A Flicker In The Dark

Author: Stacy Willingham
Genre: Psychological Thriller
357 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2022

Synopsis
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 review
A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham is a psychological thriller with an interesting premise. I had heard good things about this novel so was excited to pick up this book and while away a rainy afternoon in my favorite chair. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I’ve read many serial killer stories told from the viewpoints of investigators, victims and their families, and everyday townspeople, but this was the first time I’d read one from the perspective of the killer’s daughter. Sadly, I don’t enjoy thrillers that lean heavily on the trope of a confused and drugged-up female narrator, and I found the storyline lacked originality and depth.

I usually don’t have to put much thought into rating a novel. As someone who reads a lot of psychological thrillers and crime fiction, it’s typically easy to gauge where the story and writing stand on my scale. I would rate the story a 2, but Willingham’s writing is actually very good, which brought the score up to somewhere in the middle.

I found the characters to be quite unlikable and one-dimensional, particularly the protagonist, Chloe Davis. In a psychological thriller, I usually expect the psychological depth to take center stage over the thriller aspect, but Chloe came across as naive, unrelatable, and often just plain foolish. I never felt like I got to know the other characters well; they all seemed very stereotypical and predictable.

Despite its shortcomings, A Flicker in the Dark is still a somewhat fun read that kept me interested in seeing how everything would unfold. Willingham is a talented writer, and I’m curious to explore some of her later novels to see if the storylines improve.

My recommendation: consider skipping this one.