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If Stacy Willingham writes it, I will read it. The end. As usual, I was hooked right from the beginning. Definitely a must read.

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First I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this novel.

What a good, twisty thriller from Stacy Willingham. I was so excited when I was approved for this book. I loved her first two novels and this one was just as good. I was hooked on this book from the first chapter and could t put it down.

I love a book where I honestly fear for the main character safety and there were multiple times I had to put this book down for a minute to bring my heart rate back down. I loved Clare and at times I just wanted her to drive away instead of putting herself in danger but her journalism curiosity just got the better of her and it was worth it.

I loved how this book just didn’t go where I was expecting it and the final 20% or so had so much twists. I just loved the ending so much.

I’m rating this book 4.5/5 stars rounding it up to 5 for this review.

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"There is not moving on from that, but I know better than anyone that there is moving forward. A slow, painful lurching in some tenuous direction, each day that passes providing a little more padding. A cushion to help soften the sharp edges of pain."

I know two things for sure: I will certainly not be moving on (or forward) from this book any time soon and Stacy Willingham is one of the best thriller writers of all time (according to me)!

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Claire's sister went missing twenty two years ago. Twenty two years during which a man has sat in prison for the crime but no confession has ever been made and no body has ever been found. The family held a funeral, but has Claire accepted that her sister is really dead and gone? Maybe she's convinced herself she has.

When Claire finds herself back in the hometown she hasn't visited in fifteen years checking in on her injured mom, memories come flooding back and it becomes increasingly more difficult to ignore the inconsistencies in law enforcement's portrayal of Natalie's story.

On a search for escape, Claire finds herself accepting a summer job at Galloway Farm, a place she remembers her sister being happy. But what she finds between the vines is far from relaxation. Things don't add up around Galloway Farm, and the more Claire looks into her hosts' backgrounds, the more she is convinced there's some connection to Natalie. She can't stop herself from investigating the connection, but will she like the answers she finds?


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Once again, I would read this woman's grocery lists. Four books, four five star reads. There's just something about Willingham's ability to catapult the reader right into the center of the story that makes her novels impossible to put down. The puzzle pieces of her stories always leave me feeling like I know exactly what's coming, until the exact opposite happens and I'm left speechless. Forget Me Not is no exception. Even when I thought I knew every plot twist that could possibly come up, something completely out of left field (but that fit so seamlessly) popped up. I truly could not recommend this novel enough!

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Publishing August 26, 2025 but you can preorder from your favorite local bookstore right now!

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Southern Gothic Chills!

When Claire's sister vanished after her 18th birthday, her world was shattered. The mystery has haunted her ever since, but it’s not until she rage-quits her journalism job and returns home for the first time in twenty years that the loss truly begins to cut deep.

Back in her mother’s house, Claire stumbles upon an old roll of film and strange remnants of her sister’s life—clues that might finally reveal what happened all those years ago.

Determined to retrace her sister’s last steps, Claire takes a job at Galloway Farm, the same seasonal work her sister did that fateful summer. But instead of closure, she finds disturbing episodes of déjà vu, eerie visions, and whispers of something long buried beneath the farm’s surface. When she discovers a 40-year-old diary chronicling a secretive, cult-like community, past and present begin to blur in unsettling ways.

Told through dual timelines, Forget Me Not masterfully builds tension, layering eerie Southern Gothic undertones with a slow-burning mystery that keeps you questioning reality. An atmospheric, chilling read with a truly unique twist.

#ForgetMeNot #StacyWillingham #StMartinsPress

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What an emotional roller coaster. Claire’s life is in a rut. She didn’t get the promotion she was gunning for, she has no job, her mom (whom she hasn’t spoken to in 15 years) doesn’t want her around, and she’s given up her apartment for the summer. With nothing better to do, Claire takes a job at the last place her missing sister worked 22 years ago. She’s just looking for a place to feel her sister’s presence… but is that all she’ll find?

This book started off slowly and then, as it picked up, it aggravated me in the right ways. Many twists were had. You don’t know who to trust. But the end result is worth it all.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Stacy Willingham for the ARC. All opinions stated are my own.

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Her sister disappeared many years ago & she moved away to start over. She finally comes back to town & ends up being drawn to the place her sister worked before she died. Finding clues along the way that what she thought happened to her sister may be wrong.

This is actually a slower thriller, but I still really enjoyed it. She slowly finds more and more puzzle pieces that keep you wondering what is going on. I will say my initial feelings of what might have happened proved to be right in the end but with a lot of wild details.

There were moments in the 2nd half of this book where I was thoroughly creeped out and scared, because this was written very well. I also felt like I was reading true crime with the way it was written, because it was just so believable of a story. It was also so intricate with every detail connecting and meaning something to the overall story.

I think this one will 100% be a hit. Even though it is slower at first, it is such a great story.

Thank you to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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•I’ve been waiting anxiously awaiting another Stacy Willingham book and Forget Me Not was even better than I could’ve imagined.

•Twenty-two years ago, Natalie Campbell disappeared. Circumstantial evidence was found days later, and a man was convicted of her murder. Case closed, right? Wrong.

•Present day, Natalie’s younger sister, Claire, still feels uneasy about her sister’s disappearance and presumed murder. She’s unsure if the right guy is actually in prison. Determined to find the truth, she accepts a seasonal job at the same local farm where her sister worked shortly before her disappearance.

•Soon after she begins working there, she discovers an old diary belonging to the farmer’s wife. The details in the diary paint a not-so-idyllic picture of the history of the farm.

•I COULD NOT put this book down!!! The Farm was giving me Spahn Ranch vibes and I loved it. I’m convinced Stacy Willingham cannot write a bad book. They’re all amazing!!

•Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham for this ARC. It will be available on August 26, 2025. Until then, make sure you add it to your TBR pile!

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This book was an intriguing and bewitching novel. It was definitely giving “Southern Gothic” vibes. The premise and plot were gripping and interesting. This was definitely more of a “slow burner” than some of Stacy Willingham’s books but still suspenseful and enjoyable! I appreciate the opportunity to read this book very much!

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I could not put this book down. Amazing! My favorite book written by Stacy Willingham so far and I’ve read them all. I started this book around 1pm on Saturday and I finished by 9:30 pm. The flow of the book, all the characters and me having to know how everything was connected kept me reading all day.

Twenty two years ago, Claire Campbells sister Natalie disappears on her 18th birthday. A few days later, her blood was found in a car of a local man and he was arrested for the crime.
The case was closed. Upon returning to her mother’s house to help her, Claire decides to go to the farm where her sister worked all those years ago. Claire even applies for a job there and lives at the farm. Suspicious things keep happening and Claire is trying to figure out if the farm was involved in her sister’s disappearance somehow. This book kept me guessing until the end.

I highly recommend this book if you love thrillers and Stacy Willingham books.

Thanks netgalley and publisher for a chance to read this book for free in return for my honest opinion .

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I've been waiting for this book, and am so grateful to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC! I thought Willingham's first two books were clever and well-done, but her third fell flat for me. Happy to report that this once was great again! Claire is an investigative journalist whose older sister Natalie went missing decades ago, and once she was old enough to leave that tragedy behind, Claire has never returned to her hometown or her mother's house...until now. When she is called home, she realizes that so much of her sad, lonely life has been shaped by the guilt she still holds over her sister's disappearance, and the answers she never found as to what truly happened to Natalie. While the first several chapters were a bit too much of a slow burn for me, and I thought that a couple of characters could have been developed a bit more, it really started to pick up at about 50% in. And then by the end, there were lots of smart twists and layers that came together beautifully to tell a complex tale of young females searching for their place in the world, as well as those who prey upon their vulnerabilities. I also really like the concept Willingham explores of telling the WHOLE story of these girls and the marks they make on the world, and not just the sordid details of their disappearances and/or tragic deaths.

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I went in completely blind, trusting Willingham’s writing without knowing anything about the story. While there’s quite a bit of set up, her writing drew me in. And once the story takes off, it doesn’t let up.

Claire was 11 when her 18 year old sister went missing, presumed dead. Twenty two years have passed, and fifteen years since Claire moved away from her hometown for good, when she returns after an unexpected call from her father. I honestly don’t want to say more than that.

The mystery gripped me right away. Like I said, it takes a bit for the story to really unfold, but it’s worth it. I always know when reading one of her books that I can’t trust anyone or anything. This one is dark, there’s twists and turns and secrets uncovered. I even got a bit scared a few times. I highly recommend this one, especially if you’re a fan of her other works!

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A gripping Southern thriller, Stacy Willingham’s latest novel keeps you on edge from the very start.

The story follows journalist Claire Campbell, still haunted by the tragic murder of her sister, Natalie, 22 years ago. Natalie was killed by her secret older boyfriend, an event that shattered Claire’s family and drove her to escape her Southern hometown for a fresh start in New York. But after resigning from her journalism job—frustrated when a long-overdue promotion went to her best friend, Ryan—Claire finds herself reluctantly returning home when her father calls to inform her that her mother has been injured and needs care. Encouraged by Ryan to confront her past, she agrees to make the trip.

While back in town, Claire stumbles upon an undeveloped roll of film hidden in her sister’s old room. As she unravels the images frozen in time, they lead her straight to Galloway Farm—the place where Natalie worked before her death. Determined to uncover long-buried secrets, Claire takes a job at the farm, immersing herself in its unsettling atmosphere. There, she meets Mitchell, the eccentric owner with an uncanny knowledge of herbs; Liam, the charming yet mysterious farmhand; and Marcia, a silent, haunted woman who seems a shell of her former self. When Claire discovers Marcia’s hidden diary in the guesthouse where she’s staying, she becomes captivated by its cryptic pages, which hint at the farm’s dark past—one that eerily resembles a cult. The more she digs, the more she realizes that Natalie may have been caught in something far more sinister than she ever imagined. But with each revelation, Claire risks not only her sanity but also her life, as the truth about her sister’s fate threatens to upend everything she thought she knew.

Overall: A fast-paced and gripping Southern thriller, this novel delivers an addictive blend of suspense, mystery, and atmospheric tension—perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham’s work.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for providing me with a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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A fast paced suspense that had a few great twists and turns. I love all of her books! A couple of characters felt flat, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the read!

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SO MANY THINGS! This book was great! It was like a puzzle and I loved it!!! Some of the build up and background slowed the story but, it was necessary. I absolutely couldn’t put this one down and I loved it! The topic of cult-ish grooming was very interesting and it had that Manson-esque way about it. Such an intriguing story!!!

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Stacy Willingham does not miss when it comes to thrillers, and Forget Me Not is no exception! Claire Campbell has spent decades trying to forget the night her sister disappeared, but when a call from her father drags her back home, the past refuses to stay buried. She stumbles across a diary that just might be linked to her sister’s case. And let’s just say, once Claire starts digging, she realizes some secrets were meant to stay hidden. This book is creepy in the best way, and is one of those thrillers that will have you second guessing everyone!

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Thank you, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing the copy of Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham. I always look forward to a new book by Willingham because her impeccable writing never fails to immerse me in the story and the characters. I loved how Claire finds her job at Galloway’s Farm and gets embroiled in a decades-old mystery, and how realistic her guilt about Natalie is. I didn’t think I could love a book as much as I loved A Flicker In The Dark, but Forget Me Not blew me away. There were so many shocking reveals that I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next surprise. If you only read one thriller this year, make it this one. You won’t be disappointed, and it will draw you in from the first chapter. 5 Stars

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✨Reviews✨
📚Forget Me Not - Stacy Willingham📚
📖 5/5
Stacy Willingham has done it again folks. I honestly didn’t think she could top A Flicker In The Dark but here we are. . . She just doesn’t miss.
This one really draws you in from the first page and you just don’t know what’s going to happen next.

This thrilling story unfolds in alternating point of views both present and past and the reader wonders how its all going to tie together. We start with our FMC Claire who has returned to her small town for the first time in over a decade still trying to come to terms with the loss of her sister. She disappeared out the window one night with a duffle bag never to be seen again. Our second POV is diary entries from a teenage girl from the 1980s, the more of the diary Claire reads the more the story starts to sound eerily familiar. 

I can honestly say I was on the edge of my seat, desperately devouring this one to figure out what had really been going on at Galloway Farm all those years ago, and how does it connect to Claire’s missing and presumed dead sister?!?

Galloway Farm was the perfect backdrop for this culty thriller and the author did an amazing job of describing its picturesque landscape setting the mood for the story that was unfolding.
This one hits shelves in August and I will be recommending it to anyone and everyone who asks for book recommendations this summer. While you wait pick up one of this authors other amazing thrillers to tide you over until this one is released.  

Thank you Netgalley, St Martins Press and Minotaur Books for approving me for this ARC. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2025 and it hit the mark!!!

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Another wonderful read by Stacy Willingham! I absolutely loved everything about this book. It really blew me away.

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