This book is just so tense! Thanks to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story focuses on Chloe Davis, the daughter of a man convicted for the abduction and killing of teenage girls in their small town in Louisiana. Twenty years have passed since the murders and Chloe has built a life as a psychologist dealing in trauma in Baton Rouge. Armed with her first-hand experience of traumatic events (and a slight prescription-drug dependency), she is trying to move on with her life and plan her wedding. When teenage girls start to go missing, it seems that Chloe's past may be catching up with her...

I found Chloe an intriguing - if slightly infuriating - narrator, which is (I think) just as the writer intended. In many ways, she is the product of her experiences but her drug-dependence and age at the time of the original murders (she was 12) gives her an unreliable edge. This is a book in which memory is important, but also cannot be relied upon in the present day. Chloe also makes unpredictable and impulsive decisions - again, an understandable part of the character given her past.

The Louisiana setting for this book was an appealing one. This is somewhere with murky forested areas and danger lurking in the waters. Somewhere the heat is oppressive and predatory alligators watch from the sidelines - although they prove to be a whole lot less dangerous than the predatory men.

This is a dark book - one about the abduction of teenagers, abuse, brutal murders and not being able to trust the people closest to you. In many ways, it is a tough read but it is also compelling - the secrets are many and their discovery opens the plot out way beyond its initial promise. There are also some really terrifying and chilling moments as Chloe discovers things too late and finds herself in danger - I had my heart in my mouth for most of the second half of the book!

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes their crime fiction with a dark heart and chilling twists. There is never a dull moment in Chloe's story and so much of it was genuinely surprising. I'd definitely look for more books by this writer.

a riveting read that presents so many twists I was a bit lost at times but thoroughly enjoyed the ride! Looking forward to more from this author!

This was a great read. I really enjoyed it. The story slowly unfolds and there are plenty of red herrings but most send you in the wrong direction! I’ll definitely read more by Stacy Willingham.

This will make an excellent film! Slow at the beginning but cranks up the tension to a fingernail biting conclusion. Chloe is a psychologist and lives under the shadow of her father being a serial child killer. Just as she is happily planning her wedding one of her clients is killed in what could be a copycat murder. And that's just the start of it. Throw in a journalist and the police and we are not sure who to trust or who to suspect.

Chloe’s father was imprisoned 20 years ago for a series of murders of young women. Now settled in a different town with an a established psychology practice and a stable relationship the past seems to be repeating itself. Two young women are murdered and she is convinced that there is a copy cat murderer on the loose. The police aren’t convinced so Chloe sets about investigating for herself.
I guessed from the very beginning what the outcome would be but nonetheless still enjoyed reading.

Chloe Davis’ father is a serial killer and was convicted and jailed when she was just twelve years old but the bodies of the girls were never found. The case became notorious and Chloe’s family was torn apart.

Now Chloe has rebuilt her life, becoming a respected psychologist in Baton Rouge with a loving fiancé and a doting brother.

With the 20th anniversary of her father’s crimes round the corner, a girl she knows goes missing. Has the nightmare has started again…

I really enjoyed this book - I found it went along a little slowly for the first few chapters but the rest really picked up pace. I thought I knew where it was heading but it became twisty and totally unpredictable, and I kept changing my mind as to who was doing it!

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. A cleverly written “ whodunit “ that had me guessing and changing my mind so many times. Look forward to reading more from Stacy Willingham.

This is the kind of book that elicits a wide range of responses, covering as it does an uncomfortable series of crimes involving the abduction and murder of young girls. Positive features of the book include a fluent and engaging narrative style and the ability to create both a sense of menace and a carefully calibrated ratcheting up of tension as the book approaches its climax. The themes of murder and abduction will clearly be highly unattractive to some readers who might be advised to look for alternative reads. However, the author is careful to avoid any gratuitous exploitation of the crimes to further the narrative and most readers will find the balance acceptable. It’s a psychological thriller and murder mystery, so I guess readers will not be surprised to find clues, spoilers and red herrings liberally scattered about the narrative. These issues are always going to be a matter of personal taste, but this reader found, perhaps, rather more clichés in the trailing of possible culprits to the crimes than would be ideal. However, this was a satisfying read and one that demanded more and more pages to be turned well past the time that the light should have been turned off! Recommended.

A well thought out thriller with twists and turns, slightly predictable in laces but a good read. I would recommend this author.

I loved this book - I found it went along nicely for the first half but the second half really picked up and whereas I thought I knew where it was going, it became twisty and totally unpredictable. I didn’t work out the ending and thought it was a great conclusion. Highly recommended .

I read this thriller in one day and did not foresee the ending! The book revolves around a serial killer and is told by Chloe - the daughter of the man convicted of the murder of 6 young girls 20 years before. She is a damaged individual self medicating on drugs and alcohol who after training as a psychologist sets up her own practice. On the anniversary of her father’s trial, 2 young girls go missing and Chloe suspects the father of one of the murdered girls but her suspicions are not shared by the police. Her own paranoia then leads her to suspect her fiancée.

The disappearance of the third teenager leads Chloe to her childhood home and to uncovering through truth of her past.

An enthralling thriller full of twists with an unexpected conclusion.

Well worth a read.

A relentlessly dark story. I found the subject matter uncomfortable, and the main character, Chloe, not particularly likeable.

Having said that, Chloe does come with baggage, which is gradually revealed in flashback during the course of the novel.

In spite of my reservations, I was hooked and still wanted to find out who was committing the murders, and there were certainly plenty of twists.

My rating- 3.5 to 4, mainly because of the subject matter - still pretty impressive for a debut novel!

This is a very dark thriller of a read about an apparent copycat serial killer who is copying the crimes of her father. As she struggles to find out the truth it seems that she is being framed for the murders and she struggles to trust anyone in her life as we build up to the climatic conclusion that totally threw me.

I have seen this book everywhere and have been desperate to read it. Honestly, it was a good quick-paced thriller. Nothing too spectacular but i loved the idea of it following the daughter of a convicted serial killer. I read the whole book in a day over a couple of sittings, the writing was easy to follow, it was very quick-paced, some of the twists I did see coming but overall, it was a good solid read.
3.5-4 stars.

Chloe is about to marry Daniel, the man who is going to save her from her horrendous past, her father being a serial killer! However, brother Cooper is not happy about the arrangement and then two more girls disappear! All the clues and suspicions boil down to incredible similarities to her father’s victims! Is it a copy cat killer and if so who? The ideas behind this story showed great promise but I felt the author got a little carried away, there was too much detail, not enough action or dialogue and unfortunately the story began to lose all credibility. A shame!

I was in and out of this. Interest wise. There were times I was a little bored and zoned out but other times where I was intrigued to see where the story went.
I thought at one point the killer was too obvious. But the twists at the end I didn't sew coming. Especially one revolving about the original murders from the past.
I think these reveals helped bump the rating up to a 3.
I did have some questions. Especially around how the detective was handling things. But also felt the mother knowing something wasn't finished. It just got dropped.

Whilst the story line was interesting and original I found I struggled with this book.
I just wasn't engaged and found the pace didn't work for me. The author was good at building the tension although I predicted all the twists bar one, yet I still had unanswered questions at the end.
Others have obviously enjoyed it but sometimes a book just doesn't suit you

I absolutely loved this book. It was fantastic from start to finish. The plot was really engaging and I couldn't put it down. Fantastic!

This book had a good basic plot-line but I didn't like the style of writing as it felt unneccessarily dark and heavy as opposed to being mysterious and thrilling.

I got cocky and thought that I knew where this was SOOO obviously heading and I was 100% wrong on all counts.

I hate it when people call books a masterpiece but I'd say this one is worthy of the title. 5/5.