A Flicker in the Dark: The New York Times bestselling debut psychological serial killer thriller with a shocking twist that will keep you up all night in 2022

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I think this is definitely worth reading, and I will definitely read a book by this author in the future. I hardly guess the bad guy correctly. I did this time, so please let me brag. 😂 It didn't take long, I thought it was a little obvious, although, Ms. Willingham had me doubt myself because Chloe becomes unreliable so I start thinking it could be He #2, He #3, or He #4. Hell, Chloe is losing it too. In present day, Chloe is brought into the police station to be interrogated by Detective Thomas since she was the last person to see Lacey alive. Afterwards, Chloe goes to visit her mother, Mona, at the assisted living facility. Mona attempted suicide after her father's sentencing, resulting in brain damage that left her unable to move or speak. Chloe and Cooper try to visit her occassionally. Today, Chloe tells Mona about the recent missing girls. She also promises to bring by her fiancée Daniel sometime. I loved Chloe as a main character. Her flaws made her not just believable, but relatable. Her struggles were real. I felt them; the self-medicating being particularly impactful. So, yeah. Very meh on this one, sadly. But you’re in need of a good thriller with a complex — and deeply twisted — female lead, consider Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild instead, due out in April 2022.

SHE SLEEPS WITH THE FAKE REPORTER MURDERER. God! Was the choking the day before not enough? Also, there was chocolate on a pillow at a Motel 6? Laugh out loud. This is like Blair from "Gossip Girl" trying to write "poor."I guessed a major twist early on, so I’m tooting my own horn (Btw, has anyone else considered how wrong that sounds? Or is it just me?🤷). However, there is plenty of deflection and red herrings that had me second guessing my suspicions. On top of that, there were other welcome surprises in store.

Before she knows it, Chloe finds herself steeped in the investigation. She needs to get to the bottom of it. It seems too close to home, like it's intentional. Like this new killer is trying to draw her in.

Is Chloe paranoid and seeing connections where there aren't any, or is she dangerously close to the truth? Chloe has spiked Cooper's drink, so he gets drowsy and is soon arrested. Chloe's father is released from prison. The book ends with Chloe going to visit Sophie in Mississippi to return her ring to her. Book Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller What hidden secrets does she find and what happens when she uncovers them? Peek in those closets and find out! I think you'll like what you discover. I have to admit: sometimes reading about the family’s traumatic life after a serial killer father is convicted is a great plot idea to work on!

years later, Chloe is now a psychologist. She’s happily engaged, but still fights her demons in the form of prescription drugs. She feels she’s been coping to the best of her ability. It’s possible that my overindulgence in the thriller genre has left me jaded, and those who haven’t read dozens of similar stories this year will find Stacy Willingham’s novel more surprising. Emma Stone must be one of them, since she’s already got an HBO Max limited series adaptation in the works. (I will say that she has to be trying to stretch her range here, because I couldn’t picture her as the main character even knowing her casting ahead of time.) I was never bored as the facts were unspooled, like a ball of yarn-the revelations coming faster as we neared the end. Maybe just a little too fast-as I had some unanswered questions about the final reveal.Skip forward to today, Chloe is now a psychologist with a home and private practice in Baton Rouge, planning her upcoming wedding to perfect, supportive Daniel, and helping over-protective Cooper take turns visiting their mother, Mona, in an assisted living facility - a situation necessitated by Mona's mental and physical trauma after her husband was taken away. Then, revelation time. Chloe has solved this puzzle! The dang murderer is obviously taking these girls to Chloe's childhood home. She also apparently used to know him, because he's from her home town. EYE ROLL. She is going to drive right to the house and not tell anyone about it. She is also going to leave her phone in the car because why would you need that? (Aside: a famous serial killer's house has been sitting empty for 20 years and it's somehow completely intact, not vandalized, burned down...?) In what world? the sex scene with Chloe and Aaron, the “journalist”? I mean, come on. Guys. Like , really?! Her issues with her fiancé notwithstanding, here’s barely a hint of sexual tension between her and Aaron leading up to that moment ( I would know) and there’s nothing to suggest that something so out of character would ever cross Chloe’s mind until they’re suddenly tussling on a dirty hotel comforter. All because he said she’s not crazy? Sure, she was desperate for that validation, but it was a bridge too far and came off as a huge eye-roll moment for me. Aaron needed to be a lot more fleshed out (as did her interactions with him — staring longingly at his biceps? More emotional conversations that show they have some sort of genuine link or attraction? An appreciation of his cologne, even? Literally anything, I don’t care), or Willingham needed to show that Chloe was circling the drain faster, and therefore such a rash decision would’ve made more sense.

There were a few aspects of the plot that I think could have been done better. The whole thing about Lena knowing about Tara King’s murder seemed unnecessary and made no sense. She witnessed a murder and decided to provoke the killer over the course of three weeks instead of going to the police? Nonsense. Why would she keep hanging around his house? It’s even more annoying since it’s a completely unnecessary detail. Just say that Cooper killed her since she was a bad influence on his sister or cause he just wanted to and be done with it. Chloe Davis has lived in the shadow of fear for a long time. When she was twelve years ago, six teenage girls disappeared in town, one right after another. The nightmare finally ended when her own father confessed to the killings, upending her childhood and leaving her family in ruins. Now twenty years later, girls are going missing again. And Chloe can't help but feel there is a link between what's happening now and what happened so long ago. Lena Rhodes was the first. The original. The girl that every girl in Breaux Bridge envied UNTIL her face became the one seen on every TV, and on all of the MISSING posters around town. When Chloe Davis was 12-years old, her father was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of six teenage girls, based on evidence that Chloe herself had uncovered. The adaptation is currently in development. It appears that some version of the script was completed as of October 2021. Who’s in the cast?

Twenty years ago, Chloe's father was sent to prison for kidnapping and presumably murdering six young girls, although their bodies were never found. Chloe's life is secure and stable now--she's engaged to Daniel and has a fulfilling job as a psychologist. However, her demons lurk just below the surface, and when first one, then another young girl turn up missing, she feels as if her life is repeating itself again. The missing girls have connections to Chloe--is it the work of a copycat? Can she help find who is doing this?