A Flicker in the Dark: A Novel

Written by:
Stacy Willingham
Narrated by:
Karissa Vacker

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
539
Narrator
168
Release Date
January 11, 2022
Duration
11 hours 6 minutes
Summary
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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

'Listeners will enjoy a gripping and twisty story.' - AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner)
Reviews
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Christine P.

Good book! Pretty predictable however. I didn’t finish it but ffw to the end to listen to what I already guessed. I would have enjoyed it more if I selected it for free from the VIP section. The narrator was great!

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Sarah E.

loved it and was actually surprised.

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Jill J.

Great read! Love the plot twist, didn’t see it coming!

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Carrie D.

wow. what a surprising ending

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Terri P.

I loved this book and can't wait to see more from this author.

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Stacy G.

I really enjoyed this read. I get where some said it was predictable but the twists and turns kept me second guessing everything. I will definitely read more from this author. Also, this narrator was amazing!

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Martha D.

Thie book always kept me guessing. ALthough it was a little long, there were alot of twists and turns to keep me interested.

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Heather B.

I found the ending to be a bit contrived and difficult to follow at times. I felt rather unsatisfied at the end. I think it has to do with the protagonist's drug usage; an unreliable narrator gives me trust issues.

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Anonymous

There were good parts and bad parts to this book. The narrator was good and for the most part the storyline was good. There are multiple times throughout the story where things get too slow and the descriptions of a person, place, or thing drag on too long which lost my interest. It also felt like the storyline went along in a pretty organized and methodical way but as you get closer to the end of the book, it seems to just throw a twist that doesn’t make sense or isn’t believable. The ending was abrupt and could have been softened and carried out a little further in my opinion. Overall not a bad book but just ok.

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Leigh E.

Perfect thriller for work, loved it, listened to it in one day.

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Anonymous

It was really good

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Raeann C.

Moves quick. A bit predictable but good story and glad I got it. Would recommend.

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Debra C.

I can't finish listening to this book. The narrator is whispering too much, and it's driving me crazy. i usually enjoy her narration, but i just can't with this one. All the whispering makes my skin crawl. Just talk.

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Sofia R

This was a good listen. The ending was a whole roller coaster that I didn't see coming. The narrator was superb as always. Just when you thought you had a handle on it, it veers a sharp left. That was fun!

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Elizabeth L.

An underwhelming book made almost impossible to listen to by the reader. Vacker’s whispery, cupie-doll voice was like nails on a chalkboard for me (personal preference, I know.). I will definitely steer clear of this narrator.

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Lena<3

Over all it was a good story. It gave a clue for the twist ending.

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Shelby G.

Honestly, pretty predictable. Felt dragged out. Narration was ok but hard to follow men's voices as they all sounded the same.

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Anonymous

the main character was an annoying and stereotypical victim portraying a weak hysterical woman. very long and disappointing.

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CC G.

I was completely amazed and surprised by both the author and narrator. one of the best I have listened to in this genre . I'm getting ready to download another book here shortly

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Lee K.

This was a really, crazy good book! Best one I have read since joining audiobooks. I have already let my friends who love this type of stories to give this one a listen or read. At times, it was far fetched and you had a hard time believing where it was going.....but lets be honest....what book doesn't do this? So I am not going to knock it for that. We read for entertainment, this was beyond entertaining. This is going on the top of my list as one of the best books I have read in the past 12 months, I just loved it. I have already purchased another credit for one of the author's books. It's always hard to read a story and get that same kind of enjoyment out of it after you just finish a really good book like this, but I am going to try another one of stories, All Dangerous Things, so I am hopeful that this will be a good read as well.

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Anonymous

Too many implausibility to be a good book. But it was OK.

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Dusty S.

All of it was so unrealistic it was hard to continue. Don’t waste a credit.

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Sarah N.

Very good, I really enjoyed the book as well as the narration and did not see the twist coming at all!

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Anonymous

A nice thriller. Has you guessing till the end.

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Stephanie K.

Very predictable and uneventful…. Very slow to read and hard to keep my attention. I enjoyed the narrator, she had a great tone and was easy to listen to.

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Nandini P.

So predictable. Which made it quite boring.

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Cdht63

Well done! Kept thinking I knew who did it and kept being wrong! Very clever! Narrator was mostly good, but sometimes it was hard to keep the male voices straight…all sounded the same.

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Anonymous

Great listen!

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Coopster22

Exciting twists and turns!

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Anonymous

great book..

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Cynthia P.

Enjoyed this book. Entertaining storyline.

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William Troyk

Really keeps you guessing

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V.

Great book!

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Tatiana Hummer

Karissa Vacker is the perfect narrator. Both books by Stacy Willingham Karissa narrated and listening to her makes me want to listen more. The story has many unexpected twists. I love about this author is that it just does just stop when you find out the ending it doesn't just stop. She gives you the after story. I hate when you read/ listen to a story and then the ending happened and still want to hear what happened after. Did they stay together, where does the main character end up. She give it. It give you a bit a satisfaction to know. . Great book ! Wish there were more from Stacy Willingham. Hopefully there will be soon. And don't lose Karissa. She's Great!

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Lois G.

I enjoyed the book. The character development and twists and turns were good. However, the ending felt rushed. Narrator was good at changing her voice when different characters were speaking

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Patricia B.

Great book and the narrator is fabulous!!

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Valerie B.

Very well written and read. Love the suspense of the storyline.

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Danielle C.

Definitely kept me wondering. I had so many theories but great book!

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Erica T.

Loved this book! I could not put this book down. I’m not a big reader but I finished this book in 2 days, it’s that good. The suspense, mystery, and twists to this book is by far phenomenal. This books deserves more stars!

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Anonymous

Great read!

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Anonymous

Kind of predictable

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MICHELLE E.

Loved this! I would listen 100 times again. What a plot twist!!!!

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Anonymous

Riveting story. Kept me guessing. Great narration. Definitely recommend

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Tina T.

Great story with lots of surprises

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Anonymous

one of the best books i have read

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Anonymous

I have to say it was sorely lacking in character development. I didn't enjoy the main character, and I didn't care much for anyone else. It was enjoyable enough, but I feel like there was not enough resolve.

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craig specht

This was a good book. Very well written. Had me guessing. Enjoyed the narrator.

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hgeis001

loved it! thought i had everything figured out, but boy was i wrong. great mystery

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GJerryG

We’ll done

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Diane Z.

Great listen!

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Tina L.

Started a little slow for me but ended up being really interesting with lots of plot twists and kept me guessing. I liked it very much. I don’t like when the women narrators read for the male characters by making their voices deeper. It just sounds stupid to me but they all do it so it’s just the nit with audiobooks I suppose. She wasn’t bad though. I would recommend. It’s a good story.

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Millie

This was a very interesting book. The narrator voiced the lines very well. The way this story plays out really draws you in and gives you a look into the characters. The ending and twists were amazing. Very well written.

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Ashley P.

So good and suspenseful!

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Pamela J.

Great book! Kept me interested from the start. The narrator was great for this one! Highly recommend!

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Anonymous

Loved this book! Highly recommend!

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Anonymous

Exciting book, best thriller I’ve heard in awhile. Thought I knew who did it, boy was I surprised. Ending was a total surprise.

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Rita

Loved this book and the narrator is amazing!

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Sally S.

Good debut thriller, exciting as an audiobook. Anything normal about Chloe’s life ended the summer she was twelve when the six teenage girls went missing and her father was convicted and sent to prison, and her mother tried to kill herself and went into care shortly thereafter. Chloe has worked hard at dealing with the aftermath of all this tragedy. She’s a psychologist counseling troubled teens. She’s engaged to a wonderful man. Her brother is her rock. But even before teenage girls once again begin to go missing, Chloe has a lot of unresolved issues: drug use that she explains away to herself, fears and suspicions about everyone in her life, memories she can’t stop, her aversion to a relationship with her mother. She’s holding it together – mostly – but when murders start up again things quickly fall apart and Chloe has trouble knowing what is real, whose motives and actions to trust, what memories to believe. A Flicker in the Dark is an excellent debut novel by an author that shows promise. Chloe has obviously suffered but her actions and the lies she justifies to herself make it hard to fully sympathize with her. This adds to the suspense. What might Chloe be hiding, or imagining? The small number of characters also adds to the suspense. Somebody has to be committing the new murders. Her father is still in prison, but is he pulling the strings? Suspicion jumps around and around: her father, her brother, her fiancé, the father of one of the victims, the journalist who has been almost stalking her? Or could Chloe possibly have some role? Is there more about her we don’t know? The story moves along at a quick pace. The ending was satisfying and not altogether predictable, but the narrative did bog down at the end, as if the author couldn’t quite figure out how to make to characters interact to present the conclusion so rather resorted to something like a psychological analysis of people and conditions. All in all, however, this was suspenseful and exciting and kept me extending my daily walks so I could listen longer. I expect the next novel this author writes will be tighter and I look forward to it.

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Lisa H.

Kept me interested and could not stop listening.

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Anonymous

Terribly scary. Good listen

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Anonymous

Great book - kept you guessing

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