Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: January 11, 2022
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Psychological / Suspense
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.
“We live in the flicker...but darkness was here yesterday.” - Joseph Conrad
A Flicker in the Dark is the debut of author Stacy Willingham. When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge, the Craw fish capital of the country and were never recovered. One of the girls was Chloe's friend. By the end of the summer, Chloe had found damaging evidence. Chloe’s father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison where he's serving back to back life sentences. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.
Her mother escaped into herself, doing less and less for herself and her family until she can handle life any longer. Now 20 years later, Chloe is a psychologist in private practice in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding to Daniel Briggs. In reality, Chloe is a mess. She self medicates with prescription drugs and alcohol. She rarely visits her mother, who lives in a care home after trying to commit suicide. Her older brother, Cooper, is dealing with their past in his own way, staying close to Chloe but also adding more stress to her life.
For some reason, Cooper dislikes Daniel and he's always at her that Daniel isn't who she thinks he is. To make matters worse, a local teen named Audrey is reported missing. Then one of Chloe's own patients goes missing. 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? To make matters even more cloudy, an alleged reporter named Aaron Jansen contacts Chloe asking questions about what happened 20 years ago. Could Daniel somehow be involved, or is it the mysterious reporter with an agenda, or could it be someone else entirely?
What makes this book twisted is Chloe herself. Chloe is your classic unreliable narrator. She often difficulties separating what's real from what isn't, which isn't helped by her pharmaceutical habits which she sometimes uses Daniel to avoid people asking too many unwanted questions. She's paranoid, convinced that these new victims are someone specifically toying with her, setting her on her own amateur investigative path to find who's copying her imprisoned father's past actions, since virtually no one else believes her suspicions.
This is a fairly impressive debut by the author and I look forward to see what she creates next.
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