Kayla Reviews A FLICKER IN THE DARK

• Genre: Thriller
• Buy: A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel

Summary:

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.

My Take:

Wow. I received an early release of this audiobook thanks to #netgalley and I finished it in a day!

First of all, I did guess the main twist, and started to get really frustrated when it seemed I had guessed wrong. Then things started to get really crazy in the best possible way. The author did a fantastic job of weaving this story together and tying up the loose ends. The only issue I felt was that the pacing lagged a bit a couple of times, but that’s to be expected in a debut thriller. 

One thing I really appreciated in this book featuring serial killers is that the author spent almost as much time talking about the victims (specifically Lena) as much as she did the the killers. It was honestly refreshing, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it pulled off this well. I felt the victims were really fleshed our characters.

I enjoyed the narration quite a bit. I only wish she would have read a bit faster through those climactic scenes because I couldn’t stand the waiting!