31 Reads of Terror: 'A Flicker in the Dark' by Stacy Willingham

A worn-out used book can tell a million stories, and I stumbled upon one such tale—a well-loved Minotaur paperback edition of A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham—while rummaging through the dusty shelves of a thrift store. The title popped out like a neon sign in a dimly lit alley, and I recognized it from my many Kindle scrolling sessions. This particular copy, with its creased spine and warped pages, spoke of a life lived; it looked older than its 2022 release date, hints of water damage lending it a certain brooding charm. Normally, I would shy away from anything that looks like it spent a summer in a rainstorm, but at just ten cents, I thought, why not? Perhaps it would lead me to a thrilling read... or at least entertain me for a few hours.

The plot is a web woven from the threads of tragedy and suspense. When Chloe Davis was just twelve, six teenage girls mysteriously vanished from her small Louisiana town, their fates unknown, and by summer’s end, her own father had confessed to the unspeakable—a chilling revelation that left Chloe and her family grappling with a harrowing truth. With the finality of a closing coffin, he was sentenced to life behind bars, and Chloe was left to navigate the wreckage of her childhood.

Fast forward two decades, and Chloe has traded the shadows of her past for a bright future as a psychologist in Baton Rouge, on the verge of tying the knot. Yet, the lurking darkness of her history still haunts her, as if she’s constantly stepping on the cracks of a haunted sidewalk. Just when it seems she’s sculpted her happiness from the ruins of her trauma, the unthinkable happens: another local teenage girl goes missing, and another screams from the abyss of Chloe's memory. Is she merely seeing lurking shadows where there are none, or could she be on the precipice of unmasking a killer once again?

I can’t help but notice a recurring theme in murder thrillers—don’t teenage girls always seem to either go missing or turn up dead, their fates pinned like moths to a board? It’s a trope as old as time, but here, Willingham breathes fresh air into a familiar lungful of dread. The sinister twist of Chloe's father being a convicted murderer adds depth to her character; the scars of her past make her a fascinating enigma, far more compelling than the typical detective or sleuth we often encounter in this genre.

For a debut novel, I was impressed by Willingham's writing prowess. The pacing ebbed and flowed like a well-crafted river, the dialogue crackled with authenticity, and the descriptions leapt off the page with just the right amount of detail to conjure vivid imagery without dragging the story down. Sure, I spotted a few of the twists from a mile away—perhaps a consequence of indulging my insatiable bookworm tendencies—but it didn’t temper my enjoyment.

A Flicker in the Dark isn’t a flawless masterpiece. Still, for anyone with a penchant for thrillers that stroll the line between the ordinary and the macabre, it’s a gripping read that I wholeheartedly recommend. After all, you never know what dark corners await you between the pages of a cast-off book. ╌★★★★✰

〜B.J. Burgess