This book starts off strong, setting up a trope I enjoy in horror and thrillers - a character going home to solve a mystery. The disappearance of her sister quickly takes a back seat for Claire, however, and we’re introduced to a new potentially endangered woman. Her story is told through a diary that Claire has found tucked away and begins to read, and while I loved the addition of this woman’s POV, I found myself wishing she were the MC of this story instead. Claire is pretty lackluster as a character, bumbling around and accidentally finding things that help her put the pieces together. Following her grows tiring after the first quarter of the book. The two central mysteries are compelling enough, but once both are solved and the truths revealed, I was left with questions aplenty about why certain characters did the things they did, when those things were only done for the benefit of the reader, and when the true context is later revealed, they no longer make sense. I think Willingham tries too hard to make the reader think one way that she adds too many things that evade logic once the reader learns what has been really going on, leaving us to look back on certain events and decisions and question why they would have happened at all.

Dark family secrets. A sister gone missing. A predator in the shadows. Fast forward to present day, Chloe returns to her childhood home to care for her mother but the grief for her sister drove her away. Chloe ends up at living and working at a secluded farm on an island. While there, she finds a diary from the owner's wife. What unfolds is a tangled, complex mystery. The narrators were both really good and kept me engaged. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had suspicions throughout the entire book but I really didn't see how complex this story was. I love a good thriller that keeps you guessing until then end and then all your suspicions are turned upside down. This book was that! Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy!

Another “return to your hometown to solve a mystery from the past” story. This time it’s the death of an older sister. I was hoping it’d at least be a good mystery, maybe a little twisty. But nah. I was 14 percent in and already bored. Claire, the main character, is fine. Just… fine. She comes back home after her mom falls through the deck (yes, really), finds some old pictures of her sister, and that’s about it. Nothing much happens.

By 20 percent, Claire gets a job at the vineyard where her sister used to work and meets two guys, Liam and Mitchell, but it’s not giving. The mystery tropes are all there, but they’re served with zero flair. The pacing drags, the plot gets confusing the closer you get to the end, and somehow all the buildup amounts to nothing. The twists felt slapped together, and everything about it just lacked payoff.

Also… why was the diary written in third person? Who does that? It was weird and took me out of the story every time. And Claire? So flat. Like ma’am, why is this 22-year-old trauma suddenly hitting you like a freight train now? I was just waiting for something to pop off, but it never did.

Not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

Stacy Willingham has been a must read author for me since A Flicker In The Dark. I always anxiously await new books and it’s always worth the wait!

Forget Me Not was an enjoyable thriller – although Claire, our protagonist, made a lot of questionable decisions which I’m choosing to believe make her an intriguing character, rather than that the book itself relied upon its heroine doing foolish things to create the drama. Claire Campbell (apologies for any incorrect spellings, I listened to the audiobook), returns home for the first time since she left – a home that is marred by her older sister’s disappearance and assumed death at the age of 18. She uncovers more than she imagined she would about her sister’s disappearance when she begins work on the farm that employed her sister the summer she went missing (she also seemed completely unprepared for manual labor for someone who agreed to work on a farm – another of Claire’s odd choices).
The book was fast paced and never really slowed down for me – Claire was always making an important discovery or a questionable decision. I found myself continually drawn to it, wanting to know how the mysteries unfolded. Once you uncover the key situation some things quite clearly fall into place, but there were still little surprises dropped in throughout (purposefuly vague here to avoid spoilers). It was an enjoyable read and I will look forward to the next Stacy Willingham.
Audiobook readers Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker were both excellent and captured the characters they read very well. Although – why was Marsha’s journal in the third person? Was there something I missed?
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for my copy of this audiobook!

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.

After receding a call from her dad, Claire Campbell, a newly freelanced reporter, returns home to SC to help her mom recover from an injury. However, returning home brings back painful memories of the murder of her older sister, Natalie. To give herself some space and income, Claire takes up a summer position at a local farm. Except, instead of finding relaxation, she finds herself pulled into a mystery that is linked to her sister’s murder. So, putting on her journalist hat, Claire begins an undercover investigation that could cost her life.

@netgalley
#netgalleyreader
#netgalleyreviewer
#netgalleyarc
#readmorebooks
#readmorebooksbywomen
#bookstagram
#bookstagrammer
#bookish
#mybookishlife
#wearebookish
#readinggoals
#readin2025

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham
Publish date: Aug 26, 2025

22 years ago, Claire’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared and her bf was charged and sentenced for her murder. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city until her mother is injured and she returns to her hometown.

Claire decides to accept a seasonal job at Galloway farm where she can relax away from her chilhood home where everything reminds her of her sister. Soon, she stumbles across an old diary that holds alot of secrets and mysteries from the past.

Review::::
First of all, I will buy every single book that the author writes because I love her work.

This book like every other of her books is slow paced mystery thriller. Once you get into the world and plot then it becomes a page turner. I devoured the last 30% of the book.
Few twists were predictable which is absolutely fine with me because I enjoyed the journey. There are alot of twists and turns in the 2nd half of the book that you wouldn’t expect at all. Missing person plot, done right.
At times I got pissed at Claire because of her choices which basically means that I was invested in the story.

The audio production was great. Quality, clarity and flow was perfect even when I listened to it at 1.75x.
The narrator did a great job.

First, thank you for this ALC. I think this might be my first book by this author. I thought the story was engaging and the premise interesting. It had me wanting to know what would happen next. The narration was wonderful, Karissa Vacker is phenomenal. I definitely will pick up other books by this author.

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.

🎧 The audio is narrated by Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker and I think they did a wonderful job bringing this story to life! It’s immersive and keeps you locked in. Karissa Vacker is one I’ll pick a book up for.

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 had high hopes for this as I love Stacy Willingham and a Flicker in the Dark is one of my favorite audiobooks. Forget Me Not didn’t disappoint, this was a great listen! The story was fast paced and suspenseful and the narration matched the tone of the story well. Each character sounded distinctive and the male voices were done well also. I rated this 4 stars because the ending didn’t quite give me that punch in the face I want from a thriller, but I devoured it nonetheless! This book is set to release on August 26, 2025.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook ARC of Forget Me Not in exchange for my honest review.

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.

2.5 stars. This book was just an okay read for me. I found it to be slow and lacking any thrilling aspects that the author's other books all had. There was a mystery, but because there were so little characters, the shock factor was kind of nonexistent. The narrator was the best part of this read.

ARC and ALC review

"Forget Me Not" by Stacy Willingham is a mystery thriller.

I received an ARC from Harper Fiction and an ALC from Macmillan Audio.
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday.
She tried to move on by moving to the city and becoming a journalist.
After her mother gets hurt, she returns home to help her.
Shortly after, she gets a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up.

The beginning of the book was a bit slow, it seemed more like a domestic thriller.
But after Claire finds a journal in her room at the farm, things get very interesting.

I also listened to the audiobook narrated by Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker.
Karissa is an amazing narrator and she brought Claire's character to life and made me continue listening chapter after chapter.
I am glad that there is another narrator for the journal part. Helen Laser is a new to me narrator, but I like her voice a lot.

The chapters from Claire's perspective are written in 1st person present and the journal chapters in 3rd person in the past (this made me think of an unreliable narrator).

This book has a lot of suspense, mystery, danger and twists.
The atmosphere form the farm is seems full of danger, but I liked that Claire was so set to discover thew truth.
There are so many connections between the farm and Claire's past and family that surprised me.

Overall I loved this book and I recommend the audiobook as it enhances the suspense.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for granting me access to the audio book in exchange for an honest review. I was immediately taken in by this story.Twenty-two years after her sister Natalie vanished, Claire Campbell goes back to her hometown to help her mother. After being told by her mom that is not needed, Claire ends up at the farm where Natalie spent her last days. The author did a great job building suspense in this mystery.

I absolutely love Stacy Willingham but this one fell a bit flat for me. It was hard to follow at times but the biggest issue for me was the pace. It was a very slow burn. If you like a slow burn mystery this one will be for you.

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.

3.75 🌟 rounded up

*I alternated between reading the ebook and listening to the audiobook of Forget Me Not.

This was my first book by Stacy Willingham, and I'm not sure why I waited so long to try one of her books. Forget Me Not is a really solid thriller. It kept me engaged throughout the book, and I finished it in about a day because I wanted to know what had happened to Claire's sister. Claire is a likeable FMC. Willingham writes her in a way that makes you really feel her pain and empathize with her struggles.

Narration is done by Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker. Their voices differentiate between Claire's and the diary entries. I've listened to audiobooks narrated by Laser before, and her performance here is done well. Vacker also does a great job. They both express emotion throughout the reading, when appropriate.

Recommended for readers of twisty, southern thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

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.

I enjoyed the narrator's voice and the way it was changed to reflect different characters. The pacing was also well done with the very slight exception of too long of a pause between chapters but that was very minor.

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

I enjoyed this Thriller a lot! Fast paced and a strong story line. This was my first experience with one of Stacy Willingham's thrillers and based on reviews of her previous books I had high hopes. The creepy setting of an isolated vineyard really helped set up the story for some solid twists and turns in the storyline.

Overall would recommend this to anyone looking for a solid thriller!