Forget Me Not - by Stacy Willingham

About the Book

"A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark. Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell's older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist ... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew. With the entire summer now looming ahead-a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother--Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents ... as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all. Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past"--

Book Synopsis

A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell's older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.

With the entire summer now looming ahead--a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother--Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents... as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.

Review Quotes

"Forget Me Not is a sinister Southern mystery with deep family secrets and a town protecting its own... There are a few surprising twists and turns that keep the plot fresh, and the final reveal wraps up all the loose ends. Good pacing, sound characters, and a coastal Southern setting lend to this overall entertaining story." --FreshFiction
"An unforgettable novel.... [A] heart-stopping, mind-shattering adventure that is sure to have you on the edge of your seat.... The perfect fall read."--BookTrib

"Once again, Willingham delivers a gripping thriller packed with twists that will keep readers on edge until the final page... Fans of Sally Hepworth and Kate Alice Marshall will enjoy the novel's Southern heat, slow-burning tension, and suspense." -Library Journal

"[The] narratives are cleverly alternated to leverage paranoia and twists; this is prime binge reading."--Booklist

"[This is a] compelling suspense ride, full of twists and turns avid followers of her couldn't even imagine. Much like the diary in Willingham's current book, Forget Me Not is hard to put down after you've read the first few chapters. Totally consume yourself in this southern suspense novel."--Charleston.com

"Not unlike her stone-cold villains, Willingham leaves little to chance when it comes to gripping her reader's rapt attention." -Charleston City Paper

"This is Willingham's superpower: upgrading the predictable, true crime, Gone Girl genre with psychological depth and hauntingly good prose." -Charleston Magazine

"Absolutely riveting. Simmering tension and genuine shocks make Forget Me Not a thriller I'll remember for a long, long time."-- Riley Sager

"Stacy Willingham beguiles with her magnetic writing and atmospheric setting, drawing readers easily into a decades-old mystery where a constant sense of danger and unease brews beneath the surface. Shocking and totally twisted. Totally unique, I've never read anything like it."-- Mary Kubica

"Stacy Willingham does not miss! I was immediately drawn into this eerie and captivating story, and could not put it down. A perfect thriller for summer reading." - Samantha Downing

About the Author

Stacy Willingham is the New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of psychological suspense. Her books include A Flicker in the Dark, All the Dangerous Things, Only If You're Lucky and Forget Me Not.

Her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, has sold over one million copies in North America alone. It was the winner of Strand Magazine's Best Debut Award and a finalist for the Book of the Month's Book of the Year award, Goodreads Choice Best Debut award, Goodreads Choice Best Mystery & Thriller award, and ITW's Best First Novel award. Her work has been translated in more than thirty languages.

Before turning to fiction, Stacy was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her B.A. in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and M.F.A. in writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and dog.