A Beautiful Silken Web of Secrets Lies and Deceit.

Claire is living her life in NYC but when she is passed over for a promotion for an investigative journalist job she deserved, money is tight, and she is feeling some angst over a story that is on the news, she decides she needs a break. See, Claire’s sister was murdered twenty-two years ago, when Claire was a kid. Claire doesn’t have a great relationship with her parents now after years of suppressed trauma, but when her dad asks her to return home and help her mom after an accident, Claire decides to go. Revisiting the past might not have been the best idea as she starts to struggle with unresolved feelings from the past. On a journey to find herself and figure out her life, she seeks solace at a Vineyard, a place that has ties to her sister, accepting a job to help around the place in exchange for room and board and little money. Claire finds a journal, she finds photos, she finds a role of film, she finds secrets, lies and murder….

I found this book to be engaging, the writing eloquent and the descriptions divine. Willingham has not written a bad book yet, and I have read them all. She weaves words into a beautiful, silken web of literature. This book is hauntingly beautiful with themes of grief, loss, sisterhood, and unresolved trauma. It scares you and keeps you on edge but at the same time makes you feel like you are on an emotional rollercoaster. Claire is real, she comes alive, she is your friend, your sister… you feel connected to her, and you find yourself cheering for her. Claire’s character is one of my favorites in Willingham’s books so far. She is smart, witty, brave, she hunts clues like Nancy Drew but fights like Olivia Benson! The ending will make your jaw drop with the small twists that you didn’t see coming and the final blow that knocks this thriller out of the park! Highly recommend this book and all her others! Definitely a favorite author of mine!

I really loved this one. The ending didn’t leave me questioning anything. I saw some of the ending coming but not all of it, I really enjoyed the twists and I would recommend this one 1000%!

Another great thriller by Stacy Willingham!

After losing her job and still wrestling with the heartache of her sister Natalie’s disappearance over two decades ago, Claire Campbell decides it’s time to leave New York behind. She returns to her roots in South Carolina, a place filled with memories and unanswered questions about the summer Natalie vanished. Hoping for a change, Claire accepts a position at a vineyard - the same one where Natalie last worked - unaware that her search for stability might lead her straight into long-buried truths.

The opening felt a bit sluggish to me, but the latter half completely gripped me. I was genuinely unsettled and thoroughly spooked while reading all the details of the crime.

Although I typically gravitate toward fast-paced thrillers, I’d still suggest this one to anyone who appreciates a well-crafted twist and a richly layered crime narrative. I’m confidently rating it a solid 4 stars.

5⭐️

Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and Forget Me Not has cemented that fact! I love a book full of family secrets and I love even more when those secrets reveal possible cult-like activity. I have always found the Manson Family to be fascinating and the similarities between them and the 'family' in this book really drew me in. The isolated location of the orchard mixed with the lack of cell phone signal really added to the tension as Claire looked into her sister's death.

I loved the dual timelines and the journal entries. The journal entries really were vague enough that it made all the twists surprising but also detailed enough to keep me hooked. I also really liked the way that no one was willing to talk about Natalie after her death and how that lead to further family secrets. Had someone admitted to the sisters what they knew as soon as Natalie started working at the orchard so many things could have been prevented.

Thanks Netgalley and Minotaur Books for providing this ARC to me!

Over the last few years, Stacy Willingham has become one of my favorite contemporary authors. She consistently delivers thrillers that feel grounded and believable, and Forget Me Not is no exception. The story follows a woman who lost her sister 22 years ago; when she returns home in search of answers, she uncovers far more than she ever expected. The pacing is solid, the twists are satisfying, and the emotional undercurrent adds depth. A strong, engaging read—4 stars.

Claire has returned home after 15 years due to an unexpected call from her father. After her sister’s disappearance 22 years ago, her family has never been the same. With her career as an investigative journalist floundering, she decides to stay a while and gets a job at the Calloway farm, the same farm her sister worked at so many years ago.

This is where the mystery starts to unfold. There is a lot going on in this story and at some points I wasn’t sure how it would all come together. The story unfolds through a diary that Claire finds that she becomes a bit obsessed with! I actually would have loved to hear more from the “before” timeline and it was quite fascinating. It was more snapshots from the time before since it was told through a diary. This was definitely a page turner for me as we see Claire investigating and hoping she stays safe in the process!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me access to this eARC.

Stacy Willingham always writes thrillers that intrigue me, and I think this is my favorite one from her yet! The writing for this book is really well done. I think we really get into the head and feelings of our main character, Claire.


The story itself is interesting. I like the thrillers that involve the main characters coming home to a place that has created a certain trauma for them. The eerie small-town secrets are one of my favorite tropes in a thriller. I also like the ones that involve solving or reexamining an old case, which this book does with Claire and her sister Natalie. The depictions of our main character navigating grief and trauma around her hometown and sister is well-written. I like how often she mentions Natalie in the little things that surround her. The multiple timelines is something I did enjoy in the book. I liked how we got diary snippets of Marcia and Mitchell and got to investigate the mysterious history into the place Claire’s sister worked before she died. I am also a fan of the weirdness surrounding the people who are housing her. It is a trope I enjoy- when the people around you are hiding things or are not who they are.

There are certainly issues I have with it. For instance, the fact that Claire can just get a great job randomly because she showed up to see this vineyard when some guy just did not show up for the interview. Because of that, a job with housing and food and pay just got thrown into her hands easily, which is not something I enjoy in books. It always seems too far-fetched. Furthermore, her immediately feeling comfortable around Liam, a man she just met is also not really the trope I enjoy in thrillers. There does not have to be a man for our FMC to find within every thriller. I also did not care for the culty aspect of the thriller for this book. I think it is something we can move past, but I do still think it was well-written.

Now for the ending of the book. There were really good twists as we neared the end of the book. I genuinely had no idea it was coming, which is a good thing! I think they were well written and well built up to. A lot of the time twists come all at once and don't have logical leaps, but this book did. Overall, one of my more favorite of her works.

Stacy is one of my favorite mystery/thriller authors so I was so excited to get a copy of her upcoming release.

We meet the main character, Claire, who is a young journalist trying to find her place in her career and in NYC. When her dad calls her and says that her mom has fallen Claire makes the decision to move back home for the summer to help. As she is in her childhood home she goes into her sisters childhood bedroom, who was killed by her older boyfriend when Claire was just 11. There she finds photos and an undeveloped film roll that leaves Claire asking more questions. Instead of staying with her parents she decides to leave and take a seasonal job at a vineyard an hour away on a secluded 50 acres of land (where her sister also used to work). One night in her guest room she finds a diary written by one of the owners- the similarities between the owner and her sister's life are too large for Claire to ignore which leads her on a path to find answers.

The beginning and middle were more of a slow build, but the ending was a page turner (in true Stacy fashion). The ending had twists that surprised me and I didn't see coming! I really enjoyed the characters (besides her friend in New York-Ryan- I felt like his character was a little pointless) and each of their back stories/development.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review. Book is set to release 8/26/25

4 stars out of 5.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a great suspenseful mystery. I did find it a bit slow to start but it did pick up around the 25% mark. I loved the twists and turns thrown in and the author did a great job describing Galloway farms. It was definitely creepy and I just felt like there was something going on there. One thing I wish I would have had was more background information on Mitchell and why he was the way he was. This book is written in present then switches to the past tense with Marcia's diary. I felt that really gave us a good picture of what went on in the past. Overall, this was a great read and I would recommend it!

In Forget Me Not, We met Claire, who is a struggling journalist living in New York. She lost her sister Natalia when she was younger and that tore their family apart. Claire ends up going back home to help her mom but finds herself working at a job her sister worked before she died at Galloway Farms. Claire finds a secret diary of one of the owners of the farm and what she learns sheds light on some unsolved mysteries and maybe even tying in her sister's disappearance.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I do love a good Stacy Willingham mystery! This book didn't disappoint and it was full of all the twists and turns that you expect from her stories.

This book starts off with Claire, a down on her look reporter from a small town in South Carolina living in New York. Her dad calls with news that her mom is injured so she decides begrudgingly to go help her. When in South Carolina she decides to go to Galloway farm to help out for the summer to make some money. While there she finds a diary authored by Marcia, a teen girl that ended up disappearing, never to be seen again. Marcia had met up with a boy named Mitchell and he introduced her to a group of individuals that were considered to be a" family"; Lily was one of those people. She was trouble and soon Marcia realized that for the sake of herself and her unborn child, she needed to leave. However, she never gets the chance. Tied up in this story is the fact that Claire's sister was missing as well. When she realizes that Marcia's story is very similar to her sister Natalie's story, Claire starts putting things together. Will she uncover any new evidence and find out what happened to her sister? Will this uncover quite a bit of information that she did not know about her family? Is Claire safe on Galloway farm that is owned by Mitchell? Can she trust the farmhand, Liam?

The story was really interesting; a mystery revolving around a family's tragedy that mirrored one from the past. I did enjoy the fact that we could "read" Marcia's diary entries but as a story rather than just her writing on the page. It really helped with understanding what was going on in the past and how it related to the future. I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley, Stacy Willingham, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this ARC!

A twisty mystery that switches between present day and diary entires from the early 80s to give the reader and narrator insight into the past of Galloway, a farm that Claire begins working at, 20+ years after her sister’s passing. I really enjoyed this one, Stacy definitely knows how to write an engaging thriller.

One aspect that I think would’ve made my rating higher would be to provide more motive for what took place. I felt like there wasn’t much insight into Mitchell’s motives or history which left a hole in the story.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange of my honest review.

Over twenty years ago, Claire's sister disappeared without a trace over the Summer. Her bloody clothing was found and a man arrested and in prison for her murder.

Drawn back to her childhood home to help take care of her estranged mother, Claire leaves her mother's home and finds herself at Galloway Farms, the last place her sister worked before she disappeared and the one place she was truly happy at.

As Claire busies her hands and mind working at the farm, she finds an old diary hidden. One that reveals secrets and leads Claire to believe that nothing and no one is who she thought. As her journalistic curiosity digs in, she's more convinced that the secret to her sister's disappearance is here and she's not sure she's safe.

This book was absolutely addictive. I lost sleep, my nerves were shot, and I didn't think I'd make it the last quarter of the book. Secrets, lies, and twists galore!

This is a haunting, slow burn mystery thriller with an immersive setting and great writing. Claire is an interesting protagonist, haunted by the death of her sister, who finds herself at the center of a 22-year-old mystery. It took a bit for me to get into the story, but once I did, it was very engaging.

I am a huge Stacy Willingham fan, her first book was 10/10 for me - this one.. was a bit slow, it wasn't exactly "thrilling" but more like a suspense? mystery? I didn't have the 10/10 feeling for this one, however - it was still a great read! Thank you soo much for the early copy!

This was supposed to be a thriller but for me it was just a mystery that I half figured it out in the middle of the book. It didn't make my adrenaline rush nor it made me on the edge of my seat. It's interesting just enough to complete it.

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I need a palate cleanser from romances and this thriller would be perfect. Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the early copy 💙💙

Willingham really sets the stage with magnetic writing and a very atmospheric backdrop. This is a gripping thriller and Willingham immediately draws the reader in and sets them down the path of a decades old mystery. The entire book ripples with feelings of unease and tension just below the surface. The prose is gorgeous and the writing is haunting. The characters are well developed and written so well, with the side characters being just an interesting and fleshed out as the main character. The story is complex, but easy to follow, as Willingham peels back later after layer. The ending is dynamic and the twist is just stunningly done. Not only did I never see it come but it just made so much sense and left me astounded. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year, Willingham absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one. With such a unique story, phenomenal and haunting writing, and an addictive blend of mystery, murder, and suspense this is an easy 5/5⭐️

The book started out really slow for me. I’m not into slow burners. But i was interested enough to finish. Unpopular opinion… not one of my favorites of her books.

This book stressed me out, I was on edge the whole time the main character was at Galloway, knowing this is where the twists, turns, and danger would lie and I was not wrong! Stacy writes such anxiety inducting thrillers!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Stacey Willingham does it again! I have read all her books, enjoyed all her books, and I think Forget Me Not just knocked every single one out of first place. It was so good!
This book actually gave me chills. I became so immersed in Claire's pseudo-investigation into Galloway Farm that I felt like I was investigating with her. I love an amateur detective novel, and this delivered.
What's interesting about Claire being at Galloway Farm is that it was sort of unplanned. Circumstances happened, she ended up at the farm, and she started digging up a bunch of old secrets pertaining to unsolved murders. It was so brilliantly written.
This book also delivers on all the southern thriller vibes. Imagine a remote place in a hot, humid South Carolina with no cell service - completely cut off from civilization. It was haunting and I loved it.
If you like thrillers, don't mind being slightly creeped out, and love an amateur investigation, you'll like this one!

Stacy Willingham has done it again! The mystery at the heart of the book - what happened to the older sister two decades ago - has plenty of twists and turns, several of which I did not see coming! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.