A Flicker in the Dark

A Novel

Formats and Prices

Format

Hardcover

Format:

Hardcover

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around January 11, 2022. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

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.

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
JUNE 2019
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
JULY 2019
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Copyright Notice

 

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None of this would have been possible without my agent, Dan Conaway. You believed in this book before anyone else, signed me after reading only three chapters, and have graciously answered all of my frantic questions every day since. You took a chance on me and it changed my life. Thank you will never seem like enough.

To everyone at Writers House, you’ve been a dream. To Lauren Carsley, thank you for picking my book out of what was, I’m sure, a very large stack. To Peggy Boulos-Smith, Maja Nikolic, and Jessica Berger in the rights department, thank you for championing this story overseas.

Thank you to the entire team at Minotaur, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, and Macmillan. To my wonderful editor, Kelley Ragland: your editorial eye has been invaluable, and I feel so lucky to have you in my corner. Thank you to Madeline Houpt, for keeping me organized along the way; David Rotstein, for creating the cover of my dreams; and Hector DeJean, Sarah Melnyk, Allison Ziegler, and Paul Hochman, for getting the word out. Also, a huge thanks to Jen Enderlin and Andy Martin, for your early enthusiasm and confidence in this book.

Thank you to my UK editor, Julia Wisdom, and all of the folks over at HarperCollins UK. Additional thanks must also go to all of my wonderful foreign publishing houses for translating this story into so many different languages.

To Sylvie Rabineau at WME, thank you so much for seeing the screen potential for this story. You’ve launched this dream of mine to completely new heights.

To my parents, Kevin and Sue. Despite what the subject matter of my books may suggest, my parents are incredibly loving and supportive people who have cheered on my passion for writing since as early as I can remember. None of this would have been possible without your love and encouragement. Thank you so much—for everything.

To my sister, Mallory. Thanks for teaching me how to read and write (seriously!), for diving headfirst into my bad first drafts, and for always giving the most valuable feedback, even when it makes me grumpy. Also, thanks for making me watch all those scary movies with you at a questionably young age. You have always been, and will always be, my very best friend.

To my husband, Britt. You never let me give up. Thank you for spending years cooking dinner while I was holed up in my office, for listening to me talk about these people I invented every single day, and for always being my loudest and proudest supporter. For that, and a million other reasons, I love you. I couldn’t have done it without you.

To Brian, Laura, Alvin, Lindsey, Matt, and the rest of my wonderful family, thank you for your never-ending excitement, enthusiasm, and support. I’m lucky to have you all in my life.

To my hype squad and very first outside readers: Erin, Caitlin, Rebekah, Ashley, and Jacqueline. Whether you were screaming from the sidelines or sending quiet whispers of encouragement, I heard every word. Thank you so much for being my people. I don’t know what I did to deserve friends like you.

To my wonderful friend, Kolbie. Your enthusiasm throughout this entire process has been infectious. You always cheered me on and kept me excited, even when I never had any good news to share. Also, I admire your willpower for waiting to read the book until it was actually published. I hope it was worth it!

And finally to you, wonderful reader, with this book in your hand. Whether you bought it, rented it, borrowed it, or downloaded it, the fact that you are reading these words right now means that you are also playing a large part in making my wildest dreams come true. Thank you so, so much for your support.




On Sale
Jan 11, 2022
Page Count
368 pages
ISBN-13
9781250803825