Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It gripped me from the start and I couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend.

Domestic/psychological fans look no further for your next read because A Flicker in the Dark delivers. It's incredibly tense, fast paced and super twisty!

I absolutely love stories with dual timelines because you're getting two mysteries for the price of one AND there's that anticipation of the moment when the two timelines converge. Willingham did this masterfully. I was equally invested in both timelines and really enjoyed that we got to see Chloe's development across two decades.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what the author does next as this was a solid debut that was executed in all the right ways. Again, this is a great psychological thriller that fans of the genre won't want to miss!

I knew after the first couple of pages that I would enjoy this book. A hauntingly spooky psychological thriller involving Chloe Davis, who 20 years ago was in the midst of 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 at 32, she's a Psychologist in Baton Rouge, about to get married and thinks she's got a grip on life when suddenly two more teenagers go missing and one is her patient. Who is the copycat killer? Is she going mad? What will happen next? You'll need to read it to find out...

Real page-turner and superb writing skill. I thought I knew what the ending would be and after several twists and turns found this not to be the case and its a really good debut novel. Cant wait to find out what's next from Stacy Willingham. I hope there's lots.

I'm clearly not the only one who's loved this as although its only just being published, its already been optioned for a mini series on tv and I for one, cant wait to watch it.

A big thanks to HarperCollins UK Harper Fiction for the opportunity to read and review A flicker in the dark.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
This debut novel is the story of the daughter of a serial killer whose father was jailed when she was only 12. She has become a psychologist and has shut herself off from relationships in the past due to her terrible history. It is approaching the 20 years anniversary of her father’s crimes when girls are murdered in Baton Rouge where she now resides.
She becomes convinced that these are copycat murders and sets out to track down the perpetrator. She however teeters on the edge of mental stability and uses self-medication to control her symptoms. It is an extremely well plotted novel and the reader is fully emotionally invested in Chloe and the terrible emotional burden she has had to carry all her adult life.
This story is full of twists, turns, and red herrings. Chloe has tried to keep her fears under control and she is reluctant to share her thoughts with anyone. Her brother Cooper’s uneasy relationship with her fiancé also makes us question whether she has anything to fear.
I will definitely be recommending this book to my various book groups. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Many thanks to the author, the publishers and to Net Galley for the opportunity to read it in return for an honest review.

Doctor Chloe Davis has a sad history, her father was arrested and imprisoned for being a serial killer of six girls. Now planning her wedding, and still struggling with life emotionally she feels it’s all a little out of her control. Now local teenage girls have started to go missing again. Who is behind this?
This was a solid read that had me gripped and I really enjoyed it. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Chloe Davis was twelve years old when her father was convicted of the murder of six teenage girls. Her life was shattered. Twenty years later, although she is still haunted by those events, she has changed her name and created her own new identity and is about to get married. Then more girls are killed by what seems to be a copycat.

Cleverly plotted and set against the atmospheric background of the Louisiana bayous and swampland this is an intriguing read. The characterisation is good and the pace of the action supports the narrative nicely. This is an impressive debut.

The book does suffer from a slow start, but the pacing does finally pick up in the last 100 pages, and we are treated to one revelation after another. I wouldn't necessarily say any of it is surprising (I've read too many thrillers at this point), but it is exciting the way everything comes together is really the highlight of the book, and made this a worthwhile read for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

When Chloe was twelve six young girls went missing ..... withing weeks her father was found guilty of their murder
Now 20 years later she is a is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding , she finally sees happiness on the horizon . But now not just one girl has gone missing locally , another has ......... she sees similarities with those previous disappearances , are they real or is it her imagination ? However her father is still in prison .... is this a copycat ?

This book's premise had potential for a taught thriller , unfortunately I found some passages a little slow , the pace picking up better near the end

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Very enjoyable read, a good story well told with some nice touches to put you off the track of the real culprit.

Although I managed to work out who the real killer was before the denouement in the book that didn't spoil my enjoyment and would certainly read more from this author in future.

I didn't know what think this book when I started it but I'm so glad I read it

It had u gripped and want it more from the start.

EXCERPT: For some reason I never thought of my father as a serial killer until I saw it plastered across the newspapers, labeling him as such. It seemed too harsh for my father, a gentle man with a gentle voice. He was the one who taught me to ride a bike, jogging alongside me with his hands clutching the handlebars. The first time he let go, I had crashed into the fence, smacking straight into the wooden beam and feeling a searing pain in my cheek. I remember him running up behind me, scooping me in his arms, followed by the warmth of a damp washcloth as he pressed it against the gash beneath my eye. Drying my tears with his shirtsleeve, kissing my tangled hair. Then he fastened my helmet tighter and made me try again. My dad tucked me under the covers at night, wrote his own bedtime stories, shaved his facial hair into cartoon moustaches just to watch me laugh as he emerged from the bathroom, pretending like he didn't understand why I was wailing into the couch cushions, tears streaming from my cheeks. That man couldn't be a serial killer. Serial killers didn't do things like that . . . did they?

ABOUT 'A FLICKER IN THE DARK': 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?

MY THOUGHTS: All the hype about A Flicker in the Dark? It's true. I started this yesterday morning and read the first half in one sitting.

Now, I am normally a very hospitable person, but when we got unexpected visitors yesterday afternoon, I just wanted them to go away. They didn't. They stayed and stayed, even for dinner - we ordered in - and remarked more than once that I was very quiet (my mind was still on this book). I am grateful that they didn't stay overnight, although the offer was made, and I was pleased to see them but, really, all I wanted to do was read this book. Which is precisely what I did the moment they left.

Honestly, had I been able, I would have read this in one sitting. A Flicker in the Dark is compelling and engrossing reading. While I didn't like Chloe Davis, I could empathise with her and understand why she was the way she was even if, with being a clinical psychologist, she should know better. I was constantly trying to second guess her - were her thought processes logical, affected by her fears, or by her prescription drugs?

I loved the setting, the contrast between Chloe's early life in Breaux Bridge (the Crawfish capital of the World) and her current life in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But as they say, wherever you go, you take yourself with you, and Chloe certainly has. She carries an enormous amount of guilt - guilt over Lena's death, guilt over her father's arrest, guilt over her neglect of her mother amongst other things. Only the love of fiance Daniel and her brother Cooper sustain her. But Daniel and Cooper don't get on, circling each other like avaricious animals, each certain that only he can protect Chloe from herself and that the other is bad for Chloe's mental health. The pressure on Chloe to choose one over the other is increasing.

So, tense relationships, missing girls, and suddenly the past is becoming the present for Chloe. Journalists are hounding her as the twentieth anniversary of her father's arrest is looming and she is feeling an increasing need to turn to the numerous bottles of pills secreted in her bottom drawer in order to cope. Are her ideas about the identity of the copycat killer (which change regularly) based on fact or are they the result of the opiates with which she regularly self-medicates?

A Flicker in the Dark kept me more than interested right the way through. The plot is tightly woven with tension, intensity and suspense. Chloe's anxiety oozes off the page as does an inherent undercurrent of evil. The characters are so well portrayed, you can hear them breathing.

An engaging and exciting read with never a dull moment.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#AFlickerintheDark #NetGalley

I: @stacyvwillingham @harpercollinsuk

T: @svwillingham @HarperCollinsUK

#fivestarread #contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #murdermystery #psychologicalthriller #suspense

THE AUTHOR: Prior to writing fiction full time, Stacy worked as a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her BA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Georgia and MFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art & Design.

She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Britt, and her Labradoodle, Mako.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Chloe is a psychologist who deals in childhood trauma. She qualified in this because when she was twelve her Dad was outed as a serial killer and sent to jail.
Roll forward 20 years and Chloe is engaged to Daniel. She is still very guarded about her past and justifiably paranoid. When a girl disappears and is later found dead, Chloe sees the similarity between this and her father's crimes. However it's not possible that he committed this as he is in high security jail.
When she goes to the police with her suspicions, at first they look into them, then, because they have dug into her past they ask her to stop getting involved in the investigation. This leads to a dangerous situation.
I read this in a day. It is very readable.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK and I am leaving this review voluntarily

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?

This book had such an interesting premise and so much potential but unfortunately it failed to grab me. For a thriller it had a very slow pace for the majority of the book - towards the end of the book the pace does pick up.

Rating 3/5

I was sent a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I got into the story from the minute I started to read it! It kept me gripped and I really liked the way the characters were built up. Good twists. Wish the ending was slightly different (no spoilers!) but I’d happily read more books written by this author. Thanks

Such a great read. A story where the past quickly catches up to the present.
A claustrophobic and atmospheric psychological thriller full of twists and turns. Very enjoyable.

A Flicker In The Dark is a dark and twisty psychological thriller full of misdirection and suppressed secrets with an explosive ending that will have you gripped.

Initially, the book is quite slow and I was unsure of what direction it was going to go in. Was this just a study of somebody related to a serial killer and the effect that situation can have on somebody so young? Or was more going to happen?

But I didn't really mind either way, as I loved how Willingham explored Chloe's character. Although she's obviously damaged, she's a really interesting and engaging character. As it's hinted that something more is going on around her, it's put in your head that she could be unreliable, or even just a little sensitive, and not to trust things so straightforwardly from her perspective, as the build-up of something more terrifying is developed really well.

And then the twists come! I had actually predicted the final revelation, but I was convinced that I was wrong and was led down so many different routes that it still all came as a big shock in the end, so I really enjoyed this twisted journey that Willingham took me on.

I really enjoyed the setting, too, and the description of the marshes around Chloe's house made everything feel even more sinister, as I genuinely felt like I was reading this through the fog in the dark with the flicker of torchlight.

For a debut, A Flicker In The Dark is outstanding and I hope Willingham writes more soon! It's also been reported that the book is soon to be a major TV series, developed by Emma Stone, which is great news!

I'm on the tour for this on the 10th Feb so my links will be live then.

I appreciated this riveting, twisty, and complex thriller even if I found it quite slow at the beginning.
Once I was hooked I couldn't put it down.
Chloe is an unreliable narrator but also an interesting character, a damaged woman.
There's a lot going on and the twists surprised me.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book is brilliant. It's dark and foreboding. Full of confusion and misdirection. I did figure out the ending fairly early on but I had absolutely zero idea how we were going to get there. There was so many twists and turns and evidence pointing in other directions that I was convinced I must have had it wrong. I can't wait to read more from the author and I'm so grateful to Harper Collins for providing me with a free copy through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What an unusual premise for a thriller. We know that the central character, Chloe, is the daughter of a serial killer and this is her story….but is she to be trusted. She’s now an adult and a psychologist and bit by bit the complex dynamics of her past are pulled together. Or are they? It’s impossible to be sure whose reliable in detailing past events. Chloe is damaged and those around her are an intriguing mix of characters, all involved in one way or another. It’s impossible to second guess this teaser and I loved it.

The setting is superb and there’s a real feel for the Bayou and it’s quite claustrophobic. I’ve no hesitation in recommending this as a twisty thriller with a difference.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

An arresting read with many twists and turns.
An ususual plot line with secrets galore going back years and twisted family dynamics.
An explosive ending.

Atmospheric and chilling, this psychological suspense has a great setting and a plot with plenty of twists. Chole is an unreliable narrator and a complex character whose life is defined by what happened when she was twelve.

Disturbingly dark, told from Chole's viewpoint, there is confusion and misinformation. Sensory imagery brings the characters and setting to life, coupled with the intensity and sense of menace the story builds to a resonating conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from Harper Fiction via NetGalley in return for an honest review.