A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

A Flicker in the Dark is Stacy Willingham's masterful debut - a well-constructed clever suspense thriller full of twists and thrills. The story is set in the small town called Baton Rogue, in Louisiana and told through the POV of Chloe Davis, a successful psychologist in her early thirties, engaged and about to be married to this workaholic Pharma-sales rep Daniel. Chloe is shaken out of her idyllic dream life when a series of murders rock the small town. Taking her back twenty years, when the exact same thing had happened, when she was only twelve. Six teenage girls who were abducted and killed in her childhood town. But the shocker was when the police finally figured out that it was her own father, who had committed these heinous crimes. Chloe is rattled as she tries to piece together the clues, as to who could possibly be this 'copycat' killer in her neighborhood. Because these crimes not only cut open those scabs from her own childhood but also, threatens to blow apart her carefully constructed facade of normalcy. 

This one came highly recommended and I cannot say, I disagree. It's as explosive as the blurbs make it out to be, masterfully setting us up for some major thrill rides. With countless red herrings, Stacy propels the story forward with her deft writing and some great plotting. As I said, what I loved about it was that it's constructed in a clever manner. With enough clues to first lead us down the wrong alleyways as we try and guess the killer and his/her motive. 

Usually such a twisty crime narrative works if the character sketches are well done and the settings come alive. And fortunately, Stacy nails it with both. Chloe and her friends/relatives are the glue that keeps the whole narrative stitched together. And the small town setting in Louisiana also adds to the atmospheric thriller.  Constant flashbacks help us build the larger picture of what had happened to Chloe twenty years back, that has her living in constant fear of shadows, darkness and mistrust of strangers. Post traumatic stress disorder is a major theme in the story, with Chloe suffering from a debilitating fear of strangers and a lifelong inability to form bonds with people. In a clever subversion, Chloe herself is a trained psychologist who wants to help other people stuck in a similar situation as herself. Other than Chloe, there are three other major characters who are pivotal to the story. There's Daniel, Chloe's picture perfect boyfriend/ fiancé who is too good to be true. Then there's her brother Cooper - the star of his school who became a detached and withdrawn husk of himself after this incident with their father but whose over-protective nature could sometimes come in the way of him and Chloe. Then there is the NY Times Reporter Erin who has smelled a story in these new set of copycat serial killings and wants a word or two with Chloe and will go to any extent to cover this story. 

Despite this being a debut, Stacy sets a blistering track record with this intriguing mystery thriller, full of suspense and twists. Trust me, you will be second guessing yourself as each new twist turns up in the tale as we try and uncover who could be the killer. I for one, definitely want to pick up what Stacy is going to write next! Kudos to Karissa Vacker for truly bringing alive this heart-stopping mystery read through her narration. Highly recommend this one for your next weekend binge-read!