes this place seem sinister.

I couldn’t put it down. It was eerie, atmospheric, and though times predictable, a very gripping read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! I enjoyed the premise of the book, but thought Claire made some really annoying decisions which I couldn’t get past 😅 I also thought there was almost too many twists at the end?!

This book follows investigative journalist Claire Campbell as she returns to her hometown decades after her sister Natalie vanished. Hoping to escape the past, Claire takes a summer job at a nearby vineyard, Galloway Farm, where her sister once spent her final days. But when she discovers a chilling diary that hints at unsolved crimes, Claire is pulled into a web of secrets that may be tied to Natalie’s disappearance, forcing her to confront the dark truths she’s tried to forget.

I really enjoyed this book. It had me hooked from the beginning. As a true crime fan, I really loved the eerie, cult like undertones that (for me) gave off Charles Manson “The Family” vibes. This was actually the first book I’ve read by this author but it definitely won’t be the last. The writing pulled me in, and the vivid imagery made it easy to picture everything that was happening.

One thing that did throw me off a bit was the way the diary entries were written. Instead of feeling like personal reflections, they were written in third person, which didn’t quite make sense for something Claire found and read as a diary. It did help move the story along with richer descriptions but it still threw me off a bit.

This author is an autoread for me because I love her descriptions and lyrical writing. I knew this was going to be another slow-burn thriller but I never didn't want to pick it up.

The plot seemed a little too farfetched for me (the protagonist just happens to get a job at the very place her missing sister was last seen) and the journal entries broke up the flow in my humble opinion. Every paragraph before the start of a journal entry chapter was about the protagonist picking up the book and starting to read, so it felt a little forced.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC!

4.5 Stars ⭐ Thank you to #NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for letting me read and review this eARC of Forget Me Not written by Stacy Willingham and releasing on August 26, 2025.

I became a fan of Stacy Willingham after reading her debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark, and was so excited to be able to read this one early!

Claire is an investigative journalist who decides to spend the summer back at her childhood home after her estranged mom has an accident. Her sister, Natalie, disappeared 22 years ago, and it doesn't take long for Claire to become immersed back into memories of such a traumatizing time in her life.

On a whim while at home, Claire accepts a summer job at Galloway Farm, where her sister worked the summer she disappeared. What seems like a nice escape quickly becomes more and more unsettling...

I really enjoyed the twists in this one and couldn't put it down!

I love all of her books, but this one is her best yet - thank you for the ARC! Plenty of twists and can't wait to recommend this to everyone!!

I absolutely love Stacy Willingham and he newest book, Forget Me Not, did not disappoint!! This one takes place in the south, during summer- what more could you ask for? This one was very fast paced and kept me very interested.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love Stacy Willingham and this book did not disappoint! I was hooked from the very beginning and I couldn’t stop reading. I love the diary entries and how it gives a glimpse to the past. My mouth was hanging open the last few chapters because I did not see the ending coming! I would definitely recommend this book. I loved it!

📖✨ eARC Review | 5⭐️ Read
Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Pub Date: August 25, 2025
Thank you @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the advance copy!
Stacy Willingham has done it again. 🔥 I've devoured A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things in the past—both solid 5-star thrillers for me—and Forget Me Not did not disappoint. 💀🍷
This story pulled me in from page one. Claire Campbell returns to her hometown in South Carolina—jobless, grieving, and still carrying the wound of her sister Natalie’s disappearance 22 years ago. She takes a job at the vineyard where Natalie once worked, and suddenly the past doesn’t seem so buried after all. 🌾🕵🏻‍♀️ What actually happened to her sister? And what do the owners of the vineyard know about it?
Set against a humid Southern backdrop dripping with secrets, this book had me hooked with its eerie atmosphere, emotional depth, and spine-tingling twists. I loved how the tension was building, how real the characters felt—and how I didn’t know who to trust. 😬
I loved all the misdirection. How you think you had it all figured out, then the script gets flipped. The pacing did have a few slower moments, but I was too invested to put it down. 🔥 This book was chilling and satisfying.
I have been thinking about this book in the days since I finished it and if you have enjoyed Willingham’s previous reads then I’d definitely give this one a go.🙌
#BookReview #ForgetMeNot #StacyWillingham #NetGalleyReads #MinotaurBooks #ThrillerTuesday #SouthernGothicVibes #eARC #Bookstagram #FiveStarRead #MysteryLoversUnite #GrippingReads #AtmosphericThriller #BookishThoughts #Unputdownable

Stacy Willingham’s Forget Me Not is a gripping psychological suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The story beautifully weaves the haunting past of Claire Campbell with a present filled with secrets, lies, and danger lurking just beneath the surface. When Claire returns to her childhood home after her father’s call, she hopes to find some closure. Instead, she uncovers a diary at Galloway Farm that hints at hidden crimes and long-forgotten truths. As the summer unfolds, the idyllic vineyard setting turns increasingly sinister, and Claire’s quest for answers blurs the line between memory and perception. The dark, coastal South Carolina backdrop adds an atmospheric layer that heightens the tension and sense of foreboding. Willingham masterfully manipulates the narrative, keeping readers guessing about what’s real and what’s a manipulation. Claire’s obsession with the diary draws you deeper into the mystery, and the revelations about her sister’s disappearance are both shocking and emotionally impactful. While some twists might be predictable for seasoned thriller fans, the compelling characters and well-crafted suspense make Forget Me Not a must-read for anyone seeking a thoughtful, tense, and atmospheric psychological thriller.

I really wanted to love this one! It started out so strong. I was hooked immediately and loved the writing style and the setting was perfection. I feel like about halfway through it became one far fetched thing after another and I just couldn’t get behind all the ridiculous actions of the fmc. If you can suspend your belief in reality then you may like this one. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

This book had the perfect mix of suspense, mystery, and just enough drama to keep me engaged. It’s my second read from Willingham, and I loved it just as much as the first.

In Forget Me Not, we follow Claire Campbell, an investigative journalist who returns to her South Carolina hometown after her mother is injured. But coming home means facing old wounds—specifically, the disappearance of her sister Natalie, who vanished on her 18th birthday. Though someone was arrested, Claire has never believed the full story was told.

While working a seasonal job at a local vineyard, Claire stumbles upon a hidden diary belonging to one of the vineyard’s owners. What starts as an innocent glimpse into someone’s past soon becomes a chilling discovery connected to long-buried secrets—including ones that might unravel the truth about her sister.

I was completely pulled in by the atmospheric setting and the unraveling of clues. Willingham knows how to write characters you feel for and plots that keep you fully engaged.