Wow. This book actually had me gripped from the start. I had no idea what to expect, and the many plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the different POVs from present time, and the history through Marcia’s diary entries. Amazing!!

4.5 - I've read all of Willingham's books - her first is still my favorite but this wasn't far behind. It's another slow burner with good build and suspense galore.. Lot's of the creep factor for sure. I had both a digital copy and audio for Forget Me Not and read it about half and half. Overall a great, entertaining suspenseful novel.

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham- 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Claire, a former journalist turned freelance writer, returns to her childhood home after her mother is injured, only to be met with coldness and unresolved grief. Her sister Natalie disappeared years ago, and the painful memory still lingers. Seeking space, Claire takes a summer job at a nearby farm… but what she uncovers is anything but peaceful.
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Hidden in the vent of her farm cottage is a diary that reveals chilling clues about missing girls and hints at what’s really going on at the farm.

While the story is strong and the writing solid, the pacing felt a bit too drawn out at times and didn’t fully hold my attention. The narrator was excellent with the story telling.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! Forget Me Not hits shelves on August 26, 2025.

I really enjoyed this book! The addition of the diary entries really kept it interesting and kept me wanting to read. The characters were likeable, and I didn’t find myself bored at anytime. Overall I would recommend this book!

I loved this! Stacy Willingham never disappoints. Claire is in town visiting her mom after her dad asked her to come check on her. She is feeling weird about being back in her small South Carolina town because when she was a kid, her sister disappeared. Shes taken some time off work, but does not want to stay with her mom, so she heads to the vineyard her sister works at the summer she died to try to find some answers.

I went into this a little skeptical because I live in South Carolina and fictional towns in my own state sometimes make me feel strange in a way. I think it's because sometimes I feel like I cannot disconnect the real South Carolina to fictional ones in books. After I got over that part, I thought it was great. I thought it was crazy that she took a job in a place she was not familiar with, but I was desperate to continue reading the diary entries. I do wish they were written in the first person, but I still really liked the story. The twist at the end was actually so unexpected and I loved it.

3.5 stars rounded up -- I have really enjoyed most of this author's books -- she is a beautiful writer. I wouldn't classify this one as a thriller so much as a domestic suspense: with short, hooking chapters it is an enjoyable reading experience.

Claire's older sister Natalie disappeared 22 years ago, when Natalie was 18 and Claire was 11. Her body was never found but a man was convicted and sentenced to life for her murder: her supposed older boyfriend who she was spending time sneaking out to see the last summer of her life.

But Natalie also worked on small and secluded Vineyard that fateful summer. And when Claire, who recently quit her job to go freelance, has the opportunity to work on the same farm, she thinks she can find out more about her sister's life and disappearance. But what she uncovers there goes far deeper than she could have ever imagined - and puts her own life at risk.

I wish that I felt more connected to Claire, our narrator and journalist on the hunt. She felt like a passive character in so much of this, especially because the main source of her sleuthing was reading someone else's journal.

But overall, a good read!

Forget Me Not tells the story of Claire years after her sister went missing when she was eighteen. We also get a little bit of a past story from Marcia, another teen that went missing in the eighties. When Claire’s mother gets injured, she returns home and starts working at the vineyard where her sister, Natalie spent her last summer. She stumbles across a box of her sister’s pictures and an old diary that seems to tie the vineyard owner to some unsolved crimes.

Overall, I enjoyed this story but it was definitely slower-paced. There were some twists I didn’t see coming which I always enjoy in a mystery/thriller. This was an entertaining read and I would recommend it for people that enjoy slow burn mysteries.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for a free ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Claire Campbell is in between jobs when her dad asks her to head home to South Carolina to care for her injured and estranged mother. Going back brings terrible memories and unresolved grief from the disappearance and death of her older sister Natalie. Upon returning, and feeling unwelcome, Claire heads to Galloway Farms, one of the last places her sister was seen. There she is offered a job and a place to stay. Claire decides to take the opportunity and discovers a diary that belongs to someone who lived there a long time ago. Suddenly Claire’s stay feels more ominous as she begins to unravel dark secrets from the past, and maybe some clues as to what happened to her sister.

This was a slower moving domestic thriller with lots of family drama. The story is told in present day and in journal entries from 1984. I found the journal entries the most interesting. Some of the reveals I had figured out, but a couple were surprising. I enjoyed the story but it wasn’t a huge page turner for me. Overall, an okay read. I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys domestic dramas, small town vibes, a slow burn mystery, journal entries that move the plot.

I enjoyed this one! I could not predict what was going to happen next! The plot flowed so well once I got to the midmark of the book.

Willingham delivers yet another solid psychological thriller, this one being a Southern Gothic exploration of grief, secrets, and familial trauma. 🙌🏻

Moody vineyard rows and quiet rural isolation give this one an evocative Southern setting, perfect for secrets to ferment and explode. 🍇

The narrative eases you in before taking off. It drags a bit in the middle but the intrigue is still there. It’s a clever story that unfolds and gets even more interesting once the diary is discovered. (Bonus points for the mixed media inclusion—I’m always here for that.)

Claire Campbell is flawed, emotional, and weighed down by guilt. Williamson keeps you guessing with all the other characters about who to trust and who not to trust.

It’s an immersive story. The suspense smolders slowly until about the 40% mark, but when it catches—it burns. What elevates it is the braid of present pain and past confession. Grief, silence, and the ghosts of girlhood collide and it gives the book its haunting resonance.

The story is compelling and an emotionally driven thriller where secrets run as deep as the vineyards. It’s not just about a missing sister—it’s about the generational echoes of trauma, the stories women carry, and the peril of forgotten voices. 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

I was caught off guard with the ending but it’s a satisfying and psychologically rich journey I devoured in just over a day.

Perfect for fans of slow-burn character-driven suspense, Southern Gothic dread where stories and secrets drip like molasses in the heat, or moody backwoods thrillers.

I love Stacy Willingham’s descriptive thriller writing, and this one was a good summer read. I loved the setting, and the storyline was interesting. Claire’s determination to find her sister is relatable, and such a heartwarming part. Galloway farm is weird, and that storyline with Marcia confused me. It was hard to get into, but I will always read Willingham’s thrillers because her writing is unmatched.

I’ve read every book by Stacy Willingham, and Forget Met Not brings the unease that I first loved with Flicker in the Dark. From the novel’s opening lines, a reader is drawn in, and the main character’s singular “obsession” with her sister’s disappearance is the perfect backdrop for this story. One thing I really appreciate is how Willingham shows readers what the research and information discovery process is like through the main character’s—from key search terms and visual cues/markers. If ever there was a novel that could demonstrate the importance of human generated research, this book is it. Furthermore, the imagery, similes, and pacing are truly top tier.

Thank you, Net Galley and St Martin's Publishing Group, for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham.

Stacy Willingham has an uncanny ability to mix the perfect amount of mystery, terror, suspense and danger to keep me drunk with increasing anticipation and at the edge of my chair!!! My desire to turn the next page unquenchable as I consume the next plot twist like my favorite beverage of choice. With this new book she solidified herself firmly as one of my top 5 authors. She did an excellent job of establishing a personal connection with all the main characters. The beginning was a slow build up, but I enjoyed every moment. If I had a complaint, it would be there wasn't more! I could have had 200 more pages!!! I can't wait to read her next book! SOLID 4.5 STARS (I would have given this book 5 stars if I could have heard more of the story from other characters perspectives.)

Thank you to the publisher for this Netgalley.

Wow. After really enjoying Willingham's first two novels and DNFing her third, I was hopeful I was going to like this one. And it did not disappoint.

Told through our main character in the present day and journal entries from the past, we are all in on this small town mystery. There are enough twists that this does not feel like the same old song and dance. And our characters are well written. The tiny town atmosphere is its own setting here as it makes our main character and reader claustrophobic.

The ending was well written and I was really happy with this book overall!

Actual Rating 2.5

It felt like this book was kind of a recycle of typical tropes of the genre that didn’t do much to make it feel original. This includes the FMC in her thirties making some unwise and downright absurd decisions that made her difficult to relate to or often felt like they were used to keep the plot going where the author needed it to. The first portion of the book is quite slow with the setup, which highlights the recycled feel from the familiar tropes. The tension finally increases and things get a bit more interesting, but things stayed relatively predictable.

This book does require some suspension of disbelief. The biggest place this had to happen was that I found it impossible to believe that someone born and raised in rural South Carolina didn’t know what honeysuckle was. I also disliked that the journal entries scattered throughout were written in the third person rather than the first. It seemed like an odd choice that broke the immersion.

I’ve enjoyed other books by this author, but this was my least favorite one so far and left me wanting more. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Who wouldn't want to find out what happened to her missing sister? Claire the FMC, goes to many lengthens to sort out what happened in the disappearance of her sister. If you are looking for an engaging mystery with family ties this is the perfect book for you. The pacing is perfect and the mystery keeps you guessing right until the end.

Thank you Net Galley, Stacy Willingham and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to preview this title. The opinions shared are my own.
Forget Me Not is expected to be released Aug. 26, 2025.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for the advanced E-ARC of this title.
I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and enjoy the way the author gives small pieces of the puzzle along the way.
This story felt like a crazy lifetime movie and I was able to guess the culprit pretty early on. I wouldn't say it was the most suspenseful novel and I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat, but it did keep my attention and I was invested into figuring out what happened to her sister all those years ago.
The book had very cultish vibes which provided most of the creepy vibes as you are figuring out what happens on the farm.
It kept my attention, but I'm not sure it will be one I remember.

Missing, mindful, and misery.

SW paints an interesring story here, full of descriptive places, feelings, and characters.
Claire is a journalist, has recently lost her job, and working on freelance work. She gets a call from her father saying that her mom needs help at home. We then also learn that her sister disappeared as a teenager. After some quick snooping in her (still missing) sister’s room, she sees that she was employed at a grape farm. Claire ventures out, and ironically gets a job there for the summer as well. A diary is found in her cabin. As Claire dives deeper into this journal, things become much darker at the farm. The pieces slowly fall into place, with the journal as her guide.
This was a bizarre story, but kept my interest. I’m not sure how I feel about the whole book yet! Would I recommend it? I’m not sure!
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress this ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!

Stacy Willingham does southern thrillers RIGHT. The landscape is part of the overall experience. While this one wasn't my favorite of hers, I was still a captive audience. Plus, it had some cult-y vibes, which I always appreciate in books.

I think I'm going to move on from this author. I enjoyed one of her past books...but the following have just been meh, this one included.