A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel

A New York Times Bestseller

“A smart, edge-of-your-seat story with plot twists you’ll never see coming. Stacy Willingham’s debut will keep you turning pages long past your bedtime.” —Karin Slaughter

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Now twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. So when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren't actually there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer?

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.

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Published Jan 11, 2022

363 pages

Average rating: 7.52

146 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

martinca17
Sep 09, 2024
4/10 stars
Well, here are my notes from during this read:


A FLICKER IN THE DARK
- [ ] Too much description of boring shit
- [ ] FOUR MGS OF XANAX?? via the phone?
- [ ] well, it is louisiana
- [ ] did her dad take the fall for her brother?
- [ ] FOUR MILLIGRAMSSSSS
- [ ] too much description of her brother
- [ ] never want to read about a tongue in a mouth again
tyffanay
Sep 19, 2025
Loved it!!
literarily_occupied
Aug 12, 2025
8/10 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 4 stars

If you're looking for a twisty, psychological thriller that's well-written and keeps you turning pages, then look no further than this knockout debut.

With several potential suspects and a self-medicating unreliable narrator, you never have it truly figured out until the very end.

This book lived up to the hype for me but don't just take my word for it; HBO has had it optioned for a series since before its release and I cannot wait to see it take shape on the screen.
Just chrissy71
Jun 07, 2025
The main character was a little cringe
Harrietaspy
May 04, 2025
4/10 stars
I so wanted to like this book but just too many things didn't add up or make sense. I found myself re-reading things and trying to sad them into something sensible.

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