Our March mystery/thriller selection for LaLa Life Book Club is A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham. I finished this one last night and wanted to share my thoughts here with y’all.
In case you forgot, here’s what the book is about:
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?
You can add it to your Goodreads here.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
My Review
What I Liked: This was such a good mystery that I could not put down. It was fast paced and entertaining, and I found myself developing new theories constantly. I was convinced the dad didn’t really do it, but I wasn’t expecting to be so unsettled in my thoughts about Daniel. I was constantly thinking Is he the killer or is the author just trying to confuse us?? I love when I’m unsure about something in a mystery/thriller. I also love how Chloe became more unreliable as the book went on, yet she turned out to be completely innocent. I don’t think I would have liked the book if she had ended up being the killer. And the part with the Mom and the scrabble tiles??? Loved that! I figured out the ending pretty early on, but that did not make the book any less enjoyable for me. At all. This was one of those book that I will be thinking about for a while.
What I Didn’t Like: I gave this one a 4.5 because of two things:
- I really wish we would have gotten to see Chloe go and visit her dad. I understand why the author didn’t have her go and do this before the end because that would have revealed everything too soon, but I wish we would have gotten an epilogue or something. I would have loved to see how he reacted to her (and her to him!) because she never spoke to him after they arrested him, yet he was innocent. I have lots of questions that I wish we could have gotten answers to through Chloe visiting him.
- I wanted more closure with Daniel. Even if it was just an open ended, maybe get coffee soon, type of thing. I really wanted them to work out and I think there is still hope, but I wish we would have gotten just a little more.
Absolutely LOVED this book! What did you think?? Come chat with us in our book club Facebook group or follow me on IG.
