Once again, Stacy Willingham did not disappoint! Thriller with all the thrills. I really enjoyed how the POV was written. Multiple POV always makes it more enjoyable to me. Then the twist...Yes!!

What a great southern mystery - I loved the description of all the scenery! This book follows many mysteries over the course of a few decades, with a handful of plot twists thrown in. I thought this book was a quick, captivating read!

Many thanks to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I have to give Stacy Willingham many thanks for getting me back into reading with A Flicker in the Dark a few years ago—that book was what made me realize that I enjoy thrillers and suspenseful books! I was extremely excited to see Forget Me Not available on NetGalley and even more excited when I was granted an advanced copy! The book is slow to start but still suspenseful, riveting, thoughtful, and surprising, too! It has everything you would look for in a Stacy Willingham novel! Enjoy!

What happens at Galloway stays at Galloway…

Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday, and although a body was never recovered the case was quickly closed.

Upon graduation, Claire moved to N.Y. to become an investigative journalist, and she hasn’t returned to her small town since. But after getting passed over for a promotion that should have been hers, she resigns from The Journal” to freelance. So when her mom is hurt in an accident, she is able to return home to help, since she can write from anywhere.

Claire finds that her sister’s room has remained untouched, and while looking through her belongings, she comes across a photo of Natalie taken at Galloway-the Muscadine vineyard on Wadamaw Island where Natalie worked the Summer before her death.

Claire impulsively decides to visit and when she learns that they are looking for seasonal help and that the position comes with room and board, she applies for the job, since Freelance writing hasn’t exactly been paying the bills and her Mom doesn’t seem to really welcome her assistance.

Perhaps it will nice to spend time at the last place where Natalie seemed so happy?

However, soon after settling in, Claire she finds a hidden diary which seems to detail various unsolved crimes, and as a journalist, she feels compelled to investigate, making one reckless decision after another.

Could her own sister's disappearance be tied to the events from the past chronicled in the diary?

Had I known the direction that this book would take, I would have passed on it, as it isn’t a favorite trope of mine (no spoilers) even though I have enjoyed two out of three of the author’s earlier books.

But, the “trope” wasn’t my only issue with it.

I was often taken out of the story with the purple prose, especially in the first half, as the story sets up. And, the last 25% felt longer than it was as we listen to drawn out confessions.

This wasn’t a bad book, despite these drawbacks, but for me it rates just an average three stars.

But, now that I know the secrets, I noticed something in the intriguing book cover that I hadn’t noticed prior…

Available August 26, 2025

Thank You to Minotaur Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.

3.75 ⭐️ rounded up!

This was reeeeeeaaaally slow to start. The story is very slow moving for a majority of the book, then starts to pick up in the last quarter. Definitely not the page turning thriller that I was expecting, but still with twists and an unexpected ending. Everything wrapped up really well in the end, and I felt satisfied with the story. Just wished the pace was a bit faster!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a DRC in exchange for my honest review.

Immediately got very excited when I saw this was a Stacy Willingham thriller! I absolutely adored A Flicker In The Dark, All The Dangerous Things and Only If You’re Lucky! So I went into it with high expectations and they were definitely met! I love when the main character returns to their small hometown. It sets the tone and I automatically know it’s about to get creepy and crazy! I loved the format of the story and getting to experience the scenes that Claire was reading in her sister’s diary. Can’t wait to listen to the audiobook when it comes out!

Stacy Willingham is one of my auto-read authors. After A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things (both 5-star reads for me), I had high expectations—and this one delivered.

This Southern thriller had perfect pacing kept me turning pages late into the night. My only complaint? I didn’t want it to end! I was left wanting more—in the best way.

What a page-turner!!!!! This was my first book by Stacy Willingham and I feel like I need her ENTIRE collection. If I could recommend a next thriller to everyone, it would be this one! I enjoyed reading the diary entries and the switch in POV. The writing allowed me to vividly imagine the scenes and what was occurring. The plot twist was unpredictable and I wish I could read it again for the first time!

Many thanks to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

Loved this book! All of SW books are page turners. Sad I have to wait a year or more for another one!

After loving Willingham's first few books, I was disappointed to find Forget Me Not lacking a bit. I loved the South Carolina setting, and I was initially very intrigued by the premise. But it simply moved too slow for me and the mystery didn't seem that mysterious. I feel like this story suffered from me not caring too much about any of the characters; if I had, I surely would have enjoyed this more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I had the chance to read an advanced copy of Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham (coming August 2025), and I’m still not over it. This book completely consumed me—in the best way. I’ve loved all of Stacy’s books, but this one? Next level. Easily my favorite read in a long time.

It’s packed with tension from the start and doesn’t let up. Twist after twist, and every time I thought I had things figured out, I was wrong. I loved the way the story jumped between past and present—it added so much depth and urgency to Claire’s search for answers about her sister’s disappearance.

The setting, the atmosphere, the pacing—everything just worked. And that slow creep of realization as the diary starts to reveal its secrets? Chills. I tore through it in two sittings and didn’t want it to end.

If you're into thrillers that keep you on edge and hit you right in the gut emotionally, add this to your list immediately. You’re going to want this one the second it drops.

This was such a great thriller! It took me a few chapters to get into it but once I did, I was hooked! Although there weren’t any shocking moments or jaw dropping twists, the suspense in this book kept me at the edge of my seat! It was cult-y, and a bit creepy, both in a good entertaining way.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense/mystery/thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Forget Me Not is a moody, slow-burning thriller from Stacy Willingham that blends mystery, family drama, and buried secrets in the heat of the South Carolina lowcountry.

The story follows Claire, who returns to her hometown after years away. She's hoping for a fresh start, but things take a dark turn when she finds an old diary that seems connected to her sister’s long-ago disappearance. As she digs deeper into the past, Claire is forced to confront painful memories and a family history full of lies and secrets.

Willingham’s writing is atmospheric and emotional, with a strong sense of place. The mystery builds slowly but steadily, and the twists—though not always shocking—are satisfying. Some readers may find the pacing a bit slow at times, but those who enjoy character-driven thrillers will likely be drawn in.

Verdict: A thoughtful, haunting thriller that’s perfect for fans of stories where family secrets and unresolved trauma take center stage.

Stacy Willingham is one of my all time favorite authors, so when I saw her new book on netgalley, I knew I had to request it!

In this gripping thriller, Brooke is struggling with fragmented memories of a tragic event from her childhood - the death of her childhood best friend, Lily. Willingham focuses on both past and present elements to further push the story along.

"Forget Me Not" is one of those reads where you think you've pieced everything together, only to have another wrench thrown at you.

Big thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

amazing I loved every second! another cult thriller that will make it as a book of the year. I had to know the ending

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC of Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham.

I requested this book as soon as it became available, and I was so happy to get approved for it!

I loved everything about this! The setting was fantastic and eerie. I enjoyed following along as Claire put together what was going.

I have read all of Willingham’s books and loved everyone. This book and All the Dangerous Things are my favorites. Willingham will continue to be an auto read author for me!

Claire Campbell has decided to leave Manhattan and return to her Southern hometown after receiving a call from her father that her mother has fallen and needs care. 22 years ago, Claire’s sister Natalie went missing, presumed murdered. Claire never really dealt with the loss and decides to confront her past by returning home. But her mother doesn’t want her help. So she decides to stay in the area and ends up at Galloway Farm, the last place her sister worked at before her disappearance. In no rush to return to Manhattan, Claire takes a job as a farm hand, moving into a cottage on the property. Feeling something is off about the place, she comes across an old diary and begins to unearth secrets long hidden about the farm and its owners. As she digs further into the past, she soon releases that something sinister is going on and it may be connected to not only her sister’s disappearance, but also some other cold cases of missing people. Not knowing who she can trust, Claire races against time to solve this mystery before it’s too late. This was one of my favorite novels by Willingham! Solid 4.5 stars!

Forget Me Not is a chilling Southern thriller that delves deep into the shadows of a past that refuses to stay buried. Claire Campbell, grappling with the disappearance of her sister years ago, takes a summer job at a vineyard only to uncover disturbing secrets linked to unsolved crimes, including the mystery surrounding her sister’s vanishing. As Claire’s obsession grows, the idyllic retreat transforms into a dangerous labyrinth of past trauma and eerie revelations.

This might be my favorite book by Willingham yet. There's intrigue, cult vibes, a story about long lost girls, groomed and lost to the whims of a sick man and woman. I loved it. A journalist searching for answers. I felt icky but also knew I had to finish. I honestly had no idea what was happening, in terms of twist. I still have questions but man, I didn't want to get up and leave the book to do tasks I needed to do. ONce I got to the meat of the story I couldn't stop. Now, I'm going to sit here and think about his book for days probably. Wow. So good.

Thanks to #NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy. This book publishes in August

What to expect in this book:

-Missing girl plot
-South Carolina setting
-Bingeable thriller
-Diary entries
-Dual timelines
-Gripping writing

Thoughts

This author is one of my favorite thriller writers and her newest is some of her best! The perfect, atmospheric summer thriller and definitely one that you can read in a weekend or just a few sittings. Claire Campbell's older sister, Natalie, disappeared right after her eighteenth birthday, over twenty-two years ago. When an unexpected call from her father brings Claire home after years away, she finds herself in her hometown. With an entire summer ahead of her, Claire decides to accept a job at Galloway Farm, the idyllic vineyard an hour away from home where Claire knows her sister spent some time the summer before she vanished. As Claire stays at the farm, she begins to uncover some unsettling secrets after discovering a long lost diary. She finds herself becoming obsessed over the contents of the diary and the eery connection they may have to both the past and the present.

While I did not binge this book, this is definitely one that I could see readers not wanting to put down. The pacing was fantastic and kept me wanting more. There were several points throughout where I was trying to figure out the story (and I will say, I did figure out two major plot points!) but there was one final surprise that I did not predict, which I always enjoy. If you like the feeling of a locked door thriller, you might enjoy this! While this is not technically a locked door thriller, the seclusion and claustrophobia feeling of the farm definitely makes it feel like one.

Overall, while I enjoyed this one, it has not beaten All the Dangerous Things for me (my first and favorite by this author!) but it has definitely taken the second place spot of my favorites of hers. I love that all her books take place in the South and that this one felt very different from her others. Be sure to grab this one when it comes out in August.