A Flicker In The Dark | Book Review

It seems a while since I had last read a good thriller. I think, The Judge’s List it was, back in October. With a lot of emotional, uplifting and ‘goody-goody’ reading off-late, I was ready for an edge-of-your-seat, crisp and fast-paced thriller. So, having prepared myself to be scared, I took my pick with A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham, another debut novel – fourth for this year already (see links at the end)!

The first thing that I realized about A Flicker In The Dark was that it is a very fluent book. Stacy Willingham’s writing is very easy-to-read and you would find yourself sailing through the pages effortlessly. And it works wonderfully in the book’s favor.

Talking of the plot, this very interesting story is centered around Doctor Chloe Davis, a woman in her thirties, whose father had been convicted of serial killings of 6 girls who had gone missing when Chloe was all of twelve years. She is now a psychologist with her own practice, helping out patients from her own past experiences. But as it so happens, she suffers from anxiety disorders herself and is often popping pills that fill her drawer. It is the 20th anniversary of the killings and her father’s conviction, but ‘Someone is out there. Again’. History is repeating itself and young girls are once again going missing in her vicinity. Who is behind this? Why is he doing this? These are questions that the book slowly unravels, each time shifting suspicion from one character to another.

Pluses

The good thing about A Flicker In The Dark is, a scary plot albeit, Stacy Willingham eases the reader into the story without making it overtly fearful. It is not an in-your-face horror, but rather a slow and subtle narration interspersed with other present day happenings. Not to say the book doesn’t have it’s moments! There are some exhilarating scenes that have you on the edge of your seats. There was a point in the story when our protagonist decides to go to an abandoned, dark, ghostly house expecting to find a dead body (in all probability with the murderer!) – all by herself! And I honestly was like, really? Is she crazy or what!

Minuses

Suspense thrillers invariable try to present an unexpected twist in the end. The least expected, low profile character is often made to be the culprit. This, all the more sets you guessing in that direction. In trying to do so sometimes the authors tend to go overboard. Without disclosing much, I had half expected the bed ridden mother to get up and start walking one fine day! A twist intended to leave the reader in shock of her feigning the illness all these years!

Thankfully, that wasn’t to be! But in bargain, what we got left me exasperated to an extent. It really became a little too much to digest after a point, a little too hotch-potch. Too many explanations, too many reasonings. Towards the end, it felt like Willingham was only justifying the disclosure to make it digestible. Things like what made him do so, and so on. But, to me it did feel a bit over the top. Specially the fact that the culprit even gets another person do the same! Like really?

Conclusion

To summarize, if at a point in the book you are only wanting it to finish quickly, it sums up the review quite well. I feel A Flicker In The Dark was an okay-ish book which started off great and was well on track for major part of the story. The end will be loved by some since it was unexpected – albeit however weird it might have been. While for others, it would feel a damp squib. That is a personal choice, not something I would judge a book on. Stacy Willingham’s debut novel is surely worth a read. So have your own pick on how you like it. You can get your copy on Amazon .

Just before we end, here are some more debut novels to explore –

Black Cake (Charmaine Wilkerson)

The Maid (Nita Prose)

One Hundred Years Of Lenni And Margot

The Lost Apothecary (Sarah Penner)