A Flicker in the Dark

Stacy Willingham

From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller, certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page.

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to get. Sometimes, though, she feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. And then a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, and that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, and seeing parallels that aren’t really there, or for the second time in her life, is she about to unmask a killer?

In a debut novel that has already been optioned for a limited series by actress Emma Stone and sold to a dozen countries around the world, Stacy Willingham has created an unforgettable character in a spellbinding thriller that will appeal equally to fans of Gillian Flynn and Karin Slaughter. 

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

(4 / 5) “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that, in the process, he does not become a monster. If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

When Chloe was 12, 6 teen girls went missing. Within a few months, her father is arrested as the serial killer. When I read the synopsis, I knew I needed to read this one! The psychology behind serial killers has always fascinated me, I love the stories about family members and how it affects them.

As a debut author, Willingham is starting off strong! This has “already been optioned for a limited series by actress Emma Stone.” What? Sign me up! It’s full of suspense, damaged characters, family and more. There are varying timelines where we are given information from the past, only to realize it is coinciding with the present.

I thought I guessed this one, but so many twists got me. I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming! This is well done with hints dropped at every corner, but it doesn’t come together until the end and then it all fits perfectly. Only in hindsight do I see the breadcrumbs as actual puzzle pieces. This is expertly written to surprise me like it did.

“I had a taste of what it really felt like: control. Of not only having it, but taking it from somebody else. Snatching it up and claiming it as your own. And for one single moment, like a flicker in the dark, it felt good.“

This will definitely be an author to watch!

Content Summary: F words: 20+, Self harm, pill addiction, suicide attempt (details), small sex scene, infidelity (no real details), murders with some detail. 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book releases January 11, 2022.

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