Review: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

An eerie, non-stop rollercoaster of a debut that will put your brain through the wringer trying to keep up with every twist and turn.

First published in January 2021, A Flicker in the Dark was an add-on I purchased with my Book of the Month subscription (sign up through my link or check out the app for deets). This book was selected for a book club I started with a few friends and was probably one of my favorite picks that we've had in the 5 months we've been meeting.

The story follows the female protagonist's perspective, Chloe Davis. At the age of 12, her father was arrested for the disappearance of 6 local teenage girls and remains in prison. Fast forward to current day, Chloe built a new life and has worked to set herself away from the ugly past of her father's crimes. Until 20 years after the events, another local teen goes missing, Chloe finds herself in a whirlwind of paranoia, reliving her childhood and potentially on the verge of solving the case or realizing she has finally lost all grip on reality.

I want to note that when I first started the book, I read about 8 chapters (50ish pages) and just fell into a reading slump - not that the story itself was the cause. When I finally picked it back up to review for book club - I couldn't put it down and finished it in less than 24 hours. The plot twists are good! I absolutely was able to connect some of the dots, but what a rollercoaster! When you think you know, you don't.

The author does an epic job of giving the characters a shady undertone and just about everyone has a secret to hide. I went back and forth, being annoyed by Chloe's inner dialogue and clapping my hands for her to figure out the hard stuff. When I say annoyed it only comes from a place of not knowing if she was on the right path or not and I felt like she had a pretty good idea of what was going on - so the self-doubt was killing me! In hindsight, it pulled all the pieces together in a very gripping, sitting on the edge of my seat, like WTF kind of way.

I felt like things were happening faaaast - which I really appreciated but realized 60% through the book that I was either going to be really impressed or really disappointed. I think it's safe to say that it was the first. Despite the fast pace - there were moments where the author gets really descriptive at all the right times with little gems of vivid scene setting sprinkled throughout:

A steady sheet of rain erupts outside, and the house is filled with the sound of millions of fingers tapping on the roof, eager to get in.

I rated this 3.5 stars because I really enjoyed the twist on a familiar plot. Either way, it's a good read, a proper challenge, and packed with crazy moments. I instantly thought of Just like Home by Sarah Gailey while reading, a thriller with a paranormal/horror twist - if you enjoy A Flicker in the Dark - it would be a good move to check that out. Also, Stacy Willingham's new book All the Dangerous Things was released this past January, so I'll be reading that much sooner than it took me to discover her debut.