I've seen you either love this or you don't - I am in the second category. The blurb sounded so enticing, but I felt it just didn't quite deliver.

I liked the writing style and would be interested in reading other works by Stacy. I actually really liked Daniel and wanted more with him.

Maybe it's because I've read too many thrillers, but it was frustrating as I'd guessed one twist very early on. Additionally, I found another twist very random - like it was just added for the sake of a twist rather than adding to the story. I also found Chloe annoying and thought she made some very questionable decisions.

Overall, I just felt it fell a bit short of the mark and was predictable. But I will try other books by Stacy.

‘I thought I knew what monsters were’
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Happy pub day to my most recent read A Flicker in the Dark by Stacey Willingham!! One I’ve seen all over #Bookstagram recently, and for very good reason!
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Chloe Davis' father is a serial killer. He was convicted and jailed when she was twelve but the bodies of the girls were never found, seemingly lost in the surrounding Louisiana swamps. The case became notorious and Chloe's family was destroyed.
His crimes stalk her like a shadow. Now Chloe has rebuilt her life. She's a respected psychologist in Baton Rouge and has a loving fiance. But she just can't shake a tick-tick-tick of paranoia that, at any moment, it might all come crashing down.
As does something darker. It is the anniversary of her father's crimes, and Chloe is about to see her worst fears come true - a girl she knows goes missing.
The nightmare has started again...
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I loved this book so much and can see exactly why it’s been optioned for a tv show. From the get go I was completely sucked in and loved the premise, one that may seem slightly familiar but comes with many twists and turns and is wonderfully written. I found myself thinking about this book when I had breaks from reading as I just wanted to get back into the story to find out where it was going… an engrossing read from start to finish that should be on every thriller lovers TBR 📚
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Thank you to Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for the ARC!

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 created her own 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.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s a well written thriller with a good plot, full of twists and turns and a lot of suspense. There weren’t any major surprises for me as I guessed fairly early on about one of the bigger twists but it was still entertaining and it kept my interest throughout.
A great debut novel and I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Stacy Willingham.

A smart and addictive thriller, A Flicker in the Dark made me question everyone, including the protagonist, on my quest for the truth.

Dr Chloe Davis is a successful psychotherapist with her own practice. She has a doting fiancé and is close with her brother Cooper. She has tired hard to move on from her childhood, when her father was charged and convicted of killing six teenage girls.

Determined to ignore the anniversary of her father’s incarceration, she is planning her wedding when the news breaks. Another girl has gone missing. And Chloe starts to wonder if this can somehow be linked to her murderous father…

I was gripped throughout this book! I could not put it down, and found the stories pacing and plot moves at the perfect speed.

The narrative switches between present day Chloe and her twelve year old self, so we experience everything through her eyes. Her justified paranoia makes her question everything, and this transfers to us as the reader too, as I found myself questioning most characters.

An atmospheric novel, the locale is as important as the characters or plot. Set in Louisiana, we get the sense of an eerie wood and marshland, with swamps and the subtle threat of alligators and other predators hiding in plain sight. The chilling image of a figure with a shovel haunts the novel and Chloe herself, until she discovers the truth of what is happening in her town…

If you are a fan of thrillers, you NEED to read this book. I am in awe that this is a debut novel, as I found it well-crafted, perfectly plotted and full of twists. Although I suspected everyone, I do not claim to have seen the ending coming. It was surprising yet satisfying.

I look forward to seeing what else Stacy Willingham will come up with!

This story appears to have a very dark premise. If the author’s intention was to send chills of fear and disgust down your spine they succeeded! I am an avid reader of crime and thriller novels, but I think I will have to return to this novel at another time as I was finding it very difficult to read.

Chloe's childhood was blighted by the crimes of her father who is still in prison for abduction and murder of several teenage girls. She's now a clinical psychologist and is about to get married when, as the 20th anniversary of her father's conviction approaches a girl she knows disappears. Chloe is convinced it is related to her father's crimes and start to look for - and find - clues. They lead her one way and then another and as she tries to help the police it appears that they suspect she herself may be involved. It builds to an exciting conclusion and you won't guess who the killer is.

A Flicker in the Dark is Stacy Willingham’s debut novel. A Psychological Fiction novel centering on the life of Chloe Davis, the daughter of a convicted and jailed serial killer. Chloe has spent the subsequent years trying to piece her life together and has trained as a Psychologist. Everything is going relatively fine, or as fine as it can be considering her past when a series of girls start disappearing. Right on the anniversary of her father’s crimes.

There is an ease to A Flicker in the Darks writing style, a slow, ambling pace that leaves no stones unturned. There are details written about the lead characters, past and present, that run deep, adding a level of realism to a story that wouldn’t necessarily work. As the story progresses there is a level of paranoia that runs through Chloe that stretches the limits of imagination – while it’s understandable that she would blame those close to her for the new wave of deaths – it all comes across as a little incredulous and far-fetched.

As a lead character, getting into the head of Chloe is interesting. She has never felt free from the clutches of her father’s actions and when a new wave of murders follows the same patterns her intense sense of paranoia and desire to keep away inevitably pushes her towards the unfolding events. Key events that happened to Chloe as a child are presented in the form of flashbacks. They give details about what happened involving her family and the horrendous past thrust upon them by her father. Considering the tragic past and life that Chloe has had to endure, it made some of her actions in the present feel unbelievable – why would she trust a man that she had only recently met, yet accuse long-term people in her life of terrible things? Why would she withhold vital information from the police under the presence of history repeating? Not only this, but I found her over-reliance on anti-psychotics unrealistic; these drugs take a long time to work, you can’t just pop a pill and everything gets better.

Alongside Chloe are other characters, her fiance Daniel, the reporter she just met, and her supportive brother – each has their own part to play as the plot pans out and adds layers of complications to the investigation that Chloe undertakes.

There’s a fair amount of red herrings and deflections in this book that keeps the reader’s eyes off the real culprit behind the murders. These are well done and kept me guessing. Although, I was a little fed up with being side-tracked all the time and led down alleyways that didn’t really go anywhere. Chloe’s Mum is in residential living and in need of constant care. She finds a way to communicate with Chloe and at one point starts writing the name of her husband, or Chloe's fiance. But, with the big reveal at the end being what it is a lot of this story arc makes little sense and brings up further questions of integrity to the plot.

While I enjoyed many elements of this book, the plot was interesting, the pacing was fairly sedate and easy to read and the character was engaging in her own way. It didn’t wow me. I didn’t feel an overwhelming urge to keep the pages turning. I didn’t feel connected enough with anyone to have any real desire to know who was the culprit and why. We spend so much time in Chloe’s head that it’s hard to feel any connection to something beyond her thoughts.

I couldn't put this book down, I needed to know what was going to happen next. There was some frustration with the main character relying on drugs and being a general bad judge of character but this was understood as part of the arc.

I did manage to guess who was responsible for the girls going missing but questioned myself a couple times which kept me interested.

Overall a good read.

Coming up to the 20th Anniversary of her father's murders, Chloe has things to look forward to; her wedding is 8 weeks away. But when young girls are going missing and then end up dead, there are too many similarities for this to be a coincidence.

But who is behind these murders when her father is still in jail?

'Monsters don't hide in the woods; they aren't in the shadows in the trees or invisible things lurking in darkened corners. No, the real monsters move in plain sight.'

This book is very well written. The language is easy to follow, the narrative straightforward with twists to keep you guessing and miss lead you.

Willingham writes in the first person and gives a somber tone throughout the novel. Past and present narratives were also used; switching from one to the other at different points which I found a little distracting, but understand that they were used to set the scene.

However, the issue that I had was that I found it quite slow throughout, although things were happening it took a while to get there; then when it did get there it seemed to slow down again.

So although I enjoyed the novel, I wish that it was faster-paced.

This psychological thriller is a cracking read, with an unusual narrative voice - a psychologist who is the daughter of a serial killer.

Chloe Davis’s whole life has been blighted by the shadow of her father’s crimes but when young girls start to disappear 20 years later, she finds herself drawn back into the same nightmare scenario.

Although avid thriller readers may not be fooled by some of the red herrings thrown into the mix, or hugely surprised by the denouement, the way that the story unfolds and the quality and assurance of the writing still made it stand out for me in a crowded genre.

I look forward to the author’s next book.

With thanks to the author, NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Fiction, for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely awesome read!!
I devoured this in one sitting!!  I got caught not once not twice but three times in the end with all the twists!

What is your worst fear? For Cloe Davis, one of the things was a presence she could physically feel behind her as she walked home after school. This always made her run home as fast as possible into the outstretched arms of her father who would whisper to her "I've got you..." And then in a blink of an eye, her life was turned upside down when she realised real monsters move in plain sight. At 12 years of age, her father was arrested and convicted of the killing of 6 15-year-old girls. Her mother couldn't cope with what was happening and tried to commit suicide leaving Chloe and her 15-year-old brother Cooper on their own.

It is now 20 years later and Chloe is a successful medical psychologist. She is also engaged to a wonderful guy. She is still struggling with some issues but life is not too bad. Then a 15-year-old girl disappears and is found dead. It feels eerily similar to the happenings of 20 years ago. Soon her life starts to unravel when a girl, who is a patient of hers, disappear as well. It seems like she's the common denominator. Who can she trust and is someone out to get her? Will she be able to make peace with her past and at what cost?

A must-read for anyone who loves twisty psychological thrillers!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I would have given this another star if it hadn't been for the main character being so irritating. I get that she had a very traumatic childhood but you would have thought that that would make her far more cautious. She spends the book keeping key information to herself and, inexplicably, trusting a man she's only just met.
That said, I did really enjoy the plot and it was a change from the norm to tell the story from the pov of the daughter of a serial killer.
The big reveals towards the end are not that much of a surprise, I'd already guessed one huge one, but it was quite entertaining.
3.5 stars

Oh my this book. It was one of those reads that I ended with a disgruntled sigh. Not a bad premise for a story at all but far to many twists that at the end left me annoyed because they were never really explained.

WARNING from here onwards this review contains spoilers

I knew that her brother was the original killer and not her Father from his first appearance in the book. It was absolutely obvious he had done it by his slightly weird way he treated Chloe like she belonged to him. Then the bit about Dad saying, be good, when he was arrested just confirmed it.

The idea that the brother would be framing the boyfriend to get rid of him. Totally plausible and I would have totally bought it.

The idea that he groomed some kid from the village for 20 years and then got him to commit copycat murder which the brother then used to try and frame the boyfriend was completely ridiculous. The idea that this man looked enough like a New Year Time Journo for Chloe to believe that was who is was. How did the brother plan for that? It was just beyond anything believable.

And why did Mum start to try and spell out Daniel's name or Dad. That was never explained.

And did Mum try to commit suicide because she knew her son was the murdered but then why leave her daughter behind to his mercy? I mean come on now.

As I said, good premise for a story but the plot got overly complicated and therefore kinda silly. It needed some really tightening up to make it much more sinister and compelling. and ditch the whole 2nd killer aspect and keep it about the son being the killer both times.

I thought this was a very good debut novel. There were parts of the book where it seemed as though pages were missing, because the story didn't flow as it should have and it seemed a bit odd, but on the whole there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, and the reveal did come as a surprise.

What an amazing debut from this author. A fantastic edge of your seat thriller with many twists and turns.

This kept me hooked from start to finish and I could barely put it down.

A highly recommended read and I really look forward to reading more from this author.

Chloe's father was convicted of murdering six teenage girls when she was just twelve years old. Twenty years later, a copycat killer is on the loose, which shatters what is left of Chloe's very fragile mind. Even more so when she realises that she is connected to these new murders similarly to those of twenty years ago. It's an exciting premise that held my attention well throughout.

The plot centres around Chloe and her life, which is a mess! She has a successful business as a psychologist and appears to support young people. However, she is often medicated to stop feeling and drinks, often alongside her drugs. She thinks things are happening when they are not, making her an unreliable narrator. This helps keep the book going as you wonder which parts are genuine. It felt apparent from the beginning that the story wasn't going to be quite as simple as it seemed.

The pace varies throughout the book. The first half is an intense read and well-paced, whereas the middle has some difficulties and gets a little drawn out. The end comes and is a bit messy; what could be a great and fast-paced ending feels a bit chaotic. Some parts are glossed over; some feel contrived though others are fast with the events unfolding quickly.

There are other characters in the book, all of which are flawed, multi-layered and damaged though believable.

The book is well written and holds your interest despite the above comments. I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Chloe's trust issues feel real, and she doesn't even trust herself, which is understandable and doesn't help the situation. In the end, I had wondered about an excellent twist, but I wouldn't say I saw it coming.

A solid 3.5 stars probably would have been 4 if it didn't have the bit in the middle that dragged a little. A great debut, though.

Well written and full of suspense and kept me turning the pages.

Chleo is twelve when her father is arrested as a serial killer of 6 teenage girls.
Twenty years later Chleo is a psychologist and a copycat killer is on the loose and the victims are known to Chleo.
A brilliant storyline well worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a gripping story this is from the start to the last word. When Chloe Davis was only twelve, young girls in the area where she lived began to go missing. Then one day, the police arrived at her house and arrested her daddy for their murders. Chloe had found something her daddy had hidden, and only the person that was the last person to see one of the missing girls could have had it.

Now Chloe was grown up and getting married. Her brother and future husband didn’t like each other, and her mother was in a care home after a suicide attempt had caused her brain damage. No wonder Chloe was still mixed up. But when young girls began to go missing again, it chilled her to the bone. Her father was still in prison, she had never visited him. So who was the copycat?

Oh, my authors that have been writing for years would dream of writing a book like this, then when you find out that this is the author’s debut, it knocks you off your feet. The characters are superbly portrayed, just to that point where it gives you a good choice to be mulling with, who could be killing young girls just to watch Chloe have a meltdown and get off on it.

Chloe is a psychologist, still trying to work out what makes a person a killer because she had never seen it in her dad when she was a young girl. It felt like Chloe was always on the edge of breaking. How much could she take? There was no way she could sit on the fence, she had to get involved.

This was a back to the wall book for me. I needed to see every door and every window. Doors locked and the silent clock being just that. I was eerily jumpy. There are cracking characters with enough edge to be on my radar. A stunning read. Highly recommended

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book that I have reviewed honestly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Debut novel by Stacy Willingham, loved her writing style and the way the story was told from a family members point of view of a killer at home.
Lots of edge of your seat moments although I will say I’d guessed the killer early on but this didn’t stop me from reading on late into the night to finish this. I would definitely look out for this author again and I look forward to her next book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this early copy.