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.

Stacy Willingham does it again—an alchemist of suspense and emotion, turning memory into a minefield and trust into a trembling flame in Forget Me Not. This twisty psychological thriller grabs you by the collar on page one and whispers, “Remember everything...or else.”

At the heart of the novel is Isabelle Drake, a mother trapped in a waking nightmare: her toddler son, Mason, vanished a year ago without a trace. Sleep has abandoned her since, and her days blur between grief, obsession, and the desperate hope that she'll find answers. But when a true-crime podcaster begins to dig into Mason’s case, long-buried memories begin to claw their way to the surface—memories that may not be hers to claim.

Willingham writes with the haunting lyricism of someone who understands the fragile dance between sanity and unraveling. The narrative is dripping with tension, unreliable recollections, and razor-sharp prose. Like a classic Hitchcockian tale spun through a modern lens, this book invites you to question every character, every motive, and even your own instincts.

It’s not just a thriller—it’s a psychological excavation. A dive into the fractures of the mind and the wounds of motherhood. The pacing is methodical, like footsteps echoing down a dark hallway, and just when you think you’ve reached the truth, the floorboards give way.

Fans of The Last House Guest and The Push will be enthralled, but Forget Me Not carves its own niche—a chilling tale with a beating, broken heart. Willingham blends tradition with innovation, crafting a story that lingers long after the final chapter, like a name on the tip of your tongue you’re sure you should remember.

Stacy Willingham has become one of my favorite authors and an auto-buy when she has a new release.

Every single one of her books thus far (Forget Me Not included of course) has managed to wow me!

I will definitely be recommending this to library patrons and I CANNOT WAIT to see what Willingham comes out with next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC :)

If you haven’t already, add this book to your tbr! It started out slowish, but I didn’t care. I was still invested knowing it was going to get to the good parts. And boy oh boy, it most certainly did. This book had a lot of twists! Some that I sort of guessed but others that I didn’t see coming! I did not want to stop reading this once I started.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC before the book comes out!

I've been a faithful Stacy Willingham fan ever since reading A Flicker in the Dark, so naturally I jumped at the chance to request an ARC of Forget Me Not. Once again, Willingham delivers the perfect thriller, complete with a decades old mystery, family secrets, eerie settings, and a few unexpected twists. I was hooked from the very beginning and absolutely flew through Forget Me Not (as with all her other books). The perfect thriller to cap of the summer!!

Stacy's books are always so easy to get lost in. You forget you're reading and just become so engrossed in a story that you lose all track of time. Forget Me Not was no different and while it was sad, it was also just a great a story and I really liked it.

Thank you @NetGalley and @MinotaurBooks for the ARC!

It’s been 22 years since Claire’s sister, Natalie went missing. She’s been trying to move on and create a life for herself far from home. But Claire is down on her luck and out of job so when her father calls to ask her to come home, Claire is once again faced with the ache of the unknown fate of Natalie.

I really enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and was quite excited to get my hands on Willingham’s newest. Unfortunately, this didn’t live up to Flicker for me. It was too slow for the most part of the story and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. The last quarter of it was fun though albeit a bit predictable. Also, I enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere.

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, NetGalley, St Martin's Press & Minotaur Books for the eARC.

Stacy Willingham is an auto-read author for me; I have loved all of her other thrillers, and this newest one is good as well.

The story is told in a dual timeline format through the perspective of our FMC, Claire. We meet Claire during a vulnerable moment in her life; she has just quit her job as a crime reporter because she was overlooked for a promotion that was instead given to her close friend. She gets an unexpected call and feels guilted into going back to her hometown to help her mother. This brings up memories of her sister, Natalie, who went missing over 20 years ago and was later declared dead. Once back home, Claire begins sorting through her sister's old belongings, raising questions about what Natalie was involved with before her demise. Claire ends up going to the farm where her sister spent so much time before she went missing. The story really starts to get interesting as Claire begins working and living at the farm temporarily. Immediately, Claire begins to feel that the farm had more to do with her sister's disappearance, so she starts her own investigation into the odd, sinister owner, Mitchell.

The reader is introduced to a second timeline from a diary Claire finds on the farm. The diary contains entries of the farm's matriarch that end up shedding light on long-held secrets. Claire learns that not everyone is who they appear to be. There are many twists throughout this story that finally concludes with justice for Natalie and a happy ending for Claire.

I rated this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed the premise, characters, culty vibes, and eerie setting. However, I felt there could have been more time spent on Mitchell's past and how/why he ended up at the farm. Without mentioning any spoilers, I think it needed a little more to connect some of the dots.

OMG! Still reeling from the ending, but this novel was phenomenal - had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I loved Flicker in the Dark, and this one proved Stacy Willingham will be an automatic read for me from now on.

Plot:
Claire Campbell is a reporter from South Carolina who was able to escape to New York City after her sister's disappearance imploded their family. She had never properly dealt with the trauma from that event, but finds an opportunity to process it when she goes home to take care of her mother. She's between jobs at the moment so what does she have to lose? Her sanity, apparently. The trip back to Claxton, South Carolina opens a can of worms - and decades of mysteries - that she is not determined to close. She owes it to her sister to find the answers she seems to close to getting and close this case once and for all...

Thanks:
Thank you to Stacy Willingham, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

I LOVED this! I have loved everything Stacy Willingham has written -- her books are equal parts fun, twisty thrillers, while also having gorgeous prose and high emotional stakes. I especially love the setting of this story -- a vineyard in smalltown SC during the summer. Highly recomend this book!

I recently read A Flicker in the Dark but this author and loved it so I had high hopes going in to this book. I was not disappointed, this author just got upgraded to an autobuy author for me!

I gave this book 3 stars. The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking it was based on the Charles Manson cult but it claimed not to be. The book was slow moving at times, but the ending gave a good twist!

“Forget Me Not” by Stacy Willingham is a twisty and sinister southern tale. The story revolves around an investigative journalist whose older sister vanished after her 18th birthday more than 20 years ago. She has lived a traumatic life filled with guilt when she is suddenly called home to South Carolina to help her estranged mom who has had an accident. She finds herself digging into her sister’s disappearance even though a suspect was found and quickly arrested for the murder. As small clues begin to surface, she finds a journal that paints a very different story than the one she was led to believe. The journal discovery sets in motion the eerie, tension filled journey to find out what really happened to her sister.
I really enjoyed this book, it’s a creepy psychological thriller that will get under your skin and keep you reading way into the night.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Claire Campbell's sister, Natalie, disappeared at the age of eighteen, twenty-two years ago. Claire has tried to forget her traumatic past by moving to New York and becoming an investigative journalist. But a call from her father, leads her back home to South Carolina, when her mother needs help following an accident. All of the memories Claire has tried to forget are now returning, and she's also dealing with recently losing her job and the strained relationship with her mother. Her decisions end up leading her to the idyllic Galloway Farm, where her sister worked before her disappearance. But while she's there, Claire finds a hidden diary and starts to discover clues that could relate to Natalie's disappearance and other unsolved crimes.

I was really looking forward to reading Forget Me Not, because I loved A Flicker In the Dark, and it did not disappoint! Willingham really draws me in with her Southern settings and she writes absorbing slow burn suspense.

Claire works well as the FMC in the story. She's been dealing with the loss of her sister for over two decades and the guilt for what she feels was her part in Natalie's disappearance. Now she's also at a low point in her life after leaving her job and returning to the small town she escaped. I enjoyed following her as she made discoveries that made her question what happened to Natalie, and the story worked really well switching from her POV to the chapters from the diary that she found at Galloway Farm.

The mystery and suspense is paced really well throughout the book, and Willingham does a great job setting the scene to let the reader know that there's something that's definitely a bit off at the farm. There are some great reveals, and I found myself concerned for Claire, because of her isolation on the farm once she started unraveling some of the long-hidden secrets.

Forget Me Not delivers all of mystery/thriller vibes with an intriguing isolated Southern atmosphere, and I highly recommend it if you love fast-paced suspense, dark secrets, complex family relationships and unsolved mysteries.

I devoured "Forget Me Not" in a single day. This gripping novel maintained my interest from the very first page until the conclusion.

The story follows Claire Campbell, a journalist facing challenges in her career, who takes a temporary position in her hometown in South Carolina. Claire's sister, Natalie, vanished two decades ago during her teenage years, and although a man was convicted of her murder, Natalie's body was never discovered. During her summer stint, Claire finds herself working at the same farm where her sister was employed prior to her disappearance. While the farm boasts natural beauty, it harbors an unsettling atmosphere. The peculiar owner, Mitchell, raises suspicions in Claire, and his wife, Marcia, who is almost entirely silent, contributes to her unease. Meanwhile, Liam, the farmhand, appears to be friendly, yet many inconsistencies linger. Utilizing her journalistic expertise, Claire embarks on a quest to unveil hidden truths, leading to a plot filled with unexpected twists and revelations.

* Tropes/themes:
* Diary entry flashbacks with a different POV
* Family secrets
* Dark past
* Isolation/seclusion
* Starts very slow- while I didn’t love the pacing (it took me pretty much half the book to get hooked), it did help to get a good understanding of everything and everyone, setting the stage very effectively for the whole story.
* Cult-like vibes
* Majority of the setting was a summer country vineyard that was a bit eerie; loved that… very atmospheric
* The way the mystery unraveled was very seamless
* I do wish the diary entries were in first person but regardless, I loved the diary entries
* Content warnings:
* Murder/death
* Missing child
* Death of a child
* Cults
* Grooming
* Gun violence
* Trauma